This is an essay by Dennis Prager in his commentary on the Book of Exodus, part of his The Rational Bible series. It appears on pp. 169-171. It is particularly timely, given the elimination yesterday of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khameini.
The context for this essay is the aftermath of the newly-freed Israelites crossing the dry seabed of the Sea of Reeds, and the Egyptian army being swept away by the waters when they returned. Moses and the Israelites burst into song, praising and thanking God for their salvation. It is known as the Song at the Sea.
(May God bless Dennis with a recovery of body and spirit in the wake of his catastrophic accident in November 2014. His Hebrew name is Shmuel Nehemiah ben Hinda שמואל נחמיה בן הינדה.)
Exodus 15:1: "Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea."
According to a well-known passage in the Talmud, the angels, too, broke out in song when the Egyptians were drowning in the sea. But, the Talmud states, God rebuked them: "My creatures [the Egyptians] are drowning, and you sing songs? (Sanhedrin 39b)
This Talmudic passage is often cited by Jews who believe it is wrong for people to rejoice at the fall of an enemy, no matter how evil. But the story does not support that view. God does not rebuke Moses and the Israelites. He only rebukes the angels.
Why? Because God does not hold people to the same standards as He does angels. When people see their--or even others'--would-be murderers drowning, it is both natural and moral to express relief followed by joy. Furthermore, the angels' lives were not in danger; the Israelites' were.
This is a fascinating passage, fraught with moral questions. One doesn't have to take this Talmudic passage literally to appreciate its moral insight--and its moral difficulty.
The morality of the passage is quite admirable. That ancient Jews would describe God as rebuking angels for celebrating the demise of those seeking to kill and enslave Jews is a remarkable moral achievement.
Nevertheless, there are moral grounds for challenging the passage. Was it really wrong for the angels to rejoice? One can understand why God might not be depicted as having rejoiced; every human being is His child, and remains so even when doing evil. But angels are not parents of all mankind. Why shouldn't they rejoice over the fact the Israelites--or any other innocents--were spared death and slavery? Why would that be wrong?
Furthermore, if we are to be honest, the Talmudic passage does imply criticism of the Israelites. If humans are supposed to aspire to be God-like, they are surely supposed to aspire to be angel-like; and if the angels were wrong in rejoicing, then on some level so were the Israelites.
It is also critical to note the angels' celebration is not necessarily about a victory for the Jews, but a victory for morality. People intent on doing evil were prevented from doing so, thereby sparing the innocent suffering and death. That's a moral achievement and should therefore be rejoiced over. Yes, one can always acknowledge the death of those doing evil is ultimately a human tragedy. But it is infinitely less tragic than the alternative.
Similarly, when people pose the question as, "Should one celebrate the fall of one's enemy?" they are not posing a moral question. The issue is not whether one should celebrate the fall of one's enemy; it is whether one should celebrate the fall of evil people and the consequent saving of the innocent.
When I watch World War II films and see Nazi soldiers killed, I am mindful of the fact those soldiers were drafted, and they left behind grieving mothers, fathers, girlfriends, wives, and children. But I am happy they were killed because either the Nazi soldier or the soldier of a decent country was going to die; and the death of every Nazi soldier hastened the end of the Nazi regime and the closing of the Nazis' death and concentration camps. Would it be more noble not to be happy about all those facts? If one should not be happy the soldier fighting against the Nazi regime was spared and the life of the Nazi regime was shortened, what should one feel?
Some might say the proper response is happiness over the sparing of the Allied soldiers and the weakening of the Nazi regime. But that avoids confronting the moral reality that the only way to have saved the lives of Allied soldiers and hasten the end of the Nazi regime was to kill Nazi soldiers. If no Nazi soldiers were killed, the Nazis would never have surrendered.
Whatever one concludes about the morality of celebrating the downfall of evil, this Talmudic story achieves two important purposes: It reminds us that even one's enemies and even those who do evil, are still human beings created in God's image. And it forces us to ask moral questions.
