The Monster In Men

Evil and its lessons

What words can suffice at a time like this? Once again, the Jewish nation has been visited upon by unspeakable horror. This world feels absurd as television screens alternate seamlessly between my people's slaughter and cheerful commercials. Being physically untouched in the UK, expressing pain over this horrific tragedy seems unfair. Yet we are inseparable, and avoiding our shared anguish would be unthinkably callous. I cry for my brethren.

Following grief and anger comes the urge to convince the world. Convince them that a terrible atrocity has been committed against the Jewish people. I regularly make light of radio show callers. Yet I have this irresistible urge to phone in and scream at whoever is paying attention. But is anyone really listening? Within hours of the massacres, thousands had already gathered in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. When supporters enthusiastically rally around genocidal Jew slayers, how do we engage them in dialogue? The bitter answer is that we can't. Our nation is enduring a terrible exile, in which many individuals have and always will hate the Jews.

As absurd as it may seem, it is possible to draw lessons from our vicious foes and their vile supporters. When studying Talmud, it is in parrying a challenge that a correct position gains total clarity. Similarly, examining their perverse rationalisations can help us overcome our shortcomings. The Torah's first words are:

'in the beginning, God created (ברא) the heavens and the earth.'

{Bereishis 1:1}

While we often conceptualise creation as a 'coming into existence', the kabbalists offer an opposing perspective: our world's novelty lies not in something created from nothing but in nothing created from something. God, an absolute and infinite being, metaphorically withdrew to allow for finite independent beings. By "retracting" His all-consuming presence, God made space for creatures consciously separated from the divine. The Hebrew word for a creation, נברא (nivra), shares etymological roots with the Aramaic בר (bar), meaning "outside." Mankind is the purpose of this universe. God's 'strategic retreat' uniquely qualified human nature for free will. Through divine withdrawal came mortal sovereignty—the ability for us to choose between good and evil.

Free will feels intuitive. Yet, in our modern age, leading thinkers persistently dispute its reality. Respected academics across numerous fields now publicly renounce it as mere fanciful whimsy. Their public pronouncements spread a corrosive fatalism which renders humans mere pistons in a mechanical scheme. Rav Hutner felt that perhaps the greatest peril posed by secular culture's encroachment is its subtle erosion of the free will doctrine. While our intellect rejects such claims, we risk internalising this denial of agency over time and conducting ourselves as if lacking actual agency.

The sickening deeds of Hamas are depraved beyond belief. So, how do their defenders justify them? Simple, they reply. Hamas had no choice but to replicate some of Nazi Germany's most heinous atrocities. Economist Nathan Tankus likened the Hamas attacks to the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. A group of organisations at Harvard University have declared that Israel is “entirely responsible for all unfolding violence". Apparently, these savages had no autonomy whatsoever. They had been so oppressed that they were utterly incapable of not committing acts of unimaginable depravity. They kidnapped a Holocaust survivor and slaughtered families. So what? Who can blame them? Hamas bears zero responsibility for their own actions.

This sort of remarkably twisted logic and mental gymnastics would be comical if it weren't for their real-world implications. As we said, changing terror apologists' minds is not our job. Nonetheless, we must not let ourselves be blind to who they really are. We view Hamas as unadulterated monsters but, in doing so, paradoxically deny their conscious pursuit of evil. They are certainly monsters, but not the cartoonish two-dimensional beasts portrayed in Hollywood films. These savages had a choice.

We must realise Free Will's power. The Sfas Emes quotes the following Medrash:

If man merits, we tell him: "You were created before all of creation." If not, we tell him, "The mosquito preceded you."

{Vayikrah Rabah 14:1}

Through these deceivingly simple words, he reveals immense depth. Man's dual constitution encompasses both the physical and spiritual spheres. We are bifurcated selves. God fashioned Adam's body from clay but breathed life into it. Accordingly, the Zohar teaches that "the one who blows blows from Himself". Since his soul is Godly, man's spiritual source is rooted in a place beyond all creation. And yet, we have a dark side. Our physical nature is fashioned from the material world so that unchecked, our animal element can drag us to depths below beasts. This is what our sages' admonishment 'the mosquito preceded you' implies. Watch yourself, for although man has the spiritual capacity to rise beyond the angles, he may also degrade himself to unparalleled savagery.

The bloodthirsty murderers of our brothers and sisters are not just monsters. They are also men. And it is precisely because they are men that they can perpetrate such unthinkable evil. No animal can slaughter for sport in the way they so gleefully indulged. These abominable individuals are a stark reminder of man's aptitude for depravity—an aptitude bred from choice. If we forget the men in such monsters, we are liable to ignore the monster in man. We must actively choose to be right and be good. We must deliberately seek out man's other side. The portion that clings to our Heavenly Father. This is our reply to those who seek our annihilation, to the men who pursue human degeneration.

We pray for our brothers' safety and the Jewish people's swift redemption.