More on the Release of Gilad Shalit

From Temima Kanarfogel:

These past fews years as Gilad Shalit has been held captive by Chamas, many Jewish communities have organized rallies, recited perukim of Tehillim, and raised awareness of the importance of his release. To be honest, I had a hard time even agreeing with the idea that he should be released. Many questions swarmed in my mind: How can Israel trade a relatively large amount of Chamas terrorists for only one of our own soldiers? Is it really worth it to expose put so many more lives in danger to save one? And won’t this prompt Hamas to capture even more soldiers when they see we are willing to pay any price for our captives? Luckily, there are several Halachic sources that answer these questions:

            The importance of redeeming a captive is emphasized both by the Rambam and the Shulchan Aruch. The Rambam writes about this in Hilchot Matnot Aniym, “Indeed, there is no religious duty more meritorious than the ransoming of captives, for not only is the captive included in the generality of the hungry, the thirsty, and the naked, his very life is in jeopardy.” The situation that a captive is in is considered worst than most, because he is experiencing multiple sufferings. Therefore we need to treat this matter more seriously. Additionally in the Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 252:3 this idea is further emphasized, “Every moment that one delays in freeing captives, where it is possible, is considered tantamount to murder.”

            The Talmud Bavli, Gittin 45a that teach us a captive cannot be redeemed for more than what he is “worth”. These were originally made in order to prevent Jewish societies from experiencing more emprisonments. If a captive is redeemed with an excessive amount of money, other nations or societies may take advantage of this and capture more people. The situation we are dealing with, however, is an exception that enables us to trade even an exorbitant amount of terrorists for Gilad Shalit. A well known Talmudic principle states, “Bari V’Shema, Bari Adif: A certainty and doubtful, the certain takes precedence.” His mortal danger is one of which we are certain. Even though it is not far-fetched to assume that if the terrorists are released, they may threaten lives in the future, it is not for sure. Their release presents a potential risk to many lives, but it is not as definite as the danger that Shalit faces.

            Ultimately, Gilad Shalit is part of Klal Yisrael. It is our obligation to return him to his family, and restore his life. Even though the price appears impossible to pay, we must do it. We do not have control over what harm these terrorists may do, but we can save somoene who is in their captivity. The only left to do is daven to HaShem that no significant damage will result from this trade, and bring Gilad Shalit home.