Redeeming hostages is one of the greatest deeds in Judaism. The Talmud, Maimonides, and many rabbis explain that ransoming captives is so critical that it is even more important than food and clothing.
Some rabbis have said that you can sell a Torah scroll to raise ransom money.
Today, Hamas is extorting the Jewish state.
There is an unfortunate and long history of kidnapping Jews for ransom and extorting Jewish communities for excessive sums of money. Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg, one of the greatest Ashkenazi rabbis who ever lived, was kidnapped and ransomed. One of the Tosafot who commented on the Talmud, he was a great liturgical poet who authored many of our High Holy Day prayers.
Rabbi Meir witnessed the public burning of the Talmud in Paris on June 17, 1242, and then ran away to Rothenburg, where he got his name. He is also called Maharam (“our teacher” or “our rabbi”) of Rothenburg, but his actual name was Rabbi Meir Ben-Baruch.
Historical ties
At one point in 1286, Rabbi Meir left Rothenburg for Israel. While waiting for the rest of his travel party in the Lombardy mountains, he was captured and imprisoned on the fourth of Tammuz, June 28, 1286. Trying to escape Europe, he had been traveling with his wife, daughters, and sons-in-law. The bishop of Basel was returning from a trip to Rome and with him was a former Jew named Kneppe, who recognized Rabbi Meir. Kneppe told the bishop about the rabbi.
The bishop told the lord of the city, Count Meinhard, who in turn delivered Rabbi Meir to Emperor Rudolph I, who promptly threw the rabbi in prison, where he remained until his death, seven years later, in 1293.
While he was in prison, the emperor demanded an excessive ransom for Rabbi Meir of 30,000 silver marks. One of his students, Rabbeinu Asher, raised 23,000 marks, but Rabbi Meir refused to be ransomed for fear that it would incentivize more kidnappings, higher ransoms, and extortions.
Emperor Rudolph held Rabbi Meir’s body for 14 years. Finally, a very wealthy benefactor from Worms named Alexander Ben-Salomon Wimpfen, also known as Alexander Susskind, paid a ransom. Rabbi Meir’s body was released and buried in the Jewish cemetery in Worms, the city of his birth. Susskind is buried right next to him.
Rabbi Meir’s lesson was “not at any price.” But this lesson was 728 years ago.
The return of the hostages and witnessing their reunion with their families was emotional for anyone who loves Israel. The effect of watching Israeli mothers and fathers and their daughters embracing for the first time in 15 months was felt around the world.
Over the years, Israel’s principles regarding negotiating with terrorists have changed. Not too long ago, there were no negotiations. Then the policy changed to only exchanging live for live, and dead for dead. Then it changed to no one with blood on their hands. Then it changed to single-digit exchanges. That changed to exorbitant numbers of terrorists with blood on their hands for a few Israelis or even a single Israeli.
In 2011, a single Israeli – Gilad Schalit, was returned in exchange for the release of 1,027 hardcore terrorists. I cannot imagine his pain and that of his parents. I know what the country went through and the jubilation they experienced after he was finally transferred home to Israel. I remember Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeting him.
But one of those hardcore terrorists released in exchange for Schalit was Yahya Sinwar. Was Schalit’s release worth October 7? We need to ask these questions. Terrorists have a very high recidivism rate; once terrorists are released, they are very likely to return to terror.
Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), said that 82% of the Palestinian prisoners being released in the hostage deal, had been part of the prisoner release in 2011.
Bar added that 200 of those on the current list to be released had already been rearrested after their earlier November 2023 release in exchange for the very first kidnapped victims of that horrific day, October 7, 2023.
When I raise these questions in private, people jump at me. They shout: What if it were your child?This discussion cannot be personal or emotional. It must focus on creating a policy that disincentivizes kidnapping and one that protects the citizens both at home and abroad.
I cried tears of relief when I saw the family reunions. My fear is that history tells me that I will be crying once again because there will be more kidnappings, and the price will only get higher and higher.
The writer is a columnist and a social and political commentator. Watch his TV show Thinking Out Loud on the Jewish Broadcasting Service.