Proverbs 4:23 - "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life"
Hamas is not a political body. It isn't dedicated to the well being of Palestinians. It is pure evil that is dedicated murdering Jews and destroying Israel.
Here is Hamas cheering for dead Jewish babies: Thousands of Bloodthirsty Gazan Muslims CHEER Hamas Parading Bodies of the Bibas Babies and Mother On Stage.
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| Even the Nazis didn’t do this! |
Can One Sin in their Heart and Mind?
The concept of "sins of the heart" exists in many religious traditions, particularly Christianity and Judaism. These refer to internal sins—thoughts, desires, or attitudes—that occur within a person's heart or mind, even without external actions. Examples include pride, envy, hatred, lust, greed, and bitterness.
"Guard your heart diligently..." Proverbs 4:23
The heart is seen as the source of intentions and desires, which can lead to sin if not controlled.
Exodus 20:17 (ESV) (The Tenth Commandment):
"You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s."
The Torah speaks to the desire. The Hebrew word for "covet" (chamad) refers to an intense desire or longing for something that belongs to someone else. It highlights that sin begins with improper desires, even if they do not lead to outward actions. This commandment addresses the internal state of the heart.
Proverbs 6:25 (ESV): "Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes."
In the cases of lust and coveting, it is wrong to hold these feelings in our heart because they lead to action. We must clear them from our mind.
Biblical and religious teachings highlight the importance of addressing inner moral struggles to cultivate a pure heart and align thoughts with righteous living.
Can one make a "legal argument" for their sin? Can their even be a moral/biblical justification for the desire to kill another?
We are not to stand idly by the blood of our neighbor. The moral obligation to not stand idle while others are harmed or murdered is a widely discussed ethical principle, grounded in philosophy, religion, and law.
There is a Jewish law, in the Babylonian Talmud that allows bystanders to stop or kill someone who is pursuing another person to murder them. It's one of the few provisions in Jewish law that permits extrajudicial killings. The law is called Hebrew: דין רודף -- Din Rodef.
Din Rodef historically applies to imminent life-threatening situations, such as preventing murder or rape.
The law historically permits intervention, even lethal force, to stop someone (the rodef, "pursuer") who is actively threatening the life of another person.
Examples of Application:
- A bystander can stop or kill the pursuer after warning them and they refuse to stop
- The law doesn't apply if lesser means could prevent the murder
- Killing a pursuer who could have been stopped by lesser means is considered murder
Is Din Rodef "Legal?"
The halacha (religious) law of Din Rodef is not formally recognized or applied in the modern Israeli legal system, which is based on a combination of secular law, British Mandate law, and Jewish law (Halakha) in specific areas like family matters.
While Din Rodef is a principle within Jewish religious law allowing intervention to prevent imminent harm, including lethal force, its application remains within the realm of religious discourse and rabbinical rulings rather than state law.
While Din Rodef resonates in some religious or ideological discussions, its application is not technically recognized within Israel's secular legal framework.
Would Din Rodef apply to a feeling in the heart? Is Theft and Murder Different?
Unlike other commandments that focus on internal desires, theft and murder are external actions. To covet another person's property is a sin. But it is not theft. Can the same be said of killing?
Would Din Rodef be a sin if it was in one's heart and imagination?
Suppose you could go back in time and place with a time machine to give you the opportunity to kill Adolf Hitler in 1939. Or suppose, one who lost their parents or children in the holocaust, had the same opportunity to kill Hitler or the nazis that would take their family members away. Would it be a sin to do so? Would it be a sin to imagine doing so?
Din Rodef is NOT an act of revenge!! It is an action to save lives by preventing murder or rape!!
Killing Adolf Hitler would save tens of millions including 6 million Jews, perhaps even one's mother and father or siblings and childen.
Would you consider someone to be a murderer if they killed Hitler? Would one be a sinner if they imagined killing Hitler and preventing the Holocaust?
Din Rodef is the decision to NOT stand idly while a murderer kills people.
What if, instead of Hitler in the past, I was talking about Hamas fighters in Gaza today? Would it be a sin to imagine killing Hamas murderers?
The argument of applying Din Rodef to Hamas could theoretically be made within the framework of Jewish law (Halakha), as Hamas has explicitly stated and demonstrated its intent to kill Jews and destroy Israel, including through acts like the October 7 massacre and their treatment of the hostages. There is no more clear case of an imminent threat to the life of Jews in Israel than Hamas!
Only an evil monster could kill this innocent precious baby, his sibling and his mother. And, then celebrate the murders!!!! That evil monster is Hamas and those cheering are Palestinian civilians, including children.
Israel is not going to stand idly by, any longer! It hasn't since October 7th. Now, after seeing what is happening to the hostages, many of us want "all hell to break out." So much so that we image and desire the destruction of Hamas. Does that make us sinners?
Psalm 51:10 - "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me"
Epilogue:
Was the prophet Jonah justified in not wanting to go to Nineveh? He had every reason to want his enemies destroyed. The answer is No, because God commanded him to go!
I once posed the scenario of an opportunity to kill Hitler and save six million Jews to an Hasidic Rabbi, but I added a twist. I asked him, what if at the last moment. God told you not to do it? What would you do, would you kill Hitler and save six million Jews or let Hitler live and six million Jews die. He said no -- he would not follow through and kill Hitler. What's interesting about this is that he did not doubt the premise. He did not doubt the possibility that one could hear God!
Imagine what a relief that was to Abraham and Isaac!