Ki Savo: 5782 - If it were your own son, would you also be willing to hand him over? The 'weekly witticism' by Rabbi Shimon Zonnenfeld with a story about his great-grandfather, Rabbi Yosef Chaim…

00:00 The story I have to tell is directly connected to last week’s parsha, which speaks about someone who kills unintentionally and must flee to a city of refuge. But it also relates to this week, because one of the acronyms associated with the month of Elul is “Inah leyado vesamti lecha”—“it happened by his hand, and I will appoint for you”—which refers to a city of refuge. So I think it’s relevant throughout Elul. The story took place in the Old City of Jerusalem many, many years ago. A Jew accidentally struck an Arab and killed him. Among Arabs, the practice of blood vengeance is well known. It is something they take very seriously, and this Jew understood that his life was in danger. So what did he do? He fled to the Rabbi of Jerusalem and told him the story. The Rabbi of Jerusalem immediately arranged to hide him and protect him. Apparently, they realized he had fled in that direction. They came to the Rabbi of Jerusalem and demanded that he hand over the Jew. He refused under any circumstances. The governor appointed by the Turks at the time summoned him and demanded emphatically that he hand over the Jew. But the rabbi stood firm and told him, “I don’t work for you, and I’m not an informer. You have policemen; you have informers. Why are you coming to me?” The governor said, “I’ll imprison you.” The Rabbi of Jerusalem replied firmly, “You can imprison me. I’m prepared for that too. In fact, I brought my tefillin with me. It doesn’t frighten me.” When the governor saw that nothing would help, they turned to a committee in Jerusalem at the time called Pakuam, an acronym for Pekidim Ve’amarkalim. They held a meeting there and demanded that the committee hand over the Jew. The committee met, with the Rabbi of Jerusalem present, and discussed what to do. They all said unanimously

02:41 that they had to hand over the Jew, because this could put lives in danger. Then the Rabbi of Jerusalem stood up and said, “Under no circumstances.” He turned to the head of the committee and asked him, “Tell me, if this were your son, your only son, would you hand him over too?” He had no answer, and they decided not to hand him over after all. That Jew was saved—quite simply, his life was saved. Later, they asked the Rabbi of Jerusalem, “Tell us, how could you take something like this upon yourself, such a responsibility? After all, lives were at stake.” He answered, “If I had known they would bring him before a court and give him a fair trial, I would have had no problem with it. If he did something unlawful, then he should be tried and receive his punishment. But they would murder him before he ever reached the court. He wouldn’t make it through the courthouse doors. So how could we take responsibility for that?” He stood firm and did not hand him over, and he—