“If someone is coming to kill you, rise against him and kill him first.”
From the Talmud, derived from Deuteronomy 22:26, hundreds of years ago
(This law applies equally to someone coming to kill someone else — you’re obligated to kill the murderer in order to save his intended victim.)
The Talmud is a large collection of writings by Jewish scholars compiled over many centuries as, in effect, a commentary and explication of the laws set forth in the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, i.e., the Old Testament.
A Torah itself is most commonly seen in the form of the large parchment scrolls kept in a holy ark at the front of Jewish places of worship.
So how is this rule of law reconciled with the Commandment “Thou shalt not kill” contained in the Book of Exodus, the second of the books of the Old Testament?
The Torah that tells us that God placed a spark of Himself in every human being, thereby bestowing upon his or her physical existence a Godly, infinite worth — that same Torah also tells us that God has granted free choice to every person. Including the choice — and the power — to corrupt his or her God-given vitality and turn it against itself, using it to destroy life.
A person can choose to turn himself into a murderer — someone who is prepared to destroy life in order to achieve his aims. In which case he is no longer a life, but an anti-life.
To kill an anti-life is not a life-destroying act, it is a life-preserving act. It is not a violation of the commandment ” Thou shalt not kill ,” but its affirmation. Without the law of “If someone is coming to kill you, rise against him and kill him first,” the principle of life’s infinite value is nothing more than an empty slogan, a mere idea.
Today we are confronted by terror and terrorists throughout the world, whether motivated by radical religious fanaticism, radical political fanaticism, or simply pure hate for others. The notion of merely leaving others alone to live in peace is anathema to terrorists of all stripes.
So, unlike the Obama/Kerry axis of naivete and stupidity, President Trump has staked out positions that serve to protect America and American lives, wherever located. He has withdrawn us from the absurd nuclear deal designed to give Iran a clear pathway to nuclear weapons, and he has now struck a strong blow for freedom, long overdue, in the targeted killing of the notorious terrorist, Qassem Soleimani, who died with the blood of many hundreds of Americans on his hands and in the midst of planning even more horrible attacks on America and Americans.
So, when the politicians and commentators from the left complain about the killing of Soleimani, refer them to the Talmudic rule of law first mentioned above.
As if they might actually understand and appreciate it.
