Thoughts for Sedra Matot & Massei
Rabbi Jonathan Guttentag
Velo Tachanifu et Ha’aretz: You shall not bring guilt upon the land in which you are, for the blood will bring guilt upon the Land. (Bamidbar 35;33)
The Torah’s prescriptions for one who takes human life, conclude with a general exhortation: Do not bring guilt upon the land by failing to properly call to account one who has shed blood. The term used, lo tachnifu et ha’aretz, arouses interest. It would normally be translated as: “do not flatter the land”, rather than “do not bring guilt upon the land”, since chanifah means to flatter, or to overpraise. But why would it be ‘flattery’ to fail to deal severely with one who takes a life?
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein suggests that the Chumash is stating a crucial principle: To subordinate human life to the needs of society, is to hold society in inappropriately high regard, or, literally, to ‘flatter the land’.
For, argues Rabbi Feinstein, it is true that the governments in all societies have a strong prohibition against the taking of life and the shedding of blood. However, the secular government law which prohibits the taking of life is crucially different to the Torah’s law.
Secular government’s prohibition against taking of life is directed towards the better improvement and settlement of society. So, if someone feels that another person is
damaging the settled nature of society, he arises to kill him. That is how wars occur. Then people justify themselves, arguing that their actions have not caused harm, but on the contrary, have been beneficial.
Secular law appears to have a similar view in a medical context about a person who only has hours to live. Ending the life of such a person is not regarded as so great a wrong. When a person is elderly – asserts |Rabbi Feinstein in 1970’s and 80’s New York, it is well known that doctors tend not to endeavour to such an extent to preserve their life.
However, the Torah’s prohibition against taking life is based, not on the better improvement and settlement of society, but on the importance of the human being. Therefore, even if society has no real use for this person it is absolutely prohibited to end his life, with the same strength of prohibition. Even for an insane person, or even for a person who only has a short time to live, the same absolute prohibition exists.
Consequently, argues R. Feinstein, when someone kills another, who, in his view, is spoiling the settled condition of society — by such an action he is, literally, ‘flattering’ the land. He has made man secondary to the land, to society. But as the Torah teaches the land, society, is subordinate to the human being.
The sanctity of human life is the supreme value, and must remain so.