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“May G-d avenge their blood.”
Sounds harsh? This is a standard prayer that one might say when hearing of the death of a fellow Jew at the hands of a hate crime – of one who was killed for being Jewish. Last week, I included this short prayer at the conclusion of a Facebook post.
I know that previously, when posting thoughts of this nature, I’ve received some inquiries about the “avenge” piece, and this time was no different. In the chat box of a Words With Friends game, an acquaintance asked:
I always felt good about the simple Jewish approach to vengeance: it belongs to G-d. We pray to Him to bring it on people who perpetrate evil, and we go through appropriate legal channels (including this incredible law firm) to bring about justice ourselves, but we do not take vengeance into our own hands.
Then I read this emotional piece by my friend Sarah Rudolph, expressing resistance to using the term – and it really made me think. Revenge people-style, and revenge G-d-style are not the same thing. People-revenge is angry, instinctive, emotional, and anger-driven. G-d revenge is restoring justice to a world gone mad. I don’t want revenge, because I don’t want to become an ugly person. I want G-d to do it – because I know He’ll do it right.
And I’m proud of a religion that knows the difference.
Thank you for this post and your explanation of the prayer you recite for God's vengeance. The earlier post was raw enough that I did not feel comfortable posting comments, disagreements, and so on.
It makes great sense to me that to pray for *God* to avenge a murder is to renounce taking revenge oneself, and to renounce any human attempts to do so. I can imagine that this is comforting in a way, because you get to wish for revenge, but also very ethical because you don't allow yourself to decide what proper vengeance would be and above all don't get to do anything violent to achieve it.
To me, though, even the bare speech-act of praying for revenge can easily be misunderstood–maybe by some of the people who utter the prayer and definitely for those who hear others making that prayer. It can sound like a genuine call for US to avenge. Surely if Jews heard their enemies praying to God/their God/Whomever to take His revenge on Jews that would sound scary and ugly. Wishing for revenge is so understandable and likely comforting, but it feels like an easy slide into vigilantism.
Question: Is the prayer only for people murdered for being Jewish? What about other people killed for other reasons, or no reason, except the vileness of the perpetrator?
I wouldn't care if any other religion asks their G-d to take revenge on us, because I would consider it an impotent prayer. The same way I don't really care if Mormons try to convert me after my death – I don't think it's effective, so aside from feeling irritated, meh.
And as far as it being understood, perhaps even by the person himself – this is exactly why I blog. To clarify. To discuss. To teach. And to understand. I think the chosen people issue is very similar. The proponents themselves often don't understand what's actually going on.
As far as your final question, I think your last sentence is correct. Here's another nice piece I found on the topic.
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/hashem-yikom-a-cry-for-revenge-or-a-cry-for-justice/
Let me press: if the newspaper reported that some group of Jew-haters were praying that their God would take revenge on the Jews, you would not in any way find that to be evidence of those people's "hate-filled" nature, their hatred of Jews, their brutality?
Even though I like the idea that the prayer *renounces* revenge, it sure can sound hate-filled and brutal. And how we look to other people does matter–esp. if you believe the light/nations thing or even just pragmatically in not wanting to make more people hate Jews?
"if the newspaper reported that some group of Jew-haters were praying that their God would take revenge on the Jews" – this never happens in reverse.
We say it as a response to brutality – and some prayers, we ask God, among a long list of other requests, to "avenge the spilled blood" of His people. We don't specify whom, exactly, God should avenge. We don't categorically hate any nation and pray to God to annihilate them.
See Michtav M'Eliyahu 2 pg 124 on his definition of revenge. Revenge is the lashing out to fill the void when someone insults or harms me. With this in mind, there should be no concept of revenge for G-d, because of the impossibility of detracting from Him and His greatness. Revenge, rather, is the filling of the void in our perception when Evil seems to trump Good; that needs to be set straight. As you point out, revenge is not the base emotional response we normally define it as.
I was so grateful that the leaders in Har Nof were clear that no one should take revenge into their own hands. It was important and powerful to me that I had this belief in common even with Jews with whom I may not share other values. In that context, the context in which we all understand that vengeance belongs to G-d, I have no problem with praying for divine vengeance. It is extraordinarily painful to feel unable to protect the ones you love. It is a natural human instinct for that feeling to turn into anger and violence. It is normal to be angry about injustice, murder, terrorism, attacks on innocents. Anger is a correct human response. We need somewhere to put those dangerous feelings and this allows us to give those emotions to G-d instead of unleashing them on other humans.
In a Christian society, those who forgive evil and who express no hatred or anger are considered highly moral. In keeping with our belief that emotions are one thing and actions are another, Jews do not deny people the right to feel anguish and even hatred in response to terrible events. We do not demand G-d like emotions from ordinary humans. We do demand highly moral human behavior, regardless of one's feelings.