Ask the Rabbis | Does Jewish Law Require that Hostages be Redeemed Regardless of Cost?
INDEPENDENT
Jewish law should be reckoned in context rather than in blanket one-size-fits-all applications. While there is barely a mitzvah more urgent than the redemption of captives, the question of cost must be considered—not in funds but in lives.
The kidnappers’ demand in the present case was not ransom money but a pause in a war against thousands of sworn mass murderers and the release from imprisonment of hundreds more, all hell-bent on resuming their campaign of mass slaughter and rape against our people at the first opportunity. For every three or four hostages redeemed at this cost, how many dozens of innocents are we risking to be blown to pieces on a school bus one day, or massacred at a concert? Israel abolished the death penalty decades ago. This was a huge mistake, for which we are now paying dearly. In the words of the second-century CE Rabbi Elazar: “Anyone who acts mercifully toward the cruel will in the end act with cruelty toward the merciful” (Midrash Tanchuma, Metzora, Ch. 1). But here we are. God help us.
Rabbi Gershon Winkler
Walking Stick Foundation
Golden, CO
HUMANIST
Maimonides put it plainly: “There is no mitzvah as great as the redemption of captives” (Mishneh Torah, Zeraim, Hilkhot Matnot Aniyim 8:10). This reflects a core Jewish value—pidyon shevuyim, the obligation to redeem captives. Yet even as our tradition exalts this duty, many sages wrestled with the consequences of paying high ransoms, fearing it would invite further hostage-taking. How well do we understand this now as we watch our people come home—alive and dead—for the brutal price of releasing hundreds and thousands of terrorists!
Some later halachists opposed such deals, warning they would endanger future generations. The case of Yahya Sinwar—the architect of October 7—haunts today’s debate. He was among the 1,027 terrorists freed in 2011 in exchange for Gilad Shalit.
And yet, despite these arguments, the Jewish people have made up their minds, expressed in yellow ribbons and anguished cries to “Bring them home.”
In this, we stand with Maimonides. He rooted his view in the Torah’s decrees: “Do not harden your heart” (Deuteronomy 15:7) and “Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor” (Leviticus 19:16). Surely he knew the arguments against excessive ransom. Yet his love for the Jewish people was too great. Like him—and despite all arguments—we refuse to harden our hearts or stand idly by the blood of our fellow Jews.
Rabbi Jeffrey Falick
Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit
Farmington Hills, MI
RENEWAL
As is common in halacha, we have a clear statement of Jewish law on this question—followed by centuries’ worth of circumventions. The Mishnah tells us that redeeming hostages is a great mitzvah, but communities must not pay more than the value of the hostage. Our rabbis worried about consequences: Paying excessive ransoms could drain the finances of Jewish communities and endanger their security by encouraging more kidnappings. Nevertheless, individuals were permitted to pay any amount for the release of their loved ones.
Israel has faced agonizing hostage dilemmas in the past. As with our remaining hostages in Gaza, the issue is not financial, but political and strategic. Will the release of Palestinian prisoners lead to further violence against Israelis? Will a negotiated end to the war in Gaza in exchange for the hostages endanger Israel’s security if Hamas finds its way back to power?
But there are costs to not redeeming our hostages too. Remaining in a state of war itself incites continuing attacks. Moreover, Israel’s security depends on its people being willing to go to war to defend it. Abandoning the hostages would surely undermine Israelis’ basic trust in the government and the army.
Jewish thought has always distinguished between immediate mortal danger and potential risks. One is not required to forfeit one’s own life to save a person in peril, but if the risks are manageable and there is considerable safek sakanah—doubts with regard to the dangers of rescue—one should attempt to redeem a person in danger. Perhaps, through negotiation and statecraft, the cycles of escalatory violence can be diminished. Meanwhile, the lives of our specific hostages in Gaza hang unutterably in the balance.
Rabbi Gilah Langner
Congregation Kol Ami
Arlington, VA
RECONSTRUCTIONIST
How much is a human life worth? Jewishly, we can’t calculate it and shouldn’t try. Every person is created in the Divine Image and is valuable beyond measure. Jews and our allies must bear that message loudly and proudly, even as our society makes “cost-benefit analyses” de rigueur and turns the “cost” of a human life into a political football. How much of your loved one’s value is intrinsic, and how much varies according to, say, lost earning potential? Is an urbanite worth more than a kibbutznik or a foreign worker? We should be aghast at such formulations, but they’re commonplace.
To express values, Judaism generally roots for rules. Yet today the studies on which politicians rely literally undervalue future lives, to “justify” more pollution or the risk of war here and now. For our beloved hostages now, we must do all we can, while yet aware of future risk to others when we “reward terror.” Most Israelis understand the conundrum, though the paths they advocate diverge. Just two clear rules: No cynical or self-serving motives in these life-and-death debates; and if we err, err toward pikuach nefesh, saving lives.
Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb
Congregation Adat Shalom (Emeritus)
Bethesda, MD
REFORM
The continuing tragedy of the hostages in Gaza raises one of the hardest ethical dilemmas generations of Jewish scholars have been forced to answer.
The Jewish textual debate is an ethical one rather than legal or theological. Utilitarian approaches to ethics found in Jewish texts suggest that captives should be redeemed, but not at a cost that exceeds their value, since that could put a financial burden on a family or community. Alternatively, a “common good” approach also found in the texts asserts that captives should not be redeemed if doing so enables additional kidnappings, thus putting other people at risk. Finally, a care-based approach to ethics is also evident—captives should be redeemed no matter the cost, to comfort grieving families and end captives’ suffering.
Is there a right answer to this question? No. Each ethical lens suggests a different vision of how an ethical community would behave. But, as a rabbi, I pray that as you read these words, more families will have been reunited with their loved ones.
Rabbi Dr. Laura Novak Winer
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
Fresno, CA
CONSERVATIVE
As with so many challenging questions, it is easy to find rabbinic sources that conflict. The Talmud (Bava Batra 8b) calls pidyon shevuyim a great mitzvah and says that captivity is worse than starvation and death. Similarly, in the Mishnah Torah, Maimonides writes: “The redemption of captives held for ransom takes precedence over sustaining and clothing the poor. You do not find a mitzvah greater than the redemption of captives.”
Yet there is one major exception, as explained in the Mishnah (Gittin 4:6): “One does not ransom captives for more than their value because of tikkun olam.” The Talmud offers two explanations: First, the rabbis feared the financial burden to the community; second, they were afraid that high ransoms for captives would encourage kidnappers to kidnap more Jews and demand still higher ransoms. We know from the Talmud, the commentaries, the Cairo Geniza and the responsa literature that there were many exceptions to the rule.
Do we bring the hostages home from Gaza? On the one hand, the Jewish people will not be able to move past October 7 until all 251 hostages are back home. On the other hand, the deal includes releasing terrorists with blood on their hands, endangers Israelis and encourages further violence and kidnapping. Jewish tradition affirms both answers, a modern-day version of Sophie’s choice. When dealing with the brutality and barbarity of Islamic extremism, there are no good choices.
Rabbi Amy S. Wallk
Temple Beth El
Springfield, MA
MODERN ORTHODOX
On the one hand, the tradition is that redemption of captives (hostages) is the highest priority, ahead of community needs such as Torah learning, synagogue, holiday needs or tzedakah. On the other hand, the Talmud says that one should not pay an excessive ransom for captives, lest it encourage more captive-taking. In the famous case of Rabbi Meir of Rothenberg (c. 1215-1293), the rabbinic great of his time and place, the community was ready to pay any amount to free him. Rabbi Meir felt, however, that his captor was demanding an outrageous ransom; he instructed his community not to redeem him. He remained in captivity until he died.
In the end, for our hostages, it’s a judgment call; the decision cannot be based on some written or traditional rule. The living generation has the authority and capacity to weigh each factor, including the value of human life, the IDF principle of solidarity and its effect on morale, the price demanded and the likelihood of repeat killing and hostage-taking if the demands are met.
I personally believe that, since every human being is of infinite value, Israel should pay the extortionate and dangerous price (including pledging a permanent cease-fire that likely keeps Hamas in power). I count on Israel having learned the lessons of October 7—not to allow another miscalculation of Hamas’s intentions, not to permit reconstruction of Gaza unless Hamas is removed from power—so the post-redemption cost will not be that high.
Rabbi Yitz Greenberg
J.J. Greenberg Institute for the Advancement of Jewish Life/Hadar
Riverdale, NY
ORTHODOX
The easy answer seems to be “Of course not.” People correctly cite the Mishnah Gittin that you don’t redeem captives at more than their value and the Gemara’s explanation that this could burden the community or stimulate captive-takers to up the ante. But they should remember that this refers to a different kind of hostage-taking from the one we’re dealing with.
Historically, hostage-taking was a way to make money quickly without much effort. But war, halachically, is treated as a time when the usual primacy of the preservation of life—both for the enemy and for combatants—is set aside. Otherwise, people could never be commanded to go to war. War is dangerous! You can get killed! But in a mitzvah war, everyone is commanded to participate, not just soldiers at the front.
In 1970, a terrorist group hijacked four planes and was holding hostages on the ground and negotiating. Among the hostages was Yitzchak Hutner, at the time one of the most important rabbis in the world. A separate negotiation for him was proposed, for a huge amount of money, and the question of whether it was permissible went to Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, an important Ultra-Orthodox decisor and Hutner’s friend. Kamenetsky said no: You can redeem a Torah scholar for more than the usual value, but not in time of war. The hostages were eventually freed, but the incident illustrates the idea that in wartime you don’t redeem captives if it means aiding and abetting the enemy in the midst of a battle.
Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein
Cross-Currents
Los Angeles, CA /Jerusalem
SEPHARDIC
Applying the traditional sources to the current situation is a bit complicated. The Mishnah (Gittin 4:7) speaks about kidnapping for ransom, while we deal with murderers who have political demands. The Mishnah sees criminals possibly kidnapping more people and asking for higher ransom, while we deal with a price that might bring murder and destruction and put a whole country in existential danger. Another view might be that after so long, with hostages in captivity in horrific conditions, no price is too high. Judaic sources can offer general guidelines, but the specific decisions during negotiations should be in the hands of professionals.
My personal view is that the whole world has been held captive by terrorists for more than 50 years now, and we are all paying a very high price. Terrorists around the world copycat one another to achieve their goals and wreak havoc on individuals and governments. World governments should unite in their efforts to eradicate terrorism, kidnappings and human trafficking, through military force, advanced intelligence and full financial transparency.
Rabbi Haim Ovadia
Torah VeAhava
Potomac, MD
CHABAD
The Jerusalem Talmud says, “One who saves a life is as though they have saved the entire world” (Sanhedrin 37a). The Babylonian Talmud teaches that redeeming captives (pidyon shevuyim) is one of the greatest mitzvot, since captivity is worse than death (Bava Batra 8b). This value runs from the dawn of Jewish history to the present day—Abraham risked his life to save Lot from captivity, and the ethic remained a hallmark of the Hasidic masters’ activity. Maimonides and the Shulchan Aruch codify this point in Jewish law, although the Mishnah (Gittin 4:6) presents a seemingly contradictory teaching: “We may not redeem captives beyond their appropriate ransom, due to tikkun olam” (repairing the world).
Since the first Jibril Agreement in 1985, Israel has freed hundreds or thousands of terrorists for a few Israeli hostages. While every life is of infinite value, a tragic result is that hostage-taking has become a core tactic of terrorist strategy against Israel.
What, then, can be done? In the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s view, the dynamics of hostage exchanges in contemporary Israel are more problematic than the cases in which halacha exhorts against redeeming hostages. Not only do such exchanges encourage future kidnappings, they also eviscerate prison’s deterrent effect, as murderers know they will only remain imprisoned until the next hostage exchange cycle. Moreover, the released terrorists go on to commit further acts of terror, killing more Israelis.
The Rebbe taught that Israel must not allow itself to be held hostage to a paradigm that empowers terrorists. Instead it should reorient its security policy toward credible deterrence and proactive defense to eliminate the hostage-taking threat.
While the Jewish people value mercy and peace, our enemies cynically exploit these virtues. Our tradition warns that shortsighted kindness can lead to disastrous consequences. Rather than repeating the cycle of capture and release, we must break the current paradigm and forge a new path, guided by the Torah’s explicit view of tikkun olam.
Rabbi Elisha Pearl
Judean Hills