Popular medium has portrayed some cultures as cults of death. I don’t know whether this is true or not; however, Judaism has always sanctified life as one the most important values of our religion. Torah is a tree of life. Saving a life is one of the underlying principles of Judaism. One is allowed to eat on Yom Kippur or light a fire on Shabbat in order to save a person’s life. The rabbis’ rationale comes from their understanding of the verse “You shall keep My statutes and My judgments, which a person shall do, and he shall live by them’ (Leviticus 18:5), thereby teaching that the mitzvot were given to provide life, but they were not given so that one will die due to their observance.”
The daf for Shabbat TB Sanhedrin 74, is one
of the most famous pages in the entire Talmud because when we are allowed to
transgress a commandment and when we when we should submit to martyrdom.
Ҥ The
Gemara now considers which prohibitions are permitted in times of mortal
danger. Rabbi Yoḥanan says in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak:
The Sages who discussed this issue counted the votes of those assembled and
concluded in the upper story of the house of Nitza in the city of Lod:
With regard to all other transgressions in the Torah, if a person is
told: Transgress this prohibition and you will not be killed, he may
transgress that prohibition and not be killed, because the
preserving of his own life overrides all of the Torah’s prohibitions. This is
the halakha concerning all prohibitions except for those of idol
worship, forbidden sexual relations, and bloodshed. Concerning those
prohibitions, one must allow himself to be killed rather than transgress them.”
(Sefaia.org translation)
The Gemara
provides textual proof for the exemptions of idol worship and forbidden sexual
relations. Bloodshed or murder is forbidden based on logic. “It is based
on logical reasoning that one life is not preferable to another, and
therefore there is no need for a verse to teach this halakha. The Gemara
relates an incident to demonstrate this: As when a certain person
came before Rabba and said to him: The lord of my place, a local official, said
to me: Go kill so-and-so, and if not I will kill you, what shall I do?
Rabba said to him: It is preferable that he should kill you and you
should not kill. Who is to say that your blood is redder than his that your
life is worth more than the one he wants you to kill? Perhaps that man’s
blood is redder. This logical reasoning is the basis for the halakha
that one may not save his own life by killing another.” (Sefaria.org
translation) Since each human being is created in God’s image, each person’s
life has infinite value. Consequently, one should submit to martyrdom rather
than being forced to kill another human being.
Rav Dimi and
Ravin further limit the scope of martyrdom. “When Rav Dimi came from
Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia, he said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The
Sages taught that one is permitted to transgress prohibitions in the
face of mortal danger only when it is not a time of religious persecution.
But in a time of religious persecution, when the gentile authorities
are trying to force Jews to violate their religion, even if they issued
a decree about a minor mitzva, one must be killed and not transgress.”
(Sefaria.org translation)
“The Gemara
asks: And the presence of how many people is required so that it
should be deemed a public act? Rabbi Ya’akov says that Rabbi
Yoḥanan says: An action is not considered a public act if it
is performed in the presence of fewer than ten people. The Gemara
clarifies this point: It is obvious that we require that these
ten people be Jews, as it is written in the verse from which we derive
the requirement of ten for the sanctification of God’s name: “And I shall be
sanctified among the children of Israel” (Leviticus 22:32).” (Sefaria.org
translation)
The Gemara
further limits the scope of martyrdom in the case of idolatry by declaring that
one is not obligated to become a martyr when Jews are not being persecuted in
order to convert them. “Rava explains: As if you do not say so, then how
do we give them coal shovels [kevakei vedimonikei]? The Persian
priests would take coal shovels from every house, fill them with coals, and use
them to heat their temples on their festival days. Although this involved
assisting idol worship in public, Jews would not sacrifice their lives in order
not to do so. Rather, the reason they cooperated is certainly that a
measure enacted for the gentiles’ personal pleasure is different...a
measure enacted for a gentile’s personal pleasure is different, and
there is no obligation to sacrifice one’s life to avoid it.” (Sefaria.org
translation)
This Gemara
has been codified in our codes. For further study check out the sites.
Sefer
Hamitzvot Positive mitzvah #9 https://www.sefaria.org/Sefer_HaMitzvot%2C_Positive_Commandments.9.1?lang=bi
Mishneh
Torah Foundations 5 https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah%2C_Foundations_of_the_Torah.5.4?lang=bi
Sefer
HaChinukh Mitzvah 296 https://www.sefaria.org/Sefer_HaChinukh.296.3?lang=bi
