A Talmudic Prescription for Collective Safety and Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World)
With 5 Addenda
In the face of Israel’s infliction of unimaginable suffering and genocide upon Palestinians, I have been pondering a Talmudic text as I struggle daily with the daunting challenge of my responsibilities as a Jew and as a clinical and political psychologist.
Since I am hyperconscious of the sensitivities, conflicting perspectives and hostility among Jews across religious and political spectra, I strive to find openings for respectful dialogue. I thought this Talmudic teaching might be a way to provide insight, religious legitimacy and urgency for challenging the violent actions of the Israeli government (including its collusion with the US government.)
This quote is from a text by four third century Talmudic sages – Rabbis Rav, Chanina, Yochanan, and Chaviva:
“Whoever is able to protest against the actions of their family and does not do so, is held responsible for, is punishable for the actions of their family. Whoever is able to protest against the actions of the people of their town and does not do so is held responsible for the actions of their town. Whoever is able to protest against the actions of the whole world and does not do so is held responsible for the actions of the whole world.” Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 54b
I am not a Talmudic scholar. I do not study Talmud but occasionally use quotes that reveal profound psychological truths and wisdom related to real world consequences. It exemplifies Tikkun Olam, a central Jewish principle calling us to repair the world.
Since some elements of common English translations did not feel right to me, I was curious about what the ancient sages actually meant. I will dig deeper into these points that felt problematic.
· The implication that protest itself would be protective. Did the sages mean going to marches and holding signs? Writing Substacks? Is that what these wise rabbis believed would prevent us from being punished?
· The idea of being punished for the actions of one’s group did not feel exactly right.
Jews and others have protested the Israeli military occupation of Palestinians for decades.
Here I am in 1990 standing on a corner in Jerusalem on a Friday afternoon with Women in Black. They organized weekly vigils before Shabbat in major cities in Israel to protest a the occupation, holding up signs in various languages with the common slogan "Enough of the Occupation!" or "End the Occupation!" The word for “occupation” in Hebrew כיבוש also means “conquest.”
These protests didn’t stop people from being punished. In fact, many taken hostage or killed on October 7 were peace activists who worked against the occupation. Vivian Silver, 74, who was killed on October 7, was a peace leader who even drove sick Palestinians from Gaza to Israeli hospitals.
Since October, 2023, continuous protests all over the world for a ceasefire and hostage deal have not saved one Palestinian life. Nor have they protected members of the perpetrators’ people from punishment.
On October 27, 2023, Jewish protesters filled the New York City's Grand Central Station to demand an immediate Gaza cease-fire. 200 were arrested.(Photo: Jewish Voice for Peace/X)
2003 Gulf War Protests
In 2003, 15 million people protesting around the world did not prevent the US led invasion of Iraq which killed, traumatized and displaced millions, triggering cataclysmic global consequences which reverberate to this day. The world said “No to war” but the US Military Industrial Complex, or what former CIA analyst Ray McGovern calls the Military Industrial Congressional Intelligence Media Academia Think Tank Complex (MICIMATT), said “Yes.”
Found in Translation – a Psychologically Sound Prescription for Collective Safety
Assuming that Talmudic wisdom is reached through the intense deliberations of scholars, I decided to look up the original Hebrew to grasp their intended meaning. The nuanced meanings embedded in the precise language blew my mind.
Here is the Hebrew.
כל מי שאפשר למחות לאנשי ביתו ולא מיחה - נתפס על אנשי ביתו, באנשי עירו - נתפס על אנשיעירו, בכל העולם כולו - נתפס על כל העולם כולו.
Here is my attempt at precise translation, including variations of definitions. I put changed translations in italics. I welcome your ideas and insights in the comments.
Like the treatment of a chorus when printing song lyrics, the ”Everyone” opening phrase of the first sentence is not repeated in the second and third paragraphs in the original. They are included here for clarity.
“Everyone who has the possibility to oppose and work against (the actions) of the people in his household and does not eliminate them, is implicated in, is participating in, is complicit in, is perceived as being responsible for and is subject to consequences provoked by the actions of the people in his household.
(Everyone who has the possibility to oppose and work against (the actions) of the people in his) city, and does noteliminate them, is implicated in, is participating in, is complicit in, is perceived as being responsible for and is subject to consequences provoked by the actions the people in his city.
(Everyone who has the possibility to oppose and work against (the actions) of the world in its entirety, and does not eliminate them, is implicated in, is participating in, is complicit in, is perceived as being responsible, and is subject to consequences provoked by the actions of the entire world.
Deep Insights from the Original Language
The language chosen by the sages reveals deeper meanings that suggest specific moral prescriptions.
1. כל (kol) means all, Everybody, not “Whoever” or “Anybody”
2. מי שאפשר – (mi sheh efshar) – for whom it is possible, who has the possibility - not who is able. Some may be able, but in a situation where it is not possible. If there exists a possibility, and if one can create a possibility, one must act.
3. למחות (Limkhot) translated as “to protest against.” More appropriately, it means, to object, to oppose. In biblical and classical Hebrew it means to erase, wipe out, obliterate, to remove something completely(more than to protest against genocide or occupation but to actively work to end it.)
And ולא מיחה (v lo mikhah). And “if he does not erase, undo, eliminate, wipe out
4. נתפס – (Nitfas) One is not exactly punished for one’s group’s sins. Rather, one is נתפס Nitfas, caught up in, willingly complicit in, implicated in, etc. It is not an active or passive but reflexive form of the root T-F-S. Tafas. (Grammatical explanations and translations with the help of AI – Gemini)
a. The active form tafas, תָּפַס, means to catch, to grasp, to apprehend, like physically catching something or someone, to comprehend, to understand, to mentally grasp or understand a concept, to occupy, to take up space, to seize, to confiscate.
b. The passive form tafoos תפוס means caught, occupied, trapped, understood/grasped, seized. Also busy, like when the phone is busy.
c. The reflexive form is used נתפס nitfas – this grammatical Hebrew form is called “niphal.” It is not purely active or passive, but often reflexive. It can indicate that the subject performs the action upon itself. “Mediopassive” can indicate both passive and reciprocal meanings, or autocausative mediopassive which describes situations where the subject causes itself to change state.
Middle Voice: This is a nuanced meaning where the subject receives the action but is also (partially) involved in performing it. It falls between passive and reflexive.
So, this means that if one does not work actively to oppose and eradicate the transgressions of one’s household, community or world, that one
· Allows oneself to be caught up in transgressions
· One is willingly implicated in transgressions
· One is participating in their own capture
· One is knowingly seized by transgressions
· One is perceived by others as being part of transgressions
Note that the Palestinians are tafoos תפוס, captured, occupied, trapped. Although they have the possibility, to protest, and did so nonviolently, they do not have the possibility to eliminate their own occupation. Nothing they have done, violent or nonviolent, has ever improved their life conditions or ended their subjugation. It has gotten worse. There has been no way out permitted to them.
Conclusions – It’s not about morality or empathy but practicality and consequences. And it’s about all of us
The Talmud implores us to oppose, work against and to eliminate transgressions caused by the actions of people whom we are part of.
We are not asked to eliminate transgressions because they are wrong or immoral, and not because we feel empathy for those who are harmed. We are required, not to merely to protest transgressions but to erase them because it is practical, and the only way to ensure our own safety.
Today we call this “enlightened self-interest” - a philosophical ethical and principle which states that by acting to support and promote the interests of others, we ultimately serve our own self-interests. The way to be more secure is to make your enemy more secure.
There is some psychological wisdom in this, as it is obvious that many don’t respond to moral appeals. They are more likely to act out of self-preservation.
There are other examples where we are called to act for practical reasons, admonishing us not to create conditions that will come back to harm us. For example, according to the Talmud, it is a crime to humiliate someone in public.
“Anyone who whitens the face (embarrasses) of his fellow in public, it is as if he shed blood." Talmud, Baba Metzia 58b
כל המלבין פני חבירו ברבים כאילו
Criminalizing humiliation is to prevent violence. Evelin Lindner, the founder of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies, describes humiliation as the “nuclear bomb of the emotions.” Humiliation is a major trigger of violence. We are admonished not to humiliate, not because we don’t want to make people feel bad, but because it is likely to provoke violence. Humiliation can lead to shedding blood, even ours.
This Substack, Humiliation Everywhere All at Once! contains my deep dive presentation on humiliation applied to the case of Israel Palestine.
A Proposed Two-Stage Model of Opposition: Differentiation and Eradication
We can think of protest as the first of a two-stage process.
The first stage begins with differentiation and disidentification from those members of one’s group who are perpetrating transgressions. The second stage is undoing the transgression itself.
Stage one: Protest and Opposition - beneficial effects
1. Public disidentification differentiates some members of a group from those engaged in egregious actions. Protesters can be perceived as not being responsible by some, but there is no guarantee. Some will still lump all together. Protesters remain vulnerable to retaliation for their group’s actions as long as atrocities persist. Those who speak out also risk rejection and retaliation from their group, including friends and family.
2. When some members rise up to protest it serves to break up rigid stereotypes, prejudices and enemy images. Simplistic, dualistic, us/them, black-and-white, all-or-nothing thinking is common when dehumanizing the other. Differentiation introduces cognitive complexity and humanizes the protesters.
For example, many Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have only see Jews as settlers and soldiers pointing guns at them, entering their homes at night, frightening them, demolishing their homes, uprooting their families’ olive trees, now bombing them, etc. When Jewish human rights activists and Rabbis for Human Rights show up to protect them, to defend them, to stand up to those threatening them, they have another experience of Jews as more human and as allies.
3. Public actions of opposition allow kindred spirits and strange bedfellows to find each other, combine forces and organize. It is a prerequisite for being able to eradicate the transgression.
4. There is safety and power in numbers.
5. When some group members rise up, it signals those engaged in transgressions, who may be mindlessly engaged in “groupthink” that they are being challenged. It can plant seeds of doubt. Some may wake up and become part of the solutions. Others will double down.
6. Protest creates a space that allows people to evolve over time. People wake up in stages. It builds momentum towards a critical mass and a tipping point as events become more obvious and there is more social support.
Stage two is eradication of the transgression (i.e., violence, genocide, occupation) This is also a call for Tikkun Olam, to repair the world.
As we have seen, protest is not enough. The Torah and the Prophets call us to eradicate evil.
And you shall eradicate the evil from your midst"
Deuteronomy 13:6, 17:7, 21:21, 24:7).
It is more important than religious ritual observance, such as fasting.
Cry aloud, spare not, Lift up your voice like a trumpet, and declare unto My people their transgression.... Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the chains of wickedness, to undo the bonds of oppression, to let the crushed go free, and to break every yoke of tyranny. Isaiah 58:1,6
However, it is best for us to take on members of our own group. Those on the receiving end of our actions cannot free themselves from us. Third parties and bystanders can intervene to stop us, but we will be tarnished if we don’t do it ourselves. That way we redeem ourselves and our reputation. While liberating those whom we oppress, we liberate ourselves form being the oppressors. That is the best-case scenario.
The Responsibility of All to Act
“Few are guilty, but all are responsible” — Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Jews are inextricably caught up in the Palestinian occupation and genocide. But unlike the Palestinians, we are not inescapably trapped. We are not helpless to work to end this.
Since we have some freedom to act, we are responsible. Even if we are innocent in our hearts and personal behavior, we will bear consequences.
If we don’t work to put an end to violence, we will be responsible and be seen as responsible. When children are starving to death and entire families are being killed in airstrikes, in our name, and with US money and collusion, we don’t get off by saying that it’s Hamas’s fault.
The world is being forced to watch helplessly in horror as Jews are visibly and audibly shown as the perpetrators. Israeli officials and soldiers appear to be going berserk on an uncontrollable killing rampage with no end – streaming into the devises of the world 24/7.
IDF soldiers even make shameful Tik Toks of themselves sadistically celebrating their cruel perversions. This reflects on Jews who are identified with Israel. Many will perceive all Jews as liable. Protest is not enough. The only way to be safe is to end it.
Eldridge Cleaver said, “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” Everyone has to be part of the solution.
The sages didn’t say “Anybody.” They said “Everybody.” No one is exempt.
“It is not up to you to finish the work, but neither are you free to neglect it.”
לֹא עָלֶיךָ הַמְּלָאכָה לִגְמוֹר, וְלֹא אַתָּה בֶן חוֹרִין לְהִבָּטֵל מִמֶּנָּה
Rabbi Tarfon, Pirkei Avot (Sayings of the Fathers) 2:16
19th century German philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer said,
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
Opposing the transgressions of our own group can also pass through three stages
First you become aware, feel uncomfortable, defensive. You avoid, deny, disbelieve and fight against it.
Second, you struggle with its undeniability. You become reluctantly curious, feel challenged, learn about it, dialogue with people, come to terms with its reality, and painfully accept it. This can an experience of spiritual growth.
Third you find others and work together to correct it. More spiritual growth and Tikkun Slam
The Talmud sages gave us wise prescription for safety for all.
Our safety is intertwined. No one is safe until everyone is free.
Five Addenda
Addendum 1
Nine out of Gaza doctor’s 10 children killed in Israeli airstrike
Dr. Alaa al-Najjar left her ten children at home on Friday when she went to work in the emergency room at the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza.
Hours later, the bodies of seven children - most of them badly burned - arrived at the hospital, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. They were Dr. Najjar’s own children, killed in an Israeli airstrike on her family’s home, Gaza Civil Defense said. The bodies of two more of her children – a 7-month-old and a 12-year-old who authorities presume to be dead – remain missing.
Only one of her ten children, 11-year-old Adam, survived. Dr. Najjar’s husband Hamdi, himself a doctor, was also badly injured in the strike.
Civil defense and the health ministry say that the family’s home, in a neighborhood of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, was targeted by an Israeli airstrike.
Addendum 2
Peter Beinart Desecrating God’s Name 8 minutes
Gaza Constitutes the Greatest Jewish Spiritual Crisis Since the Holocaust.
Addendum 3
Shaiel Ben Ephraim – Interview and Substack
Former journalist, academic and diplomat writing on diplomacy & Middle East politics and history. Host of "Israel Explained." PhD in Military and Strategic Studies
Shaiel Ben Ephraim Interview with Owen Jones
Substack - I Used To Say Israel Was Not Committing A Genocide In Gaza I was Wrong. This is why
Excerpt from Conclusion - Shaiel calls upon Jews to take action
A Special Responsibility for Jews and Israelis
Perhaps the most crucial call to action falls to Jews and Israelis themselves. The Jewish people, with their history of genocide and persecution, have a unique and profound moral responsibility to speak out against these actions. The "Never Again" principle cannot be a selective commitment – it must apply to all human beings, regardless of nationality or ethnicity.
Jewish communities around the world must recognize that the actions of the Israeli government do not represent the values of Judaism, nor the memory of those who have suffered persecution. Silence is complicity. Active opposition is a moral imperative.
To Jewish and Israeli individuals:
· Speak out within your communities
· Support organizations working for Palestinian rights
· Challenge the narrative of dehumanization
· Demand accountability from your political leaders
· Recognize that proper security can only come through mutual understanding and respect, not through destruction
This is not about choosing sides between Israelis and Palestinians. This concerns upholding fundamental human rights, international law, and our shared humanity.
The world is watching. History will judge the actions of those who commit these potential atrocities and those who could stop them and remain silent.
The time for action is now. Stop the genocide.
Addendum 4 The Israeli Embassy Staff Murders of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim
I wrote most of this before the heartbreaking murders of Israeli embassy staff members, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim in front of the Capitol Jewish Museum on May 21. Ironically, they were leaving the American Jewish Committee's annual Young Diplomats Reception, "turning pain into purpose," to discuss humanitarian diplomacy throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
For those of us who study cycles of violence, these murders were shocking but not surprising. Many of us warned that such acts of violence would be inevitable as long as the massacres in Gaza and beyond continued. We warned that Israel’s actions that fuel flames of fear, humiliation and unspeakable trauma would endanger Jews in Israel and around the world.
This is understanding cause and effect. I predicted 9/11 based US provocative policies and fear-inducing asymmetrical power dynamics of the US. I didn’t know about Al Qaeda but I could feel in body that it would come back to us.
This is not antisemitism. This is blowback. It is from revulsion at witnessing genocide perpetrated by the Jewish state. The naïve call to “fight antisemitism” is illogical. It cannot be fought. It can be dramatically reduced by ending the violence, meeting basic human needs and engaging in peace processes.
I am frightened for more violence provoked by the Netanyahu, Ben Gvir and Smotrich regime. They are the primary cause of this “new antisemitism.” It is not only Jew hatred, but fear and horror. People are more dangerous when afraid. It is fear of abusive Jewish power, perhaps more appropriately called Judeaphobia, or Zionophobia, or anti-genocide.
May 30 - I just saw this note on Facebook from my friend and colleague, Mohammed Abu Nimbi from American University School for Peace and Conflict Resolution
Today, I learned that my former student Sarah Miligram was killed in the attack in Washington DC. I supervised Sarah’s master degree, special research project on PeaceTec.
Mohammed Abu-Nimer May 22 at 3:38 PM
I feel sadness and pain for the loss of another young life in this conflict. It is indeed tragic loss of life. The attack on the event near the Jewish museum in Washington DC is wrong and feeds into more politics of fear and hatred. Also, Sarah’s death is another reminder to all of us that civilians continue to pay the price of the war on Gaza.
Sarah’s research concluded with the need for Israeli-Palestinian peace that guarantees the freedom and dignity of all people.
To prevent further loss of life, we all need to speak out to: stop the war; stop the genocidal war on Gaza; stand against the starvation of all people in Gaza; end the Israeli apartheid; insist on freedom and dignity to all people; and value all lives regardless of their ethnicity or religion.
Addendum 5
Letter written by Doctors Against Genocide, distributed to embassies in DC
Note: I discovered DAG in January and have been going with them every month to visit congress members to ask for a ceasefire, humanitarian aid, medical supplies, a release of detained doctors, and more. You are welcome to join us for Hill visits. There is one on June 4 and June 24. We are not political. DAG has weekly zoom meetings on Sundays featuring medical staff on the ground in Gaza, and some who have returned.
In May, in desperation, we wrote this letter.
May 7, 2025
Your Excellency,
Children are starving to death as we write this.
As healthcare professionals and concerned citizens, we write with grave urgency to alert you to catastrophic suffering in Gaza. The Ministry of Health has reported that at least 65 children have now died of starvation. These numbers are not abstractions. They represent infants too weak to cry, mothers cradling skeletal toddlers, and pediatric wards where every heartbeat is a battle against famine.
For 66 days, Gaza has been cut off from adequate aid. The consequences are relentless:
● 10,000+ children suffer severe acute malnutrition and face imminent death without intervention.
● Pregnant women endure catastrophic malnutrition, triggering premature births in unsanitary, collapsing hospitals.
● 64% of medical consumables are depleted, including 55% of hemodialysis supplies and 87% of trauma/orthopedic surgical materials. Without these, amputations and infections become death sentences.
● 84% of ophthalmic surgical supplies are exhausted, leaving children blinded by debris and facing preventable, agonizing infections.
Fuel reserves may have just run out, meaning that:
● Neonatal incubators, dialysis machines, and operating theaters will shut down.
● 70% of subsequent deaths will be women and children, patients who could survive with basic resources.
This is not a natural disaster. This is a man-made famine, engineered by blockade and the denial of food, water, and medicine. Every 40 minutes, a child dies. How many more must perish before your government acts?
We implore you to:
Do everything in your power to ensure the immediate and urgent delivery of food, water, and fuel to Gaza to save lives from starvation and end the illegal, inhumane blockade. This cannot be delayed one minute.
Implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 2728, adopted on 25 March 2024, which demands an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and calls for a lasting, sustainable ceasefire. Each hour of delay is a death sentence.
Lead the international community in taking decisive action to guarantee the safety, dignity, and survival of all civilians in Gaza. The world must act together now.
End all military complicity. Weapons shipments enabling this carnage stain your hands with the blood of Gaza’s children.
This is a matter of life and death.
Bread, not bombs. Let the children eat.
This is just one image of a once healthy child who is now starving to death.
Doctors Against Genocide is a Global Coalition of Healthcare Workers united against genocide
leadership@doctorsagainstgenocide.org doctorsagainstgenocide.org
Dr. Perlman, may we please discuss the possibility of your including this piece in my book on mass deception?
Precious wisdom. Thank you so much.