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Honor Killings ?

I was extremely troubled by a suggestion made in passin in the Pinchas DIN TORAH VEHORA’AH that Go’el HaDam was instituted to redeem “wounded pride”.

This sounds to me rather too much like the “honour killing” concept which is so much a part of the Islamic religion and with which I would have thought Judaism has no connection. Certainly I have never seen anything like it in any Torah writings. Is there a source for this idea?

Surely the idea of go’el ha-dam is because of lo sa’amod al dam reie’cha and it is – perhaps like ben sorer umorer – not really meant to be carried out hence the orei miklot.

I would be very grateful for your prompt response.

Answer:

Yes, I can understand why this suggestion is troubling.

However, please note that according to one opinion the Torah means that there is actually a mitzvah to kill the accidental killer.

Why should there be a mitzvah to kill him? Moreover, in a civilized society why should we need to protect him by means of the arei miklat? If there is a prohibition against murder, why should the Torah assume, and imply at the very least permission to kill him, so that he requires the protection of the Arei Miklat?

It is possible that a concept akin to “honor killings” was once prevalent in all ancient societies, and the Torah relates to the society as it was. Certainly, today we consider the concept barbaric and wrong, but it is important to realize that modern moral understanding was not always prevalent, and many of the ideas we take for granted were entirely foreign to ancient societies.

Note, however, that we never find the explicit idea of an “honor killing” in the Torah, and surely not in the modern context that we are accustomed with, such as killing a girl who was “defiled” etc.

Best wishes.

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