[Avodah] Tu B'Shvat "Don't Cut Your Nose to Spite Your

[Michael Makovi]

>
> --- interesting the strategy in 2nd intifada, where war was made by jews
> davka on olive trees  and probably other roadside trees. as i understand,
> there were 2 rationales--  1] trees used by the enemy as cover to kill jews
> 2] land-revering enemy  esteems his olive trees almost as a demigod.
>
> the rationale of 1] is pikuch nefesh. the rationale of 2] is demoralization
> of the enemy; or revenge/spite of the enemy.
>
> the reading of the pasuk would seem to allow 1]; not  sure about 2].
> does anyone know if there were any Sh'ut  about  arbocide limitations in
> guerilla war/occupation ?

First things first, I forget, is the tree pasuk talking about a
milkhemet reshut or mitzvah? If the former, then we have no questions
about the Palestinians - chop the trees away.

If it is afilu b'milchemet mitzvah, then surely we can still say that
for pikuach nefesh, we can chop the trees. If chopping the trees -->
demoralization --> fewer terrorist attacks, then it is an absolutely
unnecessary to ask whether we can chop a tree to save a human life. We
are permitted to chop a tree when its wood is worth more than its
fruit. Here, its "wood" is worth whatever a human life is worth,
surely more than its fruit!

I think the Torah is talking more about a siege, where we are in
control, and we would chop the trees just to spite them. In other
words, it won't hurt the invader (us) to siege them *without* chopping
the trees. We are in control anyway.

But here, we are not in control. The Palestinians are in control (I'm
serious). And chopping their trees will help us defeat them.

Mikha'el Makovi