[Avodah] Redemption

[Lisa Liel via Avodah]

On 6/10/2017 1:36 AM, Akiva Miller via Avodah wrote:
> .
>
> R' Zev Sero wrote:
>
>> And every time we mention a murdered person we say HYD, because
>> Kel Nekamos Hashem.
> I concede that to be a real pasuk, Tehillim 94:1. But when I see "HYD"
> actually spelled out (rather than just the rashei taivos), the nun is
> often missing. "Hashem yikom damam" - Hashem will uphold their blood.
> Not quite the same thing as vengeance. I've long wondered which is
> intended, when only the rashei taivos appear.

You're mistaken about the Hebrew.  Yikom is not "uphold".  That would be 
yakim.  Yikom has a dagesh in the quf because of the dropped nun.  There 
is literally no question whatsoever that Hashem yikom damo means may God 
avenge his blood.

> It is not my nature to make such comments without offering examples,
> but this phrase is not an easy one to find. So instead I tried an
> experiment: I switched to my Hebrew keyboard, and tried Google: Heh
> apostrophe [blank] yud nun kuf vav mem-sofit [blank] dalet mem
> mem-sofit. Hashem yinkom damam got 9960 hits. Without the nun, 45,300
> hits. Quite a difference! When I changed "damam" to "damo", both
> numbers went down by about half, with "yinkom" still far fewer than
> "yikom".

Yinkom is a mistake.  Just like the future of nosei'a is yisa and the 
future of nofel is yipol, the future of nokem is yikom.

> In any case, even if Hashem *is* a God of Vengeance, that doesn't mean
> it's appropriate for us.

Consider Bamidbar 31.  In the second verse, Hashem tells Moshe: Nekom 
nikmat bnei Yisrael me-ha-Midyanim.  Take the vengeance of Israel 
against the Midianites.  In the next verse, Moshe tells Bnei Yisrael 
latet nikmat Hashem b'Midyan.  To take the vengeance of Hashem against 
the Midianites.  Moshe isn't arguing with Hashem here.  When we take 
vengeance upon our enemies, it *is* Hashem's vengeance.

I recommend that you watch the video of Rabbi David Bar Hayim debating 
Jonathan Rosenblum at the Israel Center back in 1991 (I think).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYefNy1D0DY

They both bring sources for their arguments on the subject, and rather 
than repeat all of them here, have a look.

> RZS continues in another post:
>
>> But there is no issur on taking revenge.  There is only an
>> issur on doing so against your own people, because you are
>> commanded to love them like yourself, and you wouldn't want
>> revenge against yourself.  But the objection to revenge in
>> itself does not come from any Jewish source.
> Seriously??? How do you understand the first part of "Lo sikom v'lo
> sitor"? (Vayikra 19:18)
It doesn't just say lo tikom v'lo titor.  It says lo tikom v'lo titor 
*et bnei amecha*.  Do not take vengeance or hold a grudge *against* your 
own people.  Detaching the first part of that from its object is 
unjustifiable.  It would be like taking lo tochal chametz, dropping the 
object, and saying that we're forbidden to eat.

Lisa

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