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On 10/10/2011 4:00 PM, Harvey Benton wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:1318280456.35622.YahooMailNeo@web113101.mail.gq1.yahoo.com"
type="cite">
<div
style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">are
there rules of warfare in the torah other than <br>
not to cut down one's enemies trees?<br>
eg, sheva nations?<br>
do we give them the option to accept 7mbn?<br>
amalek?<br>
suicide pills? if one believes (high probability<br>
of torture?)<br>
torturing suspects (againn, if imminient danger<br>
is present??)</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
There are rules of warfare other than not cutting down fruit trees. A
book was published recently called Torat HaMelech which apparently
deals with those subjects, many of which are far from politically
correct. The book has not been translated into English, so far as I'm
aware.<br>
<br>
We don't know who the 7 nations are any more, because the Assyrians
mixed up all the nations by transplanting entire populations hither and
yon. Rabbi Meir Kahane ztzvk'l wrote, based on the Abarvanel, that
since the reason for the different laws regarding the 7 nations was
because they honestly believed the land was theirs, and would therefore
never give up on trying to get rid of us, that there might be grounds
for applying the laws concerning the 7 nations to the Palestinian
Arabs, albeit rabbinically.<br>
<br>
Amalek. It's an interesting question. Is the mitzvah of eradicating
Amalek a mitzvah on each Jew, or on all Jews as a nation? And is the
mitzvah to kill any individual Amalekite or only to wipe them out en
masse?<br>
<br>
Suicide is murder. Not only does the possibility of torture not make
it permissible, but to the best of my knowledge, even the certainty of
torture doesn't. Even if you're actually *being* tortured.<br>
<br>
Torturing suspects, again, to the best of my knowledge, is not even
mentioned halakhically. It would come down to whether torture is
effective, I suppose. If you could save Jewish lives by torturing
someone and you didn't do so because it offended someone's
sensibilities, that would be a Very Bad Thing. Even if you believe
that torture doesn't result in usable information, I don't see any
reason it would be forbidden halakhically, other than the possibility
of a chillul Hashem.<br>
<br>
Lisa<br>
<br>
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