{"id":2863,"date":"2016-05-15T14:17:55","date_gmt":"2016-05-15T14:17:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmoscow.com.masterhost.tech\/?p=2863"},"modified":"2017-01-26T14:26:41","modified_gmt":"2017-01-26T14:26:41","slug":"revenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/?p=2863","title":{"rendered":"Revenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shabbat Candle Lighting Times for
\nMoscow, Russia
\nFriday, May 13th
\nLight Candles at 20:13
\nNEW! Kabbalat Shabbat Services 20:30
\nShabbat, May 14th,
\nShabbat Ends 21:50
\nTorah Portion: Kedoshim<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Revenge!<\/p>\n

Does that word sound sweet?<\/p>\n

The craving for \u2018justice\u2019 seems like a natural \u2013even primal – impulse. What else are you supposed to feel when someone cuts you off on the highway, or actually perpetrates harm (G-d forbid)? The universe seems to cry out for balance. We often can\u2019t find rest until the perpetrator gets his just deserts and the victim\u2019s welfare and dignity are restored.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the Torah expressly forbids revenge. The Torah asks to us elevate our personal behavior, to rise above the impulse toward grudges and retaliation. So how should we respond to an injustice?<\/p>\n

The Torah paints a fine line for us to walk (the judicial system and international military policy deserve their own essay; this piece is addressing challenges in our personal lives). When I experience an offense, I need to recognize it; I shouldn\u2019t play the \u2018see no evil\u2019 game, because that prevents me from dealing with the problem. At the same time, I shouldn\u2019t plunge into indignation and anger at the scoundrel who hurt me. Resentment tends to become very mind-consuming and self-destructive, so I\u2019d actually be continuing my abuser\u2019s evil work of damaging my life.<\/p>\n

Instead, the Torah tells us to speak up, effectively, and call the violator\u2019s attention to the wrong perpetrated. That means I should try to spark his awareness and recognition, which is beyond simply unloading my anger. I should wait until I\u2019ve calmed down, and then speak with the wrongdoer to help him understand how anti-social and hurtful his behavior was. Maybe I can actually help him avoid repeating his negative behavior.<\/p>\n

So the next time I feel that someone hurt me, I need to immediately get a grip on my emotions, staying calm so I can plan an effective response.<\/p>\n

I need to acknowledge that I can\u2019t undo the past. Yet, I can assess how to might protect myself for the future. And I can, hopefully, help the perpetrator recognize how hurtful he was.<\/p>\n

But I should leave the universal justice to G-d. My wrongdoer will be responsible to G-d – if not the human judicial system – for his harmful choice.<\/p>\n

At the same time, I accept that the pain on my end is something G-d has destined for my soul. I need to find a way to get to the other side while retaining my humanity, and perhaps even becoming stronger from the exercise.<\/p>\n

Sweet? Maybe not.<\/p>\n

Meaningful? I think so.
\nShabbat Shalom!
\nRabbi Yanky Klein<\/p>\n

This email is In Loving memory of my dear father
\nR’ Yerachmiel Binyamin Halevi ben R, Menachem Klein OBM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shabbat Candle Lighting Times for Moscow, Russia Friday, May 13th Light Candles at 20:13 NEW! Kabbalat Shabbat Services 20:30 Shabbat, May 14th, Shabbat Ends 21:50 Torah Portion: Kedoshim Revenge! Does that word sound sweet? The craving for \u2018justice\u2019 seems like a natural \u2013even primal – impulse. What else are you supposed to feel when someone …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2866,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2863"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2863"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2863\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2865,"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2863\/revisions\/2865"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}