YK: R’ Meir of Rothenberg’s Ransom Refusal

Salachti is a Yom-Kippur eve Selichot written by Rabbi Meir of Rothenberg (1215-1305) who was imprisoned by the local authorities, and refused ransom in the fear that this would become normative practice, to imprison prominent Jews in an effort to seek exorbitant ransoms. Rabbi Meir died in prison, and was only brought to burial years later. Look the story up online, or see the “Unpaid Ransom” book about his story written by Rabbi Dr. Marcus Lehman.

I share this background story this year because of the current events in the Middle East. A lesser known part of the terror financing is the huge ransom sums paid to free captured foreigners, which gets very little media attention. This has become business as usual for many countries, especially in Europe. Aside for the United States and the UK, which both have firm policies refusing to pay ransoms, for the very same reason that Reb Meir of Rothenberg refused to be ransomed. This sets precedent and whets the terrorist appetite and basically puts a price on every (accessible) citizens head. It opens the door to more and more kidnappings. This is why the recent beheadings have been of UK and US citizens, other countries pay their way out. This debate is also an intense conversation in Israel especially following the Gilad Shalid lopsided prisoner trade.

The Sotloff’s seem to have wanted to pay the ransom, but the US government would not allow it. This is very intense and troubling for the immediate family of the victim whose life literally hangs in the balance. But as troubling and maddening it is for the family, the government policy is in place to benefit society, for the bigger picture and the longer term. This is a hard ethical question, a question that has no good answers. Rabbi Rothenberg’s personal sacrifice hundreds of years ago and the recent beheadings bring this question to the fore.

And the lesson for us? Sometimes we can’t just look out for ourselves and do what’s best for us. There’s a bigger picture, there are needs of the community, there’s a longer term view. Sometimes what’s best for the community or family unit can be quite hard or uncomfortable for the individual. Of course there is a balance, and there’s much value in doing whats best for you, as community does not always come first. But this is a lesson for us to consider. We should not always put our needs first.