Kindness to the cruel

The Midrash teaches an important lesson (Yalkut Shimoni, Samuel I, 221): "Those who are cruel to the kind end up being kind to the cruel".

Hadera is a lovely little city between Tel Aviv and Haifa. Even though it has grown tremendously in recent years, it still feels like a small town. The local Lubavitcher rabbi there, Rav Klonimus Kupchik shlit'a, is like the city's unofficial mayor. Thanks to his three and a half decade influence, Hadera is a place where everyone gets along, despite differences of outlook and opinion.

A few hours ago, lovely citrus-blossom-scented Hadera became a blood bath. A frenzied shahid named Hassan Abu Zeid from a the Jenin-area village of Qabatiyeh blew himself up, killing 5 Haderans and maiming 30 more. Now hear this: At the prodding of Ms. Rice, Sharon released Abu Zeid and scores of other terrorists from Israeli prisons a mere 30 days ago.

The same regime that shows cruelty to the refugees of Gush Katif (present tense, their plight is not over - many are still homeless and jobless), the same regime that has trampled the Torah and its commandments as well as the religious population, is the regime that releases convicted terrorists from prison.

The terrorist attack in Hadera is the sour fruit of kindness to the cruel. As soon as someone ignores Torah values, everything turns upside down. The problem is that in Israel, ignoring Torah values is more dangerous than Russian Roulette. May Hashem take pity on Yiddishe kinder.