http://jtf.org/forum/index.php/topic,60815.msg541629.html#msg541629Adapted from an article in Hebrew by Rabbi Moshe Tzuriel
It was incredible to see. God struck Sharon down with a stroke, and rabbis across the board, from the Zionist Camp to the Haredi Camp, were praying for his welfare. Yeshivas were learning Torah for his "refua shleima"; tehilim were being recited for his quick recovery; "mikubalim", mystic rabbis were doing a "tikun nefesh" for him, as the head rabbis of Israel were calling for a day of prayer, to open the holy arc and bequeath the Lord for mercy…
Where did they get this from? The prime source they quoted to justify the festivities, was the saying of our sages: "in the fall of your enemy, do not rejoice." They added the Talmud, in Sanhedrin 39, where it says that the Almighty isn't happy with the fall of the wicked. Some said that the honor of the state of Israel was at stake, and we must always pray for the health of its leaders. Even Jews with normal instincts were starting to get confused regarding how one should react when this "moser" (a Jew who turns over Jews or Jewish property over to the goyim), who destroyed 22 Jewish educational institutions and wiped out another 16 shuls, was abruptly tossed out of the political arena. How can we be sorry about what happened to him? The man himself proclaimed, just two hours before his stroke, that he planned to continue his program of unilateral withdrawal, which means forfeiting 90% of Yesha! Are we supposed to pray for the welfare of a man who, if he recovers, is going to cause irreparable Chillul Hashem and personal damage to 200,000 Jews?
The fact is, that Jewish sources teach that one should ask God to punish the wicked. This concept is all over the book of Psalms, as David curses his tormentors – those who slandered and incited against him. David is referring to Jews, such as Doeg and Achitopel! Here are but a few samples: "His mischief will return upon his own head, and upon his own skull will his violence come down" (7:17); "Let them be as chaff before the wind; and may the angel of the Lord cast them forth" (35:5); "For yet but for a little while, and the wicked shall be no more" (37:10); "Behold, those that hate you, I ever hate, Oh Lord! And those that rise up against you, I feel loathing. With the utmost hatred do I hate them" (139:21-22) This is but a tiny sample of David asking God to punish the wicked. Again, according to almost all the commentators, like the Radak, the Mezudat David, and Sforno, David is talking about Jewish enemies.
So what about the widely quoted Sanhedrin 39, where upon the drowning of the Egyptians, God tells the angels, "The creation of My Hands are drowning in the sea, and you sing a song?" Unfortunately, the falsifiers didn't finish reading the text. The very next line says: "He is not happy, but He commands others to be happy". That is, God is not happy that the evil people died without doing "tsheuva", but those who have been rescued certainly must give praise and thanks.
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