What does it mean to fight as a Jew? This question has become acute since the beginning of the Iron Swords War. Civilian casualties, the status of international law, hostage negotiations, public diplomacy, and a range of other topics now occupy our water cooler and shabbat table conversations. What does Judaism have to say about these topics? And what might Jewish history teach us about these quandaries? This series will explore fascinating moments from our past to understand how Jews developed military ethics after many centuries of powerlessness. We’ll discuss great thinkers and figures of the past like Rav Kook, Rav Goren, Rav Yisraeli, and others to see how they helped develop a new area of Jewish law.
Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Brody is the executive director of Ematai, an organization dedicated to helping Jews navigate dilemmas regarding end-of-life care, as well as a columnist for the Jerusalem Post. He previously served as the dean of the Tikvah Online Academy, a rebbe at Yeshivat Hakotel, and a research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute. He is the author of two award-winning books, Ethics of Our Fighters: A Jewish View on War and Morality (Maggid) and A Guide to the Complex: Contemporary Halakhic Debates (Maggid). His popular writings have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, First Things, City Discourse, and many Jewish publications. A graduate of Harvard College, he received rabbinic ordination from the Israeli Chief Rabbinate, an MA in Jewish philosophy at the Hebrew University, and his PhD from Bar Ilan University Law School.
