| Резюме: |  By Rabbi Yair Hoffman October 7th was one of the most horrific days since the holocaust for the Jewish people, But about a year ago, Russia, formerly on friendly terms with the State of Israel, did something that gives new meaning to the term “stabbing in the back.” They helped build and launch a spy satellite for Iran – a country that has openly said that they plan the destruction of Israel. And Iran isn’t just saying it – they are the ones orchestrating Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria attacking Eretz Yisroel, and now Yemen’s Houthi rebels who have seized an Israeli-linked cargo ship in a crucial Red Sea shipping route Sunday. They also took its 25 crew members hostage. The satellite is named, “Khayyam” – after a 12th-century Persian mathematician who was known for unifying the fields of algebra and geometry. Of course, Iran is saying that the satellite was launched in order to help the environment. But the fact of the matter is that this satellite launch places Israel in grave danger as it includes a high-resolution camera that gives it continuous monitoring of all of Israel and also the Middle-east. This places Israel, and Ukraine, and the moderate Arab neighbors of Iran in the category of, “Habah l’harg’cha Hashkaim l’hargo – if someone is coming to kill you, wake up early.” This satellite has the potential to give Iran the ability to pinpoint specific targets in Israel and to give over that information to its proxies. It is a game-changer, for the enemy, Heaven forbid. THE SATELLITE NEEDS TO COME DOWN There is no question that this satellite needs to come down. The problem is that only China, India, Russia, and the United States have successfully used anti-satellite tech, and have only done it on their own obsolete satellites. The good news is that Israel has something called the Chetz III (Chetz means “arrow” in Hebrew). The Chetz III is a missile that is capable of taking down satellites and was jointly funded and developed by Israel’s Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and the United States (specifically Boeing). Israel, the United States, Europe, and the Arab World all need to join forces to bring down the satellite. And now is the time to do it. Will such a move precipitate an exo-atmospheric international cold war? Probably. But, nonetheless, it must be done because human life is at stake here. THE SOURCE FOR PERMITTING SUCH A MOVE There are actually three different sources that allow for such a rescue of human life. Two of them are based on a Gemorah in Sanhedrin, and the third source is found in the Rambam. The Braisah cited in Sanhedrin (73a) asks: From where is it derived that with regard to one who pursues another in order to kill him, the pursued party may be saved at the cost of the pursuer’s life? The verse states: “You shall not stand idly by the blood of another” (Leviticus 19:16); rather, you must save him from death. The Gemara asks: But does this verse really come to teach us this? This verse is required for that which is taught in a baraita: From where is it derived that one who sees another drowning in a river, or being dragged away by a wild animal, or being attacked […] |