Reply To: Being Mekarev an Intermarried Jew

JJ2020: I’m sure you heard “כל מי שנעשה רחמן במקום אכזרי, סוף שנעשה אכזרי במקום רחמן.” and “כל מי שנעשה רחמן במקום אכזרי, סוף שמדת הדין פוגעת בו” — “He Who is Compassionate to the Cruel Will Ultimately Become Cruel to the Compassionate”. This applies not only to Bein Adom L’Chaivero but to Bein Adom L’Mokom just as well. When we are required to mete out punishment for a Bein Adom L’Makom sin, it is cruel not to. The only reason Beis Din today doesn’t carry out corporal punishments is because the local non-Jewish governments prevent us. As I said, not too long ago the governments in both Europe and in the Arab lands delegated to the Jewish community the authority to enforce Jewish law. And the butei dinim did exactly that. Quite properly.

It is unfortunate we cannot do so today. If America would not prevent or penalize us for doing so today, we would do so today just as we did so in the past.

It is not “Shalom” or “Darchei Noam” to ignore wanton violations of Halacha or refrain from speaking out against them or declaring the severity of it and the normative punishments for them.