Profit from Blood

I want to return to a verse that I’ve talked about before on this blog. Leviticus 19:16b says “Do not stand upon the blood of your neighbor. I am HaShem.”

There are two points I want to raise from this half-verse. First, how we approach the idea of the death penalty and second, what this means about what we should buy and sell.

The sages who compiled the Talmud refer to this verse to explain Mishnah, Sanhedrin 8:7, which reads, “And these are those who are to be saved [from doing evil] even at the cost of their lives…” There follows a list of sins which should be prevented at all costs, including killing the person who plans to commit them. These are issues of self-defense, for the most part, such as a person who is setting out to commit murder or rape. (cf. BT Sanhedrin 73A.) But the thing I want to call your attention to is the way they talk about it. A person who sets out to commit murder is to be “saved” at the cost of his own life.

The same attitude can be applied in cases of capital punishment for a crime already committed. We never take up the attitude that someone needs to be punished simply as retribution for what they’ve done. We prevent the sin for the sake of the sinner. We execute the sinner for the sake of the sinner, in order to atone for the sin.

Lev. 19:18 is found in the context of business practices, and a general description of how to not take advantage of those around us. In this context, it is likely that “do not stand upon the blood of your neighbor” is intended to tell us that we should not benefit from death. This should cause us to carefully think and research what we buy and sell. Recent information about unsafe factory conditions, or products which are made available by war and oppression are in violation of the clear meaning of this verse. So we should not assume that these reports are correct, but we should carefully investigate and make an ethical decision when we make a purchase.