Our own Rabbi Gadi makes The Shofar’s “Jews in the News” column this month for his answer to Newsday’s question, “How does your faith view nonviolent protest?” Rabbi Gadi submitted this reply to the “Asking the Clergy” column, published on Jan. 14:

“Justice, justice shall you pursue” (Deuteronomy 16:20) is a cardinal precept in Scripture, highlighting the imperative to protest any injustice or transgression. Abraham, the first Jew, protests against what he perceives as God’s injustice in wiping out Sodom, the righteous along with the wicked, and says “Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” (Genesis 18:25)

The Talmud teaches us that whoever can protest to his household if they see any transgression, and does not, is accountable for the sins of his household. The Talmud passage concludes, “…if he could protest to the whole world and does not, he is accountable for the whole world. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 54b)

While it is clear that Jewish sources support protest, it is equally clear that any civil disobedience must be nonviolent. When Moses sees one Jew striking another in Egypt, he refers to him as “Evil one, why do you hit your fellow!” (Exodus 1:13) According to the rabbinical scholar Maimonides, whoever hits his fellow Jew commits a grave sin (Chovel uMazik 5:1) The wisdom of our forebears encourages us to argue and debate when attempting to resolve disagreements, yet draws clear lines that we must not transgress.