The Jewish History Podcast - With Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe · TORCH

Ep. 81: Hostage Rescues and Ransoms in Jewish History and Law

·1 hr 14 min·5 clips

Rabbi Meir used Elikad the Meir Anani to recover a captive from a Roman brothel.

1. The Jewish History Podcast with Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe focuses this episode on hostage rescues and ransoms in Jewish history and law. 2. Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe hosts and narrates the episode, and the show’s Torch dedication to Eddie and Lottie Setton opens the program. 3. The episode asks what Jewish history, Torah law, and past rescue stories say about captives in the middle of a current war. 4. Wolbe anchors the discussion in October 7, 2023, Hamas, Gaza, and the ongoing hostage question. 5. He says the war has two stated goals: eliminating Hamas leadership and retrieving hostages. 6. He notes that the two goals can conflict when hostages may be held in Hamas tunnel networks. 7. Wolbe also mentions a reported deal involving Qatar, a pause rather than a ceasefire, and the release of women and children. 8. He frames the topic as personal, citing a community family member believed to be a hostage, Eitan Avraham Ben-Ephrat. 9. The biblical survey begins with Abraham, who mobilized 318 men to rescue Lot in Genesis 14. 10. Wolbe says tradition presents Abraham as persuading reluctant fighters and taking a dangerous rescue seriously. 11. He then turns to Numbers 21 and says Amalek disguised itself as Canaanites and seized a hostage. 12. David’s rescue at Tziklag follows, with the Amalekites taking the families of David and his men. 13. Wolbe says David consulted the high priest and the Urim and Tumim before pursuing the kidnappers. 14. He describes the pursuit as a 24-hour battle that ended with the hostages recovered and most of the Amalekites defeated. 15. The halachic section cites the Rambam’s claim that redeeming captives is greater than charity. 16. Wolbe says the Shulchan Aruch treats delay in rescue as akin to murder. 17. He highlights Rabbi Yehoshua’s ransom of a gifted Roman captive who became Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha. 18. He then tells the story of Rabbi Meir rescuing his sister-in-law from a brothel by using the phrase 'Elikad the Meir Anani.' 19. The tone is serious, historical, and law-focused, with recurring Torah citations and Talmudic stories. 20. Listeners interested in Jewish law, biblical history, and modern Israeli hostage debates will get the most from it.

As heard by us

A grave, history-led look at captivity, ransom, and the duties a Jewish community owes its own.

It takes hostage-taking seriously, as both a moral and legal problem. The piece moves from October 7th, 2023 and the war centered on the hostages into older Jewish memories of ransom, rescue, and what the tradition says about people taken by enemies.

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Why you'd press play

When you want a serious Jewish history episode on hostages, ransom, and rescue.

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