Perhaps the most famous kidnapping in history is that of Yosef by his brothers, as told in Parshas Vayeishev. Yosef was subsequently sold to an Egypt-bound group of Yishmoelim, which ultimately led to the descent of the entire family to Egypt, from which emerged the Jewish nation. Although strictly speaking it would have been more ideal to discuss kidnapping related halachos in Parshas Vayeishev, in Parshas Vayeishev we only hear the sad part of the story. In this week’s parsha, however, we get to hear that Yosef was eventually reunited with his father and we get to hear a happy part of the story, therefore, I waited until this week to go into the topic. Just like Yosef was eventually reunited with his family, we hope that the same thing happens with our brethren in Eretz Yisroel who were kidnapped by Hamas and are currently being held hostage in Gaza.
This week we will discuss a halachah related to kidnapping and to captives: the payment of ransom in exchange for freeing the captive. Harsh conditions of exile have led to a wealth of halachic literature related to the subject of paying ransom money, whether to vagabond bandits or sometimes even to kings and local rulers.
Ransom money is not unknown even today and is even commonplace in some areas of the world. A more familiar form of kidnapping, certainly for those living in Eretz Yisroel, is terror groups, making political demands—often the release of terrorists—in exchange for releasing captives.
An instinctive belief is that no price is too high in exchange for a captive’s life and freedom. But is this true? Is there a maximum, past which ransom should not be paid? Are there exceptions to the rule? And how are non-monetary ransom demands evaluated? These questions, among others, are discussed below.
Paying More than a Captive’s Value
The Rambam (Hilchos Matnas Aniyim 8:10, based on the Gemara in Bava Basra 8b) states in the context the mitzvah of tzedokah: ואין לך מצוה רבה כפדיון שבויים – “There is no greater mitzvah (i.e. use of tzedokah money) than redeeming captives.” Based on its special importance, redemption of captives is the first priority for allocating tzedokah money. Echoing the Rambam, the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 252:1) likewise states: כפדיון שבויים ואין מצוה גדולה - “No mitzvah is as great as redeeming captives.”
The Gemara (Bava Basra 8b) highlights the plight of the captive in the hands of his captors. The latter can torture him, pass him through great suffering, and even kill him. He is entirely at their mercy. The Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 252:3) thus writes that one who can redeem a captive yet fails to do so is considered to be murdering at each moment.
Nevertheless, the Mishnah (Gittin 45a) teaches that captives should not be redeemed for any price:אין פודין את השבויין יתר על כדי דמיהן - “Captives are not redeemed for more than their value.”
The reason for this is discussed by the Gemara, which mentions two possible reasons, without deciding which of them is the true reason. One reason is: דוחקא דצבורא - that it is too weighty a burden on the community. According to this reason, Rashi writes that a private individual is permitted to redeem his own family or loved ones, even for great sums of money.
Another suggested reason is: דלא לגרבו ולייתי טפי - that payment of large ransoms encourages captors to continue in their evil ways, taking further captives to make money. Based on this rationale, a private individual may not pay exorbitant sums for the release of his family, since this encourages kidnappings and places the community at risk.
What is a Person’s Value?
In days of old a person’s value could be established by reference to the slave market. The Shu”t Maharam Lublin (15) writes that it is prohibited to ransom a person for more than his value on the local slave market. In the absence of a local slave market, value can be ascertained by comparison to a slave market elsewhere.
Today, however, in the complete absence of slave markets, the question of how to estimate a value becomes problematic. Addressing the question of why it is customary to ransom captives for more than their value without discerning between elderly or young, the Radvaz (1:40) explains that a person’s value is determined according to the norm for ransoming captives.
In other words, Jewish captives should not be ransomed for a higher sum than equivalent non-Jewish captives. The Radvaz concludes by mentioning that Jews are generally willing to spend far more than non-Jews on ransoming their captives, and he greatly praises this quality—even though halachah dictates that only the standard sum should be offered.
The yardstick given by the Radvaz seems difficult to implement today: demands for ransom payments are scarce, and there are certainly no official statistics to go by. Because of this difficulty, Rav Shaul Israeli (Shu”t Chavas Binyanim, sha'ar 2, no. 15) ruled that any sum of money is today considered more than the value of a captive. In his opinion, one should not pay any ransom money whatsoever to procure a captive’s freedom.
This opinion is extreme among halachic authorities. The general approach of poskim seems to be that each case should be judged on its specific merits (see further below). Though it remains inherently vague, the basic yardstick is that one should not pay more than non-Jews would pay for the freedom of non-Jewish captives.
