The Weekly Daf #72 
Sanhedrin 72-78
Week of 23-29 Sivan 5755 / 21-27 June 1995
By Rabbi Mendel Weinbach, Dean, Ohr Somayach Institutions    
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                           Whose Blood is Redder?

"The non-Jewish ruler of my city ordered me to murder a fellow Jew and if I 
fail to do so he will murder me.  What should I do?"

This is the question which was put to the Sage Rabbah.

"Allow yourself to be killed rather than commit murder," answered Rabbah.  
"Who says that your blood is redder than that if the other fellow?"
	
According to this logic if a group of Jews is commanded to deliver one if 
its members to enemies who intend to kill him and failure to do so will 
result in all of them being killed it would seem that they should be 
permitted to do so.  But the halacha, as stated in the Jerusalem Talmud and 
recorded by Rambam (Yesodei Hatorah 5:5), requires the entire group to give 
up their lives rather than be guilty of being active accomplices to the 
murder of one of their members. 

Rabbi Yossef Caro, in his Kessef Mishneh commentary on the Rambam, explains 
that the law requiring a Jew to give up his life rather than commit murder 
was received by Moshe at Sinai and passed down to us by oral tradition.  
The "blood not redder" idea is a logical explanation for this law provided 
by our Sages which fits most cases but was never intended to limit the 
application of the rule to only those situations.
                                                              Sanhedrin 74a

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                         Two Sides of the Same Coin

Apreemptive execution is legislated for the rebellious son whose 
undisciplined actions indicate an inevitable degeneration towards becoming 
a murderer.  He is considered better off dying before he reaches this level 
of guilt.

Death for the wicked, conclude our Sages, is a benefit for them and for the 
world while death for the righteous is bad for them and bad for the world.  
Sleep and wine for the wicked are benefits for them and for the world, 
while for the righteous they are bad for them and bad for the world.  
Tranquillity for the wicked is bad for them and bad for the world while for 
the righteous it is a benefit for them and for the world, (for they have 
the opportunity to study Torah and perform mitzvos -- Rashi).  Disunity for 
the wicked is a benefit for them and for the world while for the righteous 
it is bad for them and bad for the world.
                                                              Sanhedrin 72a
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