What would happen if an infant was born with the intellect of an adult? A philosopher wrote long ago that the infant would die of shame. A great Rabbinic sage arrived at the same conclusion. Why? There are realities and facts of life over which the infant has no control. The body and its organs operate reflexively, without a mind to control their functions. An infant with the intellect of an adult would be unable to cope with this utter helplessness, the shame of being completely reliant on reflex would be more than his adult mind could bear.
What a world we are living in! Heinous acts of terror are glossed over or cheered. Victims are viewed as instigators and assailants are considered heroes. Prison sentences of dangerous persons are commuted or pardoned. Senseless murders are justified because of some vague rationale about the murderer having acted to protest a perceived injustice. Criminals duly convicted of capital crimes jockey to have convictions overturned. As our Sages have foretold: society will slide down the slippery slope of anarchy and immorality as the Messianic era nears.
A Rabbinic colleague of mine contacted me recently while I was traveling, asking if there are halachicprecedents to allow retrials following capital convictions. I emailed to him that the Mishnah and Talmud permit the claims of a criminal post-conviction to be heard as long as there is the possibility of some true substance to his claims. One can make the case for the defense of such an individual if one has discovered new evidence. However, one cannot assert the right to have the court overturn a ruling if no new defense is being presented. The Talmud Yerushalmi provides some sobering cases where, regardless of post-conviction arguments, conviction in a capital offense is a serious matter and not one to be set aside without just cause.
Someone once joked that the difference between democracy and monarchy is that in democracy, your vote counts. In a monarchy, your count votes. Others have joked that the definition of democracy is three wolves and one lamb voting on what to eat for lunch. Joking aside, we need to take a look at the difference between a secular system, where government is of the people, by the people, and for the people, and Torah law, which is by Hashem for Him and His people. One difference is that Torah law is immutable, not subject to the slippery slope of rationalizations and situational ethics. The same society that can opt to ignore a terroristic massacre or dismiss it “in the proper context,” ignoring the fate of hostages who are raped, tortured, and starved is the same society that can cheer for the perpetrators of crimes and want their crimes reframed as virtuous.
But the adult intellect is capable of taking charge. It is equipped to employ honest, discerning, and focused reasoning for responsible decision-making to make rational decisions and objective judgements. The human brain can make choices and take responsibility for its choices. As those earlier wise men agreed, the mature adult intellect feels shame when forced into helplessness. Aligning one’s intellect with what is good, fair, just, and correct is the pinnacle of human achievement. Everything else is a slippery slope.
Rabbi Dr. Dovid Fox is a forensic and clinical psychologist, and director of Chai Lifeline Crisis Services. To contact Chai Lifeline’s 24-hour crisis helpline, call 855-3-CRISIS or email crisis@chailifeline.org. Learn more at www.chailifeline.org/crisis.