Mishneh Torah, Foreign Worship and Customs of the Nations 10-12

Sugya Map

• Issue: The Rambam's divergent rulings concerning the preservation of life for idolaters versus Jewish minnim (heretics) and apikorsim (epicureans).
• Nafka Mina(s): Application of lo tichanem (Devarim 7:2) to life-saving, defining categories of minnim/apikorsim, and the parameters of active vs. passive harm.
• Primary Sources: Rambam, Hilchot Avodat Kochavim u'Chukot haGoyim 10:1-2; Devarim 7:2; Bavli Sanhedrin 57a; Bavli Avodah Zarah 26b-27a.

Text Snapshot

Rambam states: "אם ראה גוי עובד עבודה זרה אובד או טובע בנהר לא יעלהו... אבל המוסרים והאפיקורסין מישראל מצוה לאבדם ביד ולרדת להם עד למטה מטה מפני שהם מצירין לישראל ומסיטין אותם מאחרי ה'." (MT, Foreign Worship 10:2) Dikduk/Leshon: Note the stark contrast between passive non-rescue for the goy ("לא יעלהו" – should not help him up) and active eradication for the min ("מצוה לאבדם ביד" – it is a mitzvah to destroy them by hand), explicitly justified by their internal subversion.

Readings

The Seder Mishnah (on MT 10:2) grapples with the Rambam's definition of apikorsim, noting its expansive nature which seemingly includes mumarim (apostates who transgress out of spite) from Hilchot Teshuvah 3:9. This suggests a broad category of internal Jewish threats warranting severe measures.

Friction

• Kushya: Why is a Jewish apikores subject to active destruction, while an idolater, who fundamentally rejects God, is merely not rescued from certain death? Both represent deviations from Halacha.
• Terutz: The Rambam's explicit rationale: "מפני שהם מצירין לישראל ומסיטין אותם מאחרי ה'." An idolater is an external threat, subject to the passive lo tichanem. An apikores, however, is an internal spiritual cancer, actively subverting the faith of Klal Yisrael and causing others to stumble, a graver and more insidious danger.

Intertext

The command of lo tichanem (Devarim 7:2) towards the seven Canaanite nations is extended by the Rambam to all idolaters (MT 10:1). The Gemara in Avodah Zarah 26b-27a discusses not saving minnim, providing the Talmudic basis for the Rambam's stance that internal threats are treated more severely.

Psak/Practice

While the Rambam's psak is clear, contemporary poskim typically interpret these extreme measures against minnim as applicable only under specific Bet Din authority and conditions not present today. The practical approach shifts to intellectual and spiritual combat against their ideas, rather than physical eradication, reserving the latter for historical contexts of existential religious threat.

Takeaway

The Rambam highlights the profound distinction between external religious deviation and internal spiritual subversion, the latter being perceived as a graver threat to Jewish continuity.