Killing Yichyeh Sinwar: The Case of a Soldier's Duty and Reward

Dear Rabbi, I have the following question regarding a recent event that occurred during military operations in Gaza. A soldier in the IDF, while performing his regular military duties, successfully eliminated a high-ranking terrorist (Yahya Sinwar) for whom the Israeli government had previously announced a reward of $400,000 for his capture or elimination My question is, given that the government had publicly offered this reward to anyone who would capture or eliminate this terrorist, would the soldier be halachically entitled to claim this reward? or since he was doing his duty as a soldier he is not eligible to receive it.

Thank you for your question.

Baruch Hashem, we have witnessed the elimination of the terrorist who was responsible for tremendous heartache and one of the most horrific atrocities in recent memory. As you mentioned, the government had placed a bounty of $400,000 on his head, offering this amount to anyone who could capture or eliminate him.

The terrorist was eliminated by a brave soldier named Ya'akov Chai HaKohen, who spotted a group of terrorists near Rafah and pursued them. After receiving authorization to open fire on the building where they were hiding, he eliminated what he believed was an ordinary terrorist. However, upon removing the individual's headgear, he discovered it was none other than the most sought-after terrorist, Yahya Sinwar.

So the question is, would he be able to halachically claim the prize of $400,000 from the State of Israel?

One could argue he did what the country asked and therefore should be eligible for the prize.

However, lets study a Gemara in Bava Metsiah page 10a

תלמוד בבלי מסכת בבא מציעא דף י עמוד א

מציאת פועל - לעצמו. במה דברים אמורים - בזמן שאמר לו בעל הבית נכש עמי היום, עדור עמי היום. אבל אמר לו: עשה עמי מלאכה היום מציאתו של בעל הבית הוא! - אמר ליה: שאני פועל דידו כיד בעל הבית הוא.

An employee who finds a Metsiah (a lost object) during his work can claim it for himself. However, the Gemara specifies that this applies only if the worker was given a specific task, such as weeding or plowing the field, so finding the metsiah was out of his work obligation.. If, however, he was employed for general work for the day, then everything he does during the day is for the employer, since the “hand of the employee” is considered as that of the employer. Therefore, if during the day he finds a Metsiah, it will belong to the employer.

Similarly, since the soldier was employed by the Israeli government, he is considered an employee of the Government of Israel. Therefore, everything he does as part of his job is considered to have been done on behalf of the government. The killing of Yahya Sinwar is working in the scope of his duties, and acting on behalf of the Israeli government. This is akin to an employee who finds a Metsiah during work and cannot claim it for himself.

However, there are instances where a worker goes beyond the requirements of his job and receives additional compensation as a result. In such cases, the money rightfully belongs to him.

For example, there was a wedding in Jerusalem where a tragedy occurred, the floor collapsed and the guests fell to the lower level many were injured. At the time of the incident, the cameraman employed to film the wedding continued recording and captured the scene. He later sold the footage for a substantial amount of money to news agencies. The family that employed him claimed that the money should be theirs since he was employed by them. However, the rabbis issued a ruling that the money belongs to the photographer. The reason being that he was only employed to film the wedding, not a disaster scene. Staying on to film was his own decision since, within the framework of his employment, he was not obligated to endanger his life by capturing the scene. Therefore, he was entitled to keep the money he received from selling the clip.

Similarly, if the soldier had done something beyond his obligations as a soldier and managed to capture Sinwar, he would have been eligible to receive the money. However, since his actions were part of his required duties as a soldier, he cannot claim the prize money.

Having said that, the soldier certainly deserves a medal and full honors for his actions, and most importantly was a great mitzvah. This is because killing someone who intends to murder is considered a mitzvah, as written in Tractate Sanhedrin, page 73a:

תלמוד בבלי מסכת סנהדרין דף עג עמוד א

ואלו הן שמצילין אותן בנפשן: הרודף אחר חבירו להרגו

Talmud Bavli, Tractate Sanhedrin, Page 73a :

And these are the ones whom one may save with their (the pursuer's) life: someone who pursues his fellow to kill him.

May we soon witness the speedy arrival of the Mashiach, bim’heyro be’yameynu. Amen.

• Talmud Bavli, Tractae Bava Metsiah, page 10a
• Talmud Bavli, Tractate Sanhedrin, page 73a