#more on how jewish views on justice are reflected in batman's no killing rule later

[frownyalfred]

have you talked already about how batmans no killing rule reflects jewish views on justice? i would love to hear it!

hey anon! I totally forgot to do that, didn’t I?

If you’ve read my other Batman/Judaism post, I argue about the canonical likelihood that Bruce is considered halachically Jewish, though most likely does not view himself as such. You can check that out here, as well as some comic panels that suggest a slight cultural Jewish influence (here). 

So, how exactly does Batman’s “no killing” rule reflect Jewish views and teaching on the concept of Justice? 

One of Batman’s most famous characterizations is his refusal to kill. Though it wasn’t always present (hello guns and killing of the early Batman comics!), it’s come to shape Bruce’s personality and, in the words of Medium, makes him “a much more complex character than one who has no limits.” 

Batman doesn’t kill criminals. He might injure them severely, but never to the point of (immediate) death. Inextricably tied to this rule is his refusal to use guns, likely because of his own parents’ deaths in Crime Alley. This is slightly subverted in BvS, but still largely holds true throughout his history. 

So what does this have to do with Judaism?

Modern interpretations of Jewish teachings on the subject of violence are just as interesting and complex as Batman. Just like Bruce’s rules, Judaism holds a capacity for both extreme violence, and the teachings of nonviolence and the pursuit of peace. 

To quote wikipedia, since my days in hebrew school were long ago, this principle can be stated as "(wherever) Jewish law allows violence to keep an evil from occurring, it mandates that the minimal amount of violence be used to accomplish one's goal."

And, again, like Bruce, within Jewish teachings, the “shedding of blood (shefikhut damim) is the primeval sin (Gen. 4:8) and throughout the centuries ranks in Jewish law as the gravest and most reprehensible of all offenses.”

Essentially, one should deescalate a situation using the least amount of violence possible, and reserve killing as the absolute last option. Sounds about right for Batman?

Interestingly, Talmudic teachings also make a distinction between killing in self-defense or in defense of another's life (supra) and killing in the preservation of life (pikku'aḥ nefesh) in general. The first is acceptable under (some, debatable) circumstances, while the latter is forbidden. 

So, unlike other super heroes (looking at you, Green Arrow), Batman does not justify broader killings in the name of “saving” Gotham. In a way, he already reflects a rejection of pikku'aḥ nefesh by weighing every criminal’s life as sacred, essentially on a case-by-case basis. 

In other words, no singular life is worth the overall betterment of Gotham. To claim so would put him on the further path of killing (a fear of his) and into the grey world of pikku'aḥ nefesh.

Was this characterization intentional?

It’s hard to say. Batman’s creators were indeed Jewish, but as stated above, the transition from killing/guns to absolutely no killing/guns didn’t happen immediately. 

It’s also hard to make an argument of it being an intentionally Jewish-coded trait when Old Testament teachings undoubtedly influence modern, Christian creators and readers. Yet Talmudic teachings are not included in the Christian version of the OT, and the OT is quite arguably not a copy of the Torah itself. 

Conclusion

Batman’s “no killing” rule reflects a core tenet of (ever-evolving) Jewish teachings, which forbids the act of killing with minimal exceptions. 

Whether or not this was intentional, Bruce’s aversion to killing in the name of a better Gotham clearly reflects the divisions between killing in self-defense or in immediate defense of another's life (supra) and killing in the preservation of life (pikku'aḥ nefesh). 

Dovetailing this is the concept of minimal violence, which Bruce may or may not adhere to, depending on the reader. Does beating the shit out of a criminal affect that criminal’s ability to commit acts of evil at a level of violence that is unreasonable for the situation? 

Again, it’s open to interpretation, which is a very Jewish saying. And again, the saying “two jews, three opinions” applies here: I am just a lowly reform Jew with minimal Talmudic familiarity under my belt, and I certainly don’t speak for everyone on this topic. 

However. The inherent Jewishness of characters or their moral codes within the DC universe (often thanks to Jewish creators) is important to me, and I think more folks should know about its roots! 

I welcome any and all questions/criticisms! Thank you, Anon <3 

#batman #jewish bruce wayne #jewish batman #batman's no killing rule #more on how jewish views on justice are reflected in batman's no killing rule later #bruce wayne #dc #dc comics #me ranting #sloppy first drafts of thoughts #asks #anon #thanks anon

[frownyalfred]

im all here for jewish bruce so please dont take this as me disagreeing with you or anything because canon doesnt even matter in the first place and mostly im just a little confused but if kate is bruce's cousin from his moms side and being jewish comes from your mom doesnt that mean kates mom is jewish and it doesnt have anything to do w. her dad who would be the kane part of the equation unlesd her dad is also jewish idk i dont really go here im just creeping on the sidelines rn yanno

Sure! Anon, this is a question that comes up a lot, and I’m not expert, but here’s what I know:

-Martha Kane and Jacob Kane were siblings

-The Kanes are established as Jewish in canon (including Jacob)

-Kate is Jewish, which, according to halachic interpretation, assumes that her mother was Jewish at the bare minimum (but that her father likely was Jewish as well)

-Martha, being Jacob’s sister, would also be Jewish (barring a weird half-brother situation, or that he converted at some point)

-The above exceptions would be unlikely considering the Jewishness of the Kane name, “Jacob”, etc. 

-At the bare minimum again, since Judaism is technically matrilineal (more about this later) and the Kane family line is Jewish, any of Martha’s children would also be Jewish

-Bruce Wayne would halachically be Jewish

Now, all of this hinges on Jacob Kane being Jewish by birth and the Kane family being Jewish overall. But there are also some additional clues:

-Kate’s family was intentionally made Jewish, in a nod to Jewish creator Bob Kane, whose family was also Jewish

-Martha and Jacob’s generation usually married within Judaism by tradition (this has changed a lot in the last few decades) and marriage into another faith was generally frowned upon. 

-The above makes it unlikely Jacob married into a Jewish family unintentionally (i.e., Kate’s mother being Jewish was important to Jacob as a Jewish man)

-Jacob is a commonly-given name to Jewish men

-Martha marrying outside the faith would explain why Bruce was not necessarily raised Jewish (in this retcon, at least)

Hey? Everyone keeps arguing about matrilineal Judaism. What does that even mean?

-This comes up a lot in Jewish Batman discourse. Matrilineal Judaism is a remnant of Biblical times, where Judaism could only be confirmed if the mother was Jewish (assuming the father was not present, etc)

-Certain sections of Judaism hold this strongly, including Conservative, Orthodox, Reform (to an extent) and some other traditions

-For a long time, and still somewhat to this day, it was frowned upon to marry a non-Jewish man (i.e., Jews tended to marry Jews)

-Patrilineal Judaism (Judaism passed down by the father)  is slowly being more accepted, as well as other discrepancies (adoption, Jewish grandparent, etc)

-Some traditions still don’t necessarily view someone as Jewish unless they practice Judaism (had a bar mitzvah, converted, etc) but this is rare, largely because of the “one drop” rule in the Holocaust, and modern aliyah standards of Israel. 

-When folks in the fandom talk about Batman in the context of matrilineal Judaism, they’re usually referring to the fact that, if Martha Kane was Jewish in any way when she had Bruce, he would technically be Jewish by birth in the eyes of many rabbis, regardless of his own practiced religion or atheism. 

-Like I said earlier, all of this hinges on if Jacob Kane was Jewish by birth. I.e., that Martha and Jacob’s mother was Jewish. 

I believe that canon has been established enough where we can assume that Jacob Kane was in fact Jewish by birth, that he married a Jewish woman, and had a Jewish child (Kate). 

I don’t believe this retcon intentionally made Bruce Jewish. Again, some would argue that he’s not really Jewish, as he’s never practiced or recognized the religion in canon. 

However, Judaism is tricky. It’s an ethnic group, a religion, and a cultural tradition, all amassed into one messy blob. It’s likely, if Martha was raised Jewish, that there were still some vestiges of Jewish cultural practices in how she raised Bruce (celebrating some holidays, traditions, or observances) unless she explicitly chose to ignore them. 

All in all, I would say it is very likely that Bruce is technically Jewish. More likely than not. An accident? Yes. But a good one for all of us Jewish fans. 

#more on how jewish views on justice are reflected in batman's no killing rule later #jewish batman #jewish bruce wayne #ask #anon #wow i really just wrote all of that #bruce wayne #batman #martha wayne #kate kane #batwoman #batfamily #judaism #halachic hell #i am a confused jew and don't take my word for it #this is all i can offer #would love to hear what other Jewish fans think