In Parshat Mishpatim, Shmot 21:16 we read: “Whoever steals
(kidnaps) a man and sells him, if he is found in his hand, he shall be put to
death.”
In Parshat Ki Tetze, Devarim 24:7 there is a similar pasuk:
“If a man is found kidnapping a person of his brethren among B’nai Yisrael and
he enslaves him and sells him, that kidnapper shall die and you shall remove
the evil from your midst.”
Rashi asks why it is necessary to have two psukim about
kidnappin.
His answer is that in the first pasuk it says “whoever
steals” which teaches us that this law does not only apply to men. Women also
would be prohibited from kidnapping.
In the second pasuk it says “if he steals a person” which
teaches us that one is not allowed to kidnap a man or a woman.
We see from here that what one pasuk omits the other pasuk
reveals.
Unfortunately there are too many kidnapping cases in the
news on a daily basis.
One case just took place this past week where a 5 year old
boy from
was kidnapped and held hostage in an underground bunker for a week. The boy is
now safe and the kidnapper is dead.
Etan Patz was kindnapped in
found and the police still aren’t sure what exactly happened to him. His case
was reopened this past year.
Once in a while we find out that a child who was kidnapped
and thought to be dead is actually alive. In 2009, eighteen years after she was
kidnapped, Jaycee Dugard was found alive in
back yard.
We must do everything that we can to protect ourselves and
our children from kidnappers who have been preying on innocent people since the
days of the Torah.