Suicide for Religious Reasons and as an Act of Heroism. An Analysis of Suicides at Masada and Suicides During the Holocaust According to Rabbinic Literature

U ovome članku autor analizira stav judaizma prema samoubojstvima počinjenima iz vjerskih razloga, ponekad potaknutima junaštvom, i raspravlja o tome stavu. Članak počinje uvodom, za kojim slijedi općeniti pregled stavova izvora židovskoga zakona spram samoubojstva počinjenoga radi posvećenja Božjega imena. Središnji dio ovoga članka sastoji se od analize kolektivnoga samoubojstva zelota u Masadi te stava judaizma prema raznovrsnim pokušajima samoubojstva tijekom holokausta. U ovome istraživanju autor se koristi izvorima iz židovskoga zakona (halahe) kako bi preispitao koji su ispravni stavovi prema tim slučajevima te razmotrio praktične implikacije koje takvi slučajevi mogu imati na život današnjega čovjeka. Mnoge izvore rabinske literature, od talmudskih vremena do modernoga doba, kojima se koristi u ovome članku, autor je prvi put preveo s hebrejskoga i aramejskoga na hrvatski jezik.In this article, the author analyzes and discusses the attitude of Judaism towards suicides committed for religious reasons, sometimes motivated by heroism. The article starts with an introduction, followed by a general overview of attitudes from Jewish laws towards suicides committed for the sanctification of God’s Name. The central part of the article consists of an analysis of the collective suicide committed by zealots at Masada and the attitude of Judaism towards various suicide attempts during the Holocaust. In his research, the author uses sources from Jewish laws (halacha) to examine the appropriate attitudes towards these cases and to consider the practical implications of such cases on people today. Many sources of rabbinic literature used in this article, from Talmudic times to modern times, have been translated by the author from Hebrew and Aramaic into Croatian for the first time