In this episode, join Rabbi Moshe Friedman (a.k.a. "Rav Mo") in addressing the shocking twist at the end of Avengers: Infinity War - Thanos succeeds. Equipped with the Infinity Stones, Thanos snaps his fingers and wipes out half of all life across the universe. Thanos did this to spare the remaining half what he understood was certain doom. Was Thanos right? In confronting this question, Rav Mo and I address a question, perhaps THE question, that has bothered humanity for centuries, even millennia: can the ends justify the means? 

As a quick overview, the Avengers are a series of movies about a team of superheroes that defend humanity from those who intend to inflict harm on the human race.

Avengers: Infinity War introduces Thanos, a powerful being seeking to collect all six Infinity Stones. Once combined, the stones gives him incredible power.

Thanos’s stated goal is to wipe out half of all living beings in the universe to restore “balance.” His motivation stems from his home planet, Titan, which collapsed due to overpopulation and resource exhaustion. Thanos claims his plan is merciful and random — sparing future generations from suffering and starvation.

The Avengers unite in their attempts to stop Thanos from wiping out half of all living beings.

What makes Thanos so compelling as a villain is that he is not doing this for evil reasons - his motivations are to help people, to do good for others. As previously noted, Thanos recounts Titan’s downfall and frames his plan as an act of mercy. He claims the universe’s resources are finite and overpopulation will cause universal extinction. He insists the solution must be random, impartial, and absolute. No favoring the elite, the rich, the powerful.

Thanos even goes so far as to put his own skin in the game - he learns that to obtain one of the six Infinity Stones, he must sacrifice someone he loves. Despite shedding tears, he kills his daughter Gamora, and in doing so shows the depth of his conviction. The film frames this as both a tragedy and as proof that he believes in his cause.

After acquiring all six stones, and even being dealt what well could be a death blow, Thanos snaps his fingers, erasing half of all life. He then retreats to a quiet planet to watch the sunrise, seemingly at peace. He destroys the stones, giving up the extraordinary power they bestow, because he doesn’t want his decision to be reversed. 

Here are a few questions we’d like answered:

I am excited to bring back Rabbi Moshe Friedman on the podcast. He formerly joined us for our first episode released, Harry Potter, and whether Harry owes a debt of gratitude to the Dursleys, despite their mistreatment. Rabbi Friedman is a Jewish educator, musician, spoken word artist, video essayist, and author.  He has spoken and performed for audiences around the world, and continues to explore innovative ways of spreading Jewish wisdom through art, music, and media.  You can find his work at rav-mo.com and on his YouTube channel "Mensch Sense" at https://www.youtube.com/@menschsense1. 

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