THEY CAME TO MARAH, BUT THEY COULD NOT DRINK THE WATER OF MARAH BECAUSE IT WAS BITTER; THAT IS WHY IT WAS NAMED MARAH. AND THE PEOPLE GRUMBLED AGAINST MOSES, SAYING, "WHAT SHALL WE DRINK?" SO HE CRIED OUT TO THE LORD, AND THE LORD SHOWED HIM A PIECE OF WOOD; HE THREW IT INTO THE WATER AND THE WATER BECAME SWEET. THERE HE MADE FOR THEM A FIXED RULE, AND THERE HE PUT THEM TO THE TEST. HE SAID, "IF YOU WILL HEED THE LORD YOUR GOD DILIGENTLY, DOING WHAT IS UPRIGHT IN HIS SIGHT, GIVING EAR TO HIS COMMANDMENTS AND KEEPING ALL HIS LAWS, THEN I WILL NOT BRING UPON YOU ANY OF THE DISEASES THAT I BROUGHT UPON THE EGYPTIANS, FOR I THE LORD AM YOUR HEALER." AND THEY CAME TO ELIM, WHERE THERE WERE TWELVE SPRINGS OF WATER AND SEVENTY PALM TREES; AND THEY ENCAMPED THERE BESIDE THE WATER.

 (Shemot 10:8-10)

 

 

And they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water, etc. - This tells us that it was the place most renowned for its water: There were twelve springs there that watered only seventy palm trees. But when Israel came 600,000 men camped by them, they supplied them with sufficient water, and they slept there for three nights.

And they encamped there beside the water - Rabbi Yehoshua said: Israel only camps by the water.

Rabbi Elazar says: On the day that the Holy One blessed be He created the world, He created twelve springs for the twelve tribes of Israel and seventy palm trees for the seventy elders. What does the verse and they encamped there beside the water teach us? It teaches us that they were engaged in studying the words of Torah which they had been taught at Mara.

 (Yalkut Shimoni Beshalah 257)

 

 

The Jewish Model for Fighting Terror According to Joshua's War Against Amalek

Rafi Lederman

Many different statements have been made concerning the proper way to contend with terror during the terror campaign of the past fifty months. Public discourse includes slogans such as "Let the IDF win!" alongside "End the occupation!" Military actions have included collective punishment alongside focused preventive attacks, all performed with meticulous attention to the "values of the IDF" and its code of ethics.

One may read parashat Beshalah as containing the description of a struggle against a similar threat, i.e., Amalek's terror attack against the Israelites who had left Egypt: And Amalek came and fought with Israel at Refidim (Shemot 17:8). A strategic analysis of the Israelite's situation will show that the Amalekites attacked an Israel which was strong and powerful both in military and economic terms. Militarily, they had just crossed the Red Sea, leaving the Egyptian army to drown behind them. Economically, they enjoyed miraculous supplies of water, manna, and quail. The mode of attack is described in parashat Ki-Tavo as, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear (Devarim 25:18). The Amalekite leadership realized that an open frontal assault, such as that attempted by Pharaoh's army, would be doomed to failure. Parashat Ki-Tavo teaches us that Amalek avoided an open frontal assault upon the tribes of Israel, choosing instead to target a weak-spot in Israelite society: all the stragglers in your rear. That is to say, they attacked those groups within the Israelite procession who were incapable of protecting themselves - defenseless civilians. In other words: coffee-houses and public busses.

Moses understood that it was not a mere matter of "isolated incidents," but that he faced a planned campaign based on terror tactics: And Amalek came and fought with Israel. And so, Moses alerted Joshua to participate in the planning of the appropriate military response.

As Rashi points out, citing Midrash Tanhuma (on verse 13 and he weakened), Moses himself initiated and planned the battle. Siftei Hakhamim explains:

...God's word is not mentioned at the beginning of [the story of] the war, but rather it is written that Moses spoke to Joshua (Shemot 17:9) - implying that Moses commanded him of his own initiative. That is why Rashi had to explain that he acted in accordance with God's word.

This interpretation suggests that the decisions were made by the human leadership, but that they received full divine backing.

Today we tend to view the war against Amalek as part and parcel of the commandment to blot out the memory of Amalek (Devarim 25:19). We are also aware of the instruction Saul received regarding his war against Amalek:

Now go, attack Amalek, and proscribe all that belongs to him. Spare no one, but kill alike men and women, infants and sucklings, oxen and sheep, camels and asses. (I Samuel 15:3)

However, one must read the biblical passages carefully and take account of the fact that Moses and Joshua planned their military attack against the Amelikite aggressor before receiving the divine command to completely annihilate Amalek. That is to say, Moses and Aaron appear to not have been bound by the unambiguous command to totally obliterate the Amalekites. Their reactions must be judged in terms of the patterns of response called for by the reality that had been imposed upon them, i.e., terrorism.

The course of action chosen at Refidim shows us how the Jewish leadership and military command chose to contend with the enemy. Its actions embody characteristics that can be applied through historical analogy to today's situation. Thus, one can find foundations for a Jewish doctrine of war against terror in the description and exegeses of Moses and Joshua's war against Amalek.

 

Choose men for us and go out to do battle against Amalek (Verse 9)

Moses ordered Joshua Choose men [anashim] for us and go out to do battle against Amalek. That is to say, Moses asked Joshua to prepare a special commando unit: Choose men for us. According to the commentators (Rashi and Ibn Ezra), those chosen were valiant, fearful of sin, and well-known.

Joshua received a clear and uncompromising order: go out to do battle against Amalek. Ibn Ezra explains that the phrase go out and do battle required that he leave the Israelite camp to fight Amalek. An offensive must remove the theatre of battle from the streets and shopping-malls of the Israelite camp, taking the fight to the infrastructure of Amalekite terrorism in its own territory.

 

And his hands were steady until the sun set (verse 12)

Moses knew that fighting terror is more difficult that conventional warfare, especially since the objective of the war is to break the other side's morale. According to Rashi on verse 9, the Amalekites used sorcery and talisman to influence the Israelites and their fighters' morale. (This may be compared with the Palestinians' deployment of propaganda and of the international media.) By standing on the hill-top and raising his hands with Aaron and Hur's support, Moses served as a source of inspiration and encouragement for the troops. His raised hands helped the Israelites to direct their hearts to heaven, to keep in mind the goal of their struggle, and to maintain the ethical standards required of God's army.

 

And Joshua weakened [va'yahalosh] Amalek and his people with the sword (verse 13)

Joshua goes out on the counterattack and Scripture describes the tactics of "Joshua's commandos" with one word: va'yahalosh. This category of warfare does not appear in the training manuals of the I.D.F. or of any other army, past or present. The commentators offer various explanations of this unusual verb:

Rashi and the commentary of Yonatan ben Uziel offer an interesting interpretation of the word va'yahalosh: "He decapitated the warriors but did not kill everyone." Rashi suggest that even in the midst of battle, a distinction was made between "warriors" who posed an immediate threat to the fighters or to the other Israelite citizens, and those Amalekites who did not pose an immediate threat, and who were therefore spared.

Da'at Zekeinim Mi'Ba'alei Ha'Tosafot expand upon Rashi's approach, offering the following description of the battle:

The word va'yakeh [and he struck] is not written, because Amalek practiced astrology and selected men who were not destined to die in that war... that is why Joshua could not kill them, so he severed their arms and legs - i.e., va'yahalosh.

The mission was completed with the removal of the threat against the Israelite camp, and not with the total eradication of the Amalekite camp.

Rabbeinu Saadya Gaon and the RaShaBaM hold that the verse describes the battle's outcome, referring to killing or victory. In Zevahim 116a R. Yehoshua claims that news of the victory reached as far as Midyan, convincing Yitro to join the Israelites.

 

And they took a stone and placed it beneath him (verse 12)

We find another element that played a significant role in the victory of Joshua's army against the Amalekites' terrorist infrastructure. It is written: But Moses' hands were heavy, and they took a stone and placed it beneath him, and he sat upon it (Shemot 17:12). Our Rabbi Moses, leader of Israel, who had raised his hands to encourage the combat troops could have chosen any article of furniture to sit on and remained comfortable through the long hours in which his hands remained raised up. He chose sit on a stone. Rashi writes: "He did not sit upon a cushion or a chair, saying, ‘Israel is in distress, and I will be together with them in distress.'" The stone was chosen in order to relay a message of empathy and sympathy with those who had suffered at the hands of terror, and with the soldiers fighting against it. This element of the struggle teaches us today that even though terror does not affect all of us equally, we must identify, support, and aid those parts of the Jewish People who are threatened by terror and who suffer from it. This element of solidarity constitutes a genuine "Defensive Shield" that keeps the attacker from realizing his goals.

In conclusion, the Jewish model for war on terror, as exemplified in Moses and Joshua's war against Amalek, includes the following elements:

Combat forces of the highest personal and ethical quality.

Shift of the theatre of combat to the enemy's territory.

Identification with the goals of the war.

Attack against the terror leadership and its annihilation.

Neutralization of the enemy threat (rather than total annihilation of the attacking people).

Preservation of Jewish unity, along with expressions of solidarity and empathy with those groups which suffer from terror.

Rafi Lederman (Lt. Colonel, reserves) graduated from the Technion in engineering and holds and MBA degree. He lives in Kfar Saba. He was one of the commanders in the battle that took place in the Jenin refugee camp during the Homat Magen operation. Since then, he has been active in hasbara both in Israel and abroad. He also serves as the voluntary chairman of the Imkhem organization, a non-profit association devoted to helping reservists and bereaved families associated with the Seventh Brigade.

 

Editor's comment

Any attempt to apply a biblical story to contemporary reality, or to interpret contemporary reality in terms of a biblical story is challenging and allows for a relevant reading of our source-texts. At the same time, it also poses the danger of a blurring of the boundaries and contrasts between different circumstances.

This contemporary reading of the Amalek story is an interesting experiment. It reflects the views of its author and, like previously published articles, it does not imply the agreement of the editorial board with its exegetical analysis. We invite our readers to discuss various views of this article.

 

A Lowly Soul Accepts Enslavement, a Lofty Soul Fights for Freedom

It is a cause for wonder that a huge camp of 600,000 men could fear its pursuers. Why did they not stand and fight for their lives and for the lives of their children? The answer is that the Egyptians were masters to Israel. The generation that had just left Egypt had learned to suffer the Egyptian yoke from its youth and its soul was debased. How could they now battle their masters? Israel was weak and untrained in war. See how Amalek came against them with a small number of people, yet, had it not been for Moses' prayer, they would have beaten Israel. It was God alone who did great things. He directed schemes, bringing it about that all of the males who left Egypt died, since they did not have the strength to fight the Canaanites until there arose a new generation in the desert, which had not experienced exile. They had a lofty soul, as I explained regarding Moses' speech in parashat Shemot.

(Ibn Ezra on Shemot 14:13)

 

The Third Temple will not be Built by Humans

You will bring them and plant them in Your own mountain, the place You made to dwell in, O Lord.

(Shemot 15:17)

 

...but the future Temple to which we look forward is already built and set-up, and shall be revealed and brought from heaven, for it says the place You made to dwell in, O Lord.

(Rashi on Sukkah 41a)

 

"Measurement" and Virtues Contrasted with the Bursting of Boundaries that Invites External Threats

Why did it [the Torah] wait until now to explain the measure of the omer when it would have been appropriate to mention it earlier in connection with God's command, or with the command's fulfillment? It should have said the omer per head is a tenth of an eifah or and they measured according to the omer, which is a tenth of an eifah. The thing is that the whole passage deals with the manna, and only after it finished telling the story of the manna did it finally need to explain what the measure was. Or, it might be in order to juxtapose the measure with the events of Refidim: It is the way of the world that bountiful tranquility and beneficent treatment makes a person sloppy in his worship and causes him to grow weak in Torah. This does not happen if he gets only what is necessary and in moderation; that will strengthen him. The Torah comes to tell us that although Israel received only what was necessary and in moderation - each person receiving a tenth of an eifah of manna - they still became weak in Torah at Refidim, and so, Amalek came. Such is the connection between the two contiguous passages.

 (Rabbeinu Behayeiy on Shemot 16:36)

 

Planting Trees Connects Humans with Eternity

And when you come to the land and you shall plant (Vayikra 19:23): The Holy One Blessed be He said to Israel: even though you find it full of all good things, do not say, "We shall rest and not plant." Rather, be careful to plant, for it says and you shall plant all fruit-bearing trees. Just as you entered [the Land of Israel] and found trees that others had planted, you too should plant for your children's sakes. A man should not say, " I am old, how may years do I have left to live, why am I wearying myself for others? Tomorrow I shall die." Solomon said He put the world [ha'olam] in their mind (Kohellet 3:11). It is written without the letter vav, [so that it can be read] hei'alem [caused to vanish]. What is this? If the Holy One blessed be He had not caused death to vanish from the human mind, a person would not build or plant, for he would say, "Tomorrow I die; why do I weary myself for others?" That is why the Holy One blessed be He hides the day of their death from the minds of humans, so that they will build. If he merits it, [that which a man builds] will be his. If he does not merit it, it shall be for others.

 (Midrash Tanhuma Kedoshim 8)

 

 

 

 

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