FOR IT IS THE LORD YOUR GOD WHO MARCHES WITH YOU TO DO BATTLE FOR YOU AGAINST YOUR ENEMY, TO BRING YOU VICTORY.

(Devarim 20:4)

 

Since the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you, let your camp be holy; let Him not find anything unseemly among you and turn away from you.

(Devarim 23:15)

 

For it is the Lord Your God who marches with you - They come with the might of flesh and blood, while you come with the might of the Omnipresent. The Philistines came with the might of Goliath, what was his end? In the end he fell by the sword together with his people. You are not like that, For it is the Lord Your God who marches with you to do battle for you etc. - that is the encampment of the Ark.

(Sotah 42a)

 

Who marches with you - this does not refer to the Ark, but to God Himself. The proof appears below: Since the Lord your God moves about in your camp... let Him not find anything unseemly among you and turn away from you.

(ShaDaL Devarim 20:4)

 

Since the Lord your God moves about in your camp. It has also included another notion, saying: let Him not find anything unseemly among you and turn away from you, this being against that which, as is well known, is widespread among soldiers in a camp after they have stayed for a long time away from their homes. Accordingly He, may He be exalted, has commanded us to perform actions that make us call to mind that the Indwelling has descended among us so that we should be preserved from those actions, and has said: let your camp be holy; let Him not find anything unseemly among you, and so on. He has even commanded that a man who has polluted himself by night should go out of the camp until the sun sets; and afterward he may come into the camp. Accordingly everyone should have in his mind that the camp is like a Sanctuary of the Lord and not like the camps of the gentiles destined only to destroy and to do wrong and to harm the others and to rob them of their property. On the contrary, our purpose is to make people apt to obey God and to introduce order into circumstances.

(RaMBaM: Guide of the Perplexed III:41, pp. 566-7 in Pines translation)

 

 

Who is Mighty? One Who Conquers his Inclination

Ariel Rathaus

The laws of war are a central topic in parashat Shoftim. It would not be unreasonable to say that they reflect concern to preserve the value of human life even in times when it is natural for human values to be pushed aside.

The address to the troops made by the Mashua'ah Milhama [the priest anointed of battle] tells anyone who has not yet married his fiancée, or enjoyed his new house or vineyard - as well as anyone who is simply afraid (and thus liable to spoil his comrades' mettle) - to return to their homes. This is an excellent example of a system of considerations that does not neglect or repress the human side of things, the natural and sometimes unheroic feelings of the person as individual, even in times of war. The aspiration for peace also finds expression in the laws of war in our parasha, as the verse proclaims: When you come near a town to do battle against it, call forth to it to make peace (Devarim 19:10). The greatest exegetes and halakhic authorities were in disagreement regarding this passage. Some, like Rashi (ad loc) think that it applies only to a milhemet rishut [optional war], while others say that it applies to a milhemet mitzvah [a war required by the Torah] as well (see RaMBaN ad loc, and RaMBaM Hilkhot Melakhim 6:1). According to the second opinion, even in a war against the Seven Nations for the conquest of the Land of Israel, we are required to attempt to achieve negotiated agreement before turning to hostile action. The RaMBaM summarizes this approach in a statement which we should commit to memory: "Do not go to war against any person in the world without first calling to him to make peace, both in the case of a milhemet rishut as well as in a milhemet mitzvah" (ibid).

These words are being written as the second war in Lebanon still rages. Hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens remain in bomb-shelters and many fighters risk and sacrifice their lives. One can only hope that by the time this article is published, the war will be behind us and we will all be able to breathe freely, like someone who has awoken from a nightmare and rejoices in seeing the familiar four walls of his bedroom and his clothing folded neatly over the chair. At this moment of difficult trial, it is perhaps hard to adhere to the spirit of RaMBaM's words quoted above. However, despite the difficulty, it is incumbent upon us as Jews who are loyal to our tradition - a tradition that includes R. Akiva's dictum, "Beloved is man for he was created in the Divine image" - to view the events of the past weeks - and especially the public atmosphere and discourse that developed around them - by the light of our faith and religious world-view.

From its very inception, the present war has been described as "just" or "justified." Indeed, we were attacked suddenly on the international boundary by an extremist and murderous organization which calls for the destruction of the State of Israel; we reacted as a sovereign state must react to such venomous aggression. In our parasha, Rashi also deals with the connection between "war" and "justice," but he is concerned with a different aspect of the connection between them. Rashi explains the verse When you go to war against your enemies and see chariots and horses - forces larger than yours –have no fear of them, for the Lord your God is with you (Devarim20:1) in the light of the fact that it follows immediately upon the heels of a legal passage dealing with false witnesses (19:15-21). He writes:

This comes to tell you that if you performed fair judgment you are guaranteed to win when you go out to war, as David said: I have done what is just and right; do not abandon me to those who would wrong me (Psalms 119:121).

In other words, Rashi is saying that a society which practices justice and fairness can look forward to God's help and victory in war. From this we learn that the question whether we went to war as a just society is no less important than the question whether we had just cause for going to war.

This is not the place to determine to what extent Israeli society is in fact just. Today, the utopian dreams of the early pioneers who believed that they were building a model society that would spread light unto the nations brings a half-amused/half-bitter smile to our faces. Nevertheless, we must ask ourselves whether in the past weeks of fighting we knew how to comport ourselves as a society which is sensitive to the Jewish values of justice, fairness, and morality.

The answer to this question is not unequivocal. Our communities were attacked from the first day of fighting and our heavy bombing in Lebanon was meant to help protect them (besides being intended to bring about a substantial change in regional politics). But if the prohibition upon destroying the fruit trees of a city under siege (see our parasha, Devarim 20:19-20) points - at least indirectly - towards the desire to limit the destruction that takes place in times of war, it is clear that that goal was not present to the minds of our decision-makers. The destruction caused to Lebanon, and in particular to Beirut (from which missiles were not fired at Israel) was so great that its necessity is difficult to explain.

Even if the destruction can be justified by solid military-political arguments and we reach the conclusion that there was no other way to defend the residents of northern Israel and to win the battle, it remains difficult to come to terms with the outbreak of foul winds that have blown throughout our land these past weeks. Various experts and spokesmen interpreted the war in the newspapers and on the television screen with uncompromising vigor and even with genuine verbal violence, lowering public discourse to the lowest depths. From the childish newspaper headline "Smash Them" to the "wise" advice to completely destroy entire villages and the claim - disgusting by any measure of morality - that "There are no innocents in southern Lebanon, only people who give cover to crime," we came to know that some speakers would not only destroy fruit trees without compunction, they are also willing to destroy conscience, language, and common sense.

In opposition to the screaming blast of trumpets we must sound the clear and pure voice of our Grandfather Jacob, of whose voice the Torah says the voice is the voice of Jacob but the hands are the hands of Esau. When Jacob went forth to meet his brother Esau - his greatest enemy - and feared that he would have to fight him, the Torah tells us that he was both fearful and anxious (Bereishit 32:6), and as Rashi famously explains: "fearful - lest he be killed; anxious - lest he kill the others."

We do not live in an imaginary world of parables nor in a world of pleasant midrashim. We have no illusions about our enemies' atrocious murderousness. Even so, we must repress our inclinations to vengeance and to aggression for its own sake in order to preserve the Divine image within us as individuals and as a society. It is particularly to times such as these and to situations such as that in which we find ourselves that Ben Zoma spoke his words which are quoted in Pirkei Avot (4:1):

"Who is mighty? One who conquers his inclination, for it is said: Better to be forbearing than mighty to have self-control than to conquer a city" (Proverbs 16:32).

Dr. Ariel Rathaus is a cultural researcher and translator

 

Choosing the King: Commandment or Compromise? Or is the Proper form of Government Context-Dependent?

And you say, "I will set a king over me..." (Devarim 17:14): Rabbi Nehorai says: This verse speaks ill of Israel, as it is said, for it is not you that they have rejected; it is Me they have rejected as their king (I Samuel 8:7). Rabbi Yehudah said: But is it not a commandment of the Torah that they request a king for themselves, as it says set a king over yourself, one chosen by the Lord your God (Devarim 17:15)? And why were they punished in Samuel's days? Because they brought him early by their own efforts like all the peoples that surround us Rabbi Nehorai says: They asked for a king only in order that he have them worship idols, for it is said, that we may be like all the other nations: Let our king rule over us and go out at our head and fight our battles (I Samuel 8:20).

 (Sifri Shoftim 156)

 

We left world politics by duress, yet willingness is hidden inside it [i.e., the Jews abandoned politics with a degree of hidden willingness] - until that happy time comes when it will be possible to govern a state without evil and barbarity; that is the day we look forward to. It is understood that in order to realize this we must awaken with all our powers, to use all means the times may bring: all is directed by the hand of God, creator of all worlds. The delay is necessary, as our souls are disgusted by the terrible sins involved in ruling a state in evil times. And behold, the time has arrived, [it is] very close, the world shall be well-established and we shall be able to prepare ourselves, for we shall then be ready to manage our state on foundations of goodness, wisdom, honesty and the clear divine illumination.

(Rabbi A. I. Kook, ztz"l, Orot, pg. 14)

 

...and it seems because the governing of the state varies, whether governed as a monarchy, or in accordance with the opinion of the people and those chosen by them. There is a country that cannot tolerate monarchy, and there is a country which, when lacking a king, is like a ship without a captain. This matter cannot be decided by a commandment, since a matter belonging to the governing of general society involves life and death issues which take precedence over a positive commandment...Therefore, it is not possible to absolutely command the appointment of a king as long as the people do not agree to tolerate the yoke of monarchy...

(The NeTziV, Ha-Amek Davar on Devarim 17:14)

 

...rather this is a positive commandment relating to an optional matter, as if to say, "If you want to do this - even though it is unworthy - do it only in this manner." It is similar to the passage if you go out to war... and see a beautiful woman among the captives; there is no commandment to desire her and have sex with her, rather it is a permitted deed that derives from the evil inclination, and the commandment is: take her into your home... Here too, there is no commandment to ask for a king; on the contrary, it is thought of as rebelliousness. However, if despite all of this they ask for it, the prophets, elders, and judges of Israel are commanded not to interfere; rather, they should place a king upon them.

(R. Yitzhak Shemuel Reggio Devarim 17:15)

 

...it may be stated that all the textual sources of Judaism agree that one is never to see the governance of the state as a fundamental value of the human reality of Torah observance. Rather, it constitutes the satisfaction of a necessary need, which requires governance, monarchy or authority. These involve a great risk, and one must always consider whether its disadvantages might outweigh its advantages.

(Prof. Y. Leibowitz, Sheva Shanim shel Sihot al Parashat Ha-Shavua, pg. 847)

 

Human and Tree

When in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees, wielding the ax against them. You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human to withdraw before you into the besieged city?

(Devarim 20:19)

 

Elijah the prophet comes to announce peace - also the peace between the holiness in the material and the holiness which is in the supernatural - and in the inner soul of the nation, a vital stream of nature bursts forth, and it approaches the holy. We all come closer to nature, and nature comes closer to us, succumbing to our noble demands which emanate from the source of the holy. From the depths of nature grows a great demand for sanctity and purity, for refinement of soul and purification of life.

(Rabbi Avraham Y. Kook, zt"l, based on Moadei Reaya)

 

Halacha favors restraint. It favors reduction over expansion, it is prepared to sacrifice a degree of energy and courage in society for the sake of stability and peace, to acquire tranquility of the soul and rest of the body in return for moderation in the standard of living, especially in the economic and technological spheres. It seeks to improve the quality of life, not only because of social aims but - perhaps primarily - in order to shape the moral image of every individual. At this point we reach equilibrium in man's soul, a spiritual balance between man's demands and his obligations. Jewish ethics stand firm on a foundation of self-control and restraint. Without this basis, all ecological efforts in the world will not avail. At the foundation of every approach to ecological problems must be the diminishing of desire, sensitivity to the needs of others - both those of society and of all God's creations.

(Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, Hagut IV, Judaism in Contemporary Society)

 

 

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