From time to time the question arises: Is it possible to learn from the Torah and halakha what the State of Israel’s proper security policy should be, and can Torah scholars, occupants of the study halls, run the security policy of the State?
Therefore, in order to implement the Torah’s vision, first, Torah scholars must thoroughly clarify the principles of the Torah. Alongside these Torah scholars, there is a need for extremely intelligent people who understand the principles of Torah and believe in them, and at the same time, understand the political and security state of affairs in all its components, in order to examine how to implement the vision. And among these intelligent people must evolve leaders who are capable of actualizing the practical idea into reality.
The first principle that needs to be learned from the Torah is – think before you act. Study precedes action. First we must know what we are striving for, because the more unclear the goal is, the more difficult it is to achieve. This is the underlying problem of Israeli policy: on the one hand, they say they desire only calm, peace and tranquility. On the other hand, beneath the surface and beyond official statements there is a yearning for redemption, the ingathering of the exiles, and settling the Land – and in times of need, Jews are even willing to sacrifice their lives in order to achieve this vision.
If you listen carefully to the words of the key leaders of the State of Israel, this discrepancy can almost always be detected.
The Mitzvah of Settling the Land of Israel
Ramban’s Position - Conquest and Settlement
He wrote: "We were commanded to take possession of the Land which the Almighty, Blessed Be He, gave to our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and not to abandon it to other nations, or to leave it desolate, as He said to them (Numbers 33:53-54): ‘You shall inherit the Land and dwell in it, for I have given the Land to you to possess it…’ (Supplement to the Sefer HaMitzvot of the Rambam, Positive commandment #4). The meaning of the word ve’horashtem (‘you shall inherit’) is to conquer – namely, Israeli sovereignty over the Land; and the meaning of the word ve’yeshavtem (‘to dwell in’) is to settle the Land, so it won’t be desolate."
Notwithstanding, for many generations the Jewish nation was in a state of oh’nes (coercion) stemming from the exile of both body and mind and could not fulfill the general mitzvah; consequently, most individual Jews were negligent in making aliyah. But in recent times, by the grace of God, Hashem began to allow our redemption to flourish, our situation changed, and we can now fulfill the mitzvah, both as a nation and as individuals.
Rambam’s Position - Settlement and Defense
There is a general and basic mitzvah for every Jew to live in Israel, Eretz Yisrael, and for the Jewish People, Am Yisrael, to establish its nation in the land. The reason Rambam did not count this mitzvah in his 613 commandments, is that the rule on which he based his counting is that he would not include general mitzvot on which other mitzvot are contingent. Many mitzvot are contingent on the mitzvah of yishuv ha’aretz, including all the agricultural commandments that apply only in Israel, mitzvot ha’te’luyot ba’aretz, the mitzvah to erect the Beit Hamikdash, sanctification of the months, not giving the seven nations a foothold in the land (‘lo techanem’), the prohibition of extraditing a slave who escaped to Israel, and the mentioning of the Land in the Grace ater Meals, birkat ha’mazone.
In other words, according to the Rambam this is the realistic plan for settling the Land – progressively more Jews are to immigrate and settle in Eretz Yisrael and gradually strengthen the Jewish community in the land. Then, one of two things will happen: either, in a process of great teshuva (repentance), they will merit a miraculous redemption leading to full sovereignty, or, in a gradual process, the Jewish presence will grow stronger in their land and if nations endanger their existence – the Torah mitzvah of going to war to save Israel will be applicable.
In this situation, the mitzvah of going to war is not only for defensive purposes, but also to attack in order to defend. As our Sages said regarding Shabbat, if Gentiles come to steal even minor things such as straw or hay from towns situated on the border, it is a mitzvah to profane the Sabbath and go out armed to fight them, for if the residents do not react to the theft of straw and hay, in the end, the Gentiles will come to murder (Hilchot Shabbat 2:23). Thus, out of the need to defend, sovereignty is achieved (Milumdei Milchma, sect. 1).
It can be said that in the opinion of the Ramban, the obligatory example of fulfilling the mitzvah of settling the land, yishuv ha’aretz, for future generations is the conquest and settlement of the Land by Yehoshua bin Nun and his contemporaries. Therefore, the mitzvah incumbent on Israel when they are in exile or under foreign rule is to strive with all their might to achieve sovereignty, and be willing to initiate a war to conquer the Land and liberate it from foreigners.
In practice, the actual difference between the Rambam and Ramban is not great. For even the Ramban would agree that the entire country should not be conquered all at once, as the Torah instructed us first to conquer the essential areas of the country and gradually expand, and that war should be conducted according to rational considerations without relying on miracles.
Rambam, who holds that a milchemet mitzvah is only a defensive war, also recognizes the historical fact that it is almost impossible for a large Jewish community to defend itself without sovereignty, and that there is no defense without deterrence - including capturing the locations from which the attackers come.
In Practice
Not having achieved this, the main ingathering of the exiles began only after the Holocaust; few in number and out of the need for self-preservation, Holocaust survivors and refugees from the Diaspora merited establishing the State of Israel.
In light of what we have learned, the right policy according to the Torah emerges and becomes clear; a policy which includes a combination of all the principles presented by Rambam and Ramban: aliyah, settlement, defense and conquest.
However, as a peace-loving people who have respect for all human beings, we restrain our aspirations and do not intend to initiate a war of conquest, and do not intend to deport foreigners who fail to completely identify with our aspirations.
All normal countries act this way towards their sworn enemies, however, we are not like all other nations; therefore, only when we understand that a sacred value guides us to do so, will we be able to achieve this policy with wisdom, determination, and sensitivity.
This article appears in the ‘Besheva’ newspaper, and was translated from Hebrew.