No Home-Field Advantage in War
The Parsha begins by addressing the case of a soldier going to war and wishing to take an enemy captive as his wife. The opening verse reads, ?When you go out [?Ki Teitzei? in Heb.] to war against your enemies and the L-rd your G-d will deliver them into your hand? (Chap. 21, verse 10).?
The Question:
Why does the Torah use the phrase ?go out? in the opening verse? Couldn?t it have just said ?when you go to war??
The Answer:
The Kotzker Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk (1787-1859), says that the Torah is teaching us an important lesson about how to wage war. Success in battle, he says, is dependent upon taking the initiative and going out to fight the enemy on his turf, rather than sitting back defensively and waiting for him to strike. Adopting such a strategy, says the Kotzker Rebbe, will then increase the chances of the second half of the verse (?and the L-rd your G-d will deliver them [the enemy] into your hand?) coming to pass. The same is true, says the Kotzker, of the personal battle that each and everyone of us must wage against our Evil Inclination, which seeks to tempt us to sin. So long as we do not allow the Evil Inclination to set foot within ourselves, the easier it will be to overcome it. But once we have allowed it entry and enabled it to infiltrate, it will require an immense amount of effort to uproot and defeat it.
The Lesson:
After months of Palestinian atrocities, Israel has finally begun to carry out more frequent incursions into Palestinian-controlled territory to quash the terrorist threat. In recent weeks, Israeli troops have entered the Abu Sneina hills in Hebron, Beit Jalla outside Bethlehem, Rafiah on the Egyptian border and other areas. This marks an important development in the war on terrorism, but even these limited actions have come about only in response to Palestinian attacks. As we saw above, the key to victory in battle lies in taking the initiative and waging the war on the enemy?s home turf. Punitive actions in the battle against terror are essential, but they are not enough. For Israel to prevail in this struggle, it must shift the conflict away from its home front and onto the Palestinian playing field. For unlike athletic events, there is no home-field advantage in war. The only way to win is to vanquish one?s foe on his own turf and to uproot the danger that he poses, once and for all.
Having allowed Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority to set up shop in the heart of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, Israel now faces an infinitely more difficult task in this regard. For as the Kotzker Rebbe noted, once one?s foe has established an outpost within your borders, removing him becomes an even greater challenge. Therein lies the greatest fallacy of the Oslo process, and until it is corrected, Israel will unfortunately continue to endure the consequences.
An Eternal Reward
Among the many commandments contained in the Parsha is that of sending away the mother bird from the nest before taking its offspring (out of compassion for the mother bird?s feelings toward its young). This seemingly innocuous mitzvah is unique in that appended to it is an explicit promise from G-d that whomever fulfills it will merit a prolonged life. The Torah states, ?If a bird?s nest happens to be before you on the road, on any tree or on the ground ? young birds or eggs ? and the mother is roosting on the young birds or eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. You shall surely send away the mother and take the young for yourself, so that it will be good for you and will prolong your days (Chap. 22, verses 6-7).?
The Question:
What is so special about this commandment that its reward is so immense?
The Answer:
In his commentary on the Torah, the Seforno (Rabbi Obadiah Seforno, 1470 or 1475-1550) says that by sending away the mother bird, a person is performing an act of kindness which benefits the masses. By refraining from taking the mother, a person is enabling the birds of the field to continue to reproduce and grow in number, thereby providing a greater source of food for other people as well. Thus, the Torah is teaching us that even for performing such a seemingly minor act of kindness, the reward is nevertheless great, both in this world and the next, says the Seforno. By extension, we can infer that the reward for performing larger acts of kindness is, of course, even greater.
The Lesson:
Getting involved on behalf of the community can often be a thankless task. Endless griping and complaints, little appreciation and much hard work seem to be the lot of those who take upon themselves the challenge of helping others. But as we saw above, even acts that may appear to us to be of only marginal significance can nevertheless bring with them fantastic rewards. If sending away a mother bird brings one a prolonged life, then one can only imagine the blessings one merits for acts such as helping the elderly or caring for the sick. This message takes on added significance at a time of communal stress and trauma. When a nation finds itself under siege, as Israel does today, the importance of helping others is magnified still further. Now is the time to do something about ?the situation?. Now is the time to help your fellow Jews in need, and especially those who bear the brunt of the daily Palestinian violence and terror. Not only because it is the right thing to do, but also, as the Seforno says, because the reward is one ?whose fruits are eaten in this world, while the principal remains intact in the World to Come?.
A Peace-Loving People
The Parsha concludes with G-d commanding the Jewish people to remember how the nation of Amalek attacked them in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. The Torah states, ?Remember what Amalek did to you on the way when you left Egypt; that he happened upon you on the way and he tailed you and struck those of you who were weak and in the rear? (Chap. 25, verses 17-18).?
The Question:
Why are we specifically commanded to recall what Amalek did to us by attacking us in the desert? What was unique about their assault on the Jews?
The Answer:
The book MeOtzareinu HaYashan cites two explanations. The first, by the Binyan Ariel, notes that Amalek was the first nation to attack the Jewish people and compel them to wage war. Thus, it was Amalek that first forced Israel to dirty its hands with blood, and this at a time when the Jews were wandering in the desert and their sole ambition was to enter the Land of Israel and dwell there in peace. The second explanation, that of the Megillat Sefer, is that by forcing the Jewish people to wage war, Amalek compelled them to do something that was contradictory to their very nature. The Jewish people love peace and pray for peace daily, but it was Amalek that forced them to don the instruments of battle.
According to both these interpretations, then, Amalek?s attack on Israel was particularly significant because of the impact it had on the Jews, compelling them to fight and shed blood. Because of this, Amalek is singled out for eternal contempt and condemnation.
The Lesson:
As the nations of the world gather in Durban, South Africa, for a global conference on racism, the main subject of debate has somehow centered on Israel. Even as the slave trade thrives in the Sudan, Zimbabwe?s government forcibly seizes land from white farmers and the Taliban arrest Christians in Afghanistan, the world seems to have nothing better to do with its time than to excoriate Israel. Comparisons of Zionism with racism are already being heard and Finland?s Foreign Minister went so far this week as to say that Israel?s actions resemble those of the Nazis.
However, as we saw above, the Jewish people are lovers and pursuers of peace ? not only for pragmatic reasons, but because this is an essential part of our nature, of our very being. Three times a day, every day, we ask G-d to grant us peace as part of the Shemoneh Esrei (the Eighteen Benedictions) prayer, and after eating we conclude the Grace After Meals with a plea for peace. Yes, Israel is fighting a war (of sorts) right now. But it is a war we did not want and it is a war we did not start. Unlike its foes, Israel takes no joy in killing people, and resorts to force only as a measure of last resort. It is time for the world to stop blaming Israel for the current violence, and to start pointing the finger where it belongs ? in the direction of Yasser Arafat and the PLO.
The Parsha begins by addressing the case of a soldier going to war and wishing to take an enemy captive as his wife. The opening verse reads, ?When you go out [?Ki Teitzei? in Heb.] to war against your enemies and the L-rd your G-d will deliver them into your hand? (Chap. 21, verse 10).?
The Question:
Why does the Torah use the phrase ?go out? in the opening verse? Couldn?t it have just said ?when you go to war??
The Answer:
The Kotzker Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk (1787-1859), says that the Torah is teaching us an important lesson about how to wage war. Success in battle, he says, is dependent upon taking the initiative and going out to fight the enemy on his turf, rather than sitting back defensively and waiting for him to strike. Adopting such a strategy, says the Kotzker Rebbe, will then increase the chances of the second half of the verse (?and the L-rd your G-d will deliver them [the enemy] into your hand?) coming to pass. The same is true, says the Kotzker, of the personal battle that each and everyone of us must wage against our Evil Inclination, which seeks to tempt us to sin. So long as we do not allow the Evil Inclination to set foot within ourselves, the easier it will be to overcome it. But once we have allowed it entry and enabled it to infiltrate, it will require an immense amount of effort to uproot and defeat it.
The Lesson:
After months of Palestinian atrocities, Israel has finally begun to carry out more frequent incursions into Palestinian-controlled territory to quash the terrorist threat. In recent weeks, Israeli troops have entered the Abu Sneina hills in Hebron, Beit Jalla outside Bethlehem, Rafiah on the Egyptian border and other areas. This marks an important development in the war on terrorism, but even these limited actions have come about only in response to Palestinian attacks. As we saw above, the key to victory in battle lies in taking the initiative and waging the war on the enemy?s home turf. Punitive actions in the battle against terror are essential, but they are not enough. For Israel to prevail in this struggle, it must shift the conflict away from its home front and onto the Palestinian playing field. For unlike athletic events, there is no home-field advantage in war. The only way to win is to vanquish one?s foe on his own turf and to uproot the danger that he poses, once and for all.
Having allowed Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority to set up shop in the heart of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, Israel now faces an infinitely more difficult task in this regard. For as the Kotzker Rebbe noted, once one?s foe has established an outpost within your borders, removing him becomes an even greater challenge. Therein lies the greatest fallacy of the Oslo process, and until it is corrected, Israel will unfortunately continue to endure the consequences.
An Eternal Reward
Among the many commandments contained in the Parsha is that of sending away the mother bird from the nest before taking its offspring (out of compassion for the mother bird?s feelings toward its young). This seemingly innocuous mitzvah is unique in that appended to it is an explicit promise from G-d that whomever fulfills it will merit a prolonged life. The Torah states, ?If a bird?s nest happens to be before you on the road, on any tree or on the ground ? young birds or eggs ? and the mother is roosting on the young birds or eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. You shall surely send away the mother and take the young for yourself, so that it will be good for you and will prolong your days (Chap. 22, verses 6-7).?
The Question:
What is so special about this commandment that its reward is so immense?
The Answer:
In his commentary on the Torah, the Seforno (Rabbi Obadiah Seforno, 1470 or 1475-1550) says that by sending away the mother bird, a person is performing an act of kindness which benefits the masses. By refraining from taking the mother, a person is enabling the birds of the field to continue to reproduce and grow in number, thereby providing a greater source of food for other people as well. Thus, the Torah is teaching us that even for performing such a seemingly minor act of kindness, the reward is nevertheless great, both in this world and the next, says the Seforno. By extension, we can infer that the reward for performing larger acts of kindness is, of course, even greater.
The Lesson:
Getting involved on behalf of the community can often be a thankless task. Endless griping and complaints, little appreciation and much hard work seem to be the lot of those who take upon themselves the challenge of helping others. But as we saw above, even acts that may appear to us to be of only marginal significance can nevertheless bring with them fantastic rewards. If sending away a mother bird brings one a prolonged life, then one can only imagine the blessings one merits for acts such as helping the elderly or caring for the sick. This message takes on added significance at a time of communal stress and trauma. When a nation finds itself under siege, as Israel does today, the importance of helping others is magnified still further. Now is the time to do something about ?the situation?. Now is the time to help your fellow Jews in need, and especially those who bear the brunt of the daily Palestinian violence and terror. Not only because it is the right thing to do, but also, as the Seforno says, because the reward is one ?whose fruits are eaten in this world, while the principal remains intact in the World to Come?.
A Peace-Loving People
The Parsha concludes with G-d commanding the Jewish people to remember how the nation of Amalek attacked them in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. The Torah states, ?Remember what Amalek did to you on the way when you left Egypt; that he happened upon you on the way and he tailed you and struck those of you who were weak and in the rear? (Chap. 25, verses 17-18).?
The Question:
Why are we specifically commanded to recall what Amalek did to us by attacking us in the desert? What was unique about their assault on the Jews?
The Answer:
The book MeOtzareinu HaYashan cites two explanations. The first, by the Binyan Ariel, notes that Amalek was the first nation to attack the Jewish people and compel them to wage war. Thus, it was Amalek that first forced Israel to dirty its hands with blood, and this at a time when the Jews were wandering in the desert and their sole ambition was to enter the Land of Israel and dwell there in peace. The second explanation, that of the Megillat Sefer, is that by forcing the Jewish people to wage war, Amalek compelled them to do something that was contradictory to their very nature. The Jewish people love peace and pray for peace daily, but it was Amalek that forced them to don the instruments of battle.
According to both these interpretations, then, Amalek?s attack on Israel was particularly significant because of the impact it had on the Jews, compelling them to fight and shed blood. Because of this, Amalek is singled out for eternal contempt and condemnation.
The Lesson:
As the nations of the world gather in Durban, South Africa, for a global conference on racism, the main subject of debate has somehow centered on Israel. Even as the slave trade thrives in the Sudan, Zimbabwe?s government forcibly seizes land from white farmers and the Taliban arrest Christians in Afghanistan, the world seems to have nothing better to do with its time than to excoriate Israel. Comparisons of Zionism with racism are already being heard and Finland?s Foreign Minister went so far this week as to say that Israel?s actions resemble those of the Nazis.
However, as we saw above, the Jewish people are lovers and pursuers of peace ? not only for pragmatic reasons, but because this is an essential part of our nature, of our very being. Three times a day, every day, we ask G-d to grant us peace as part of the Shemoneh Esrei (the Eighteen Benedictions) prayer, and after eating we conclude the Grace After Meals with a plea for peace. Yes, Israel is fighting a war (of sorts) right now. But it is a war we did not want and it is a war we did not start. Unlike its foes, Israel takes no joy in killing people, and resorts to force only as a measure of last resort. It is time for the world to stop blaming Israel for the current violence, and to start pointing the finger where it belongs ? in the direction of Yasser Arafat and the PLO.