"When you wage a war against your enemies, and God will give you victory over them and you will take captives...." (Deuteronomy 21:10)
War is perhaps the most tragic and horrific aspect of the human condition. Our most fervent wish, as the priestly benediction concludes, is for peace. The Talmud similarly closes with a statement extolling the importance of peace: "The Holy One found no vessel more capable of holding blessing for Israel than peace." (Oktzin 3) So why does Jewish law have such concepts as compulsory and optional wars ("milchemet mitzvah" and "milchemet reshut")? Why do we find that the greatest spiritual leaders of the Jewish people - Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, King David, Rabbi Akiva - all led their nation into battle?
In a letter written in 5664 (1904), Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook explained:
"It would have been totally impossible, at a time when all of the surrounding nations were truly night-wolves, that only the Jewish people would refrain from battle. The nations would have joined together and destroyed the remnant of the people, God forbid. On the contrary, it was absolutely crucial to take ruthless action in order to evoke fear in the wild savages."
We look forward to the day when the human race will develop to its proper state. The Torah, however, does not attempt to proceed too quickly, before the world is ready (as Rabbi Kook continued):
"Nothing ruins the groundwork for perfecting human society as much as the influence of elevated ideas on masses who are not ready to accept them. One who thought to bring success to all peoples by imposing the Torah's ethical teachings upon them before they were prepared for them has completely misunderstood God's intention. The proof (that this approach is faulty) may be seen in the phenomenon of people who, under the banner of 'love your neighbor as yourself', burnt alive others in auto-da-fe. This is because the Torah's refined concepts require preparation. 'It is an elixir of life for those who follow it diligently'; but 'the delinquent will stumble in it.'" (Shabbat 88b; Hosea 14:10)
The bloody, cruel wars that we are witness to are in fact a result of ethical constraints that were artificially placed on the nations. Their unhealthy culture caused severe distress, inducing negative traits, mental imbalance and deep-rooted anger. Their profound resentment erupted into vast displays of destruction and cruelty, with a violence more in line with their as-yet unrefined character.
Even within the Jewish people, in matters pertaining to the public and national arena, the Torah did not attempt to coerce the spirit of the people towards saintliness. This would lead to an unnatural, forced piety; whereas, the Torah's objective is to establish an intellectual awareness in the hearts of the people, based on their own free will. That is why we find the Torah is lenient regarding certain war-related issues (such as the law of female captives).
Yet, we may still ask: what is the purpose of war in general?
In his book Orot, Rabbi Kook sought to uncover the divine purpose even in war. Great wars, he wrote, have a important function in the world: they awaken the power of the Messianic Era. Solomon referred to the redemption with the phrase, "The time of the songbird (zamir) has arrived." (Song of Songs 2:12) It is a time of pruning (zamir) and cutting down the wicked. As for the many innocent lives lost in the destructive surge of violence - this phenomenon contains a measure of the atoning death of the righteous. These souls elevate to the source of life; their lives bring general good and blessing for the overall advance of the world in all of its aspects.
With the conclusion of the war, the world is renewed with a new spirit, and the footsteps of the Mashiach are revealed. We find this connection between war and the messianic light of redemption in the daily morning prayers: "Master of wars, Who sows kindness and brings forth salvations... You will shine a new light on Zion."
[Based on Igrot vol. I, letter 89, p. 100; Orot pp. 13,15]
War is perhaps the most tragic and horrific aspect of the human condition. Our most fervent wish, as the priestly benediction concludes, is for peace. The Talmud similarly closes with a statement extolling the importance of peace: "The Holy One found no vessel more capable of holding blessing for Israel than peace." (Oktzin 3) So why does Jewish law have such concepts as compulsory and optional wars ("milchemet mitzvah" and "milchemet reshut")? Why do we find that the greatest spiritual leaders of the Jewish people - Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, King David, Rabbi Akiva - all led their nation into battle?
In a letter written in 5664 (1904), Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook explained:
"It would have been totally impossible, at a time when all of the surrounding nations were truly night-wolves, that only the Jewish people would refrain from battle. The nations would have joined together and destroyed the remnant of the people, God forbid. On the contrary, it was absolutely crucial to take ruthless action in order to evoke fear in the wild savages."
We look forward to the day when the human race will develop to its proper state. The Torah, however, does not attempt to proceed too quickly, before the world is ready (as Rabbi Kook continued):
"Nothing ruins the groundwork for perfecting human society as much as the influence of elevated ideas on masses who are not ready to accept them. One who thought to bring success to all peoples by imposing the Torah's ethical teachings upon them before they were prepared for them has completely misunderstood God's intention. The proof (that this approach is faulty) may be seen in the phenomenon of people who, under the banner of 'love your neighbor as yourself', burnt alive others in auto-da-fe. This is because the Torah's refined concepts require preparation. 'It is an elixir of life for those who follow it diligently'; but 'the delinquent will stumble in it.'" (Shabbat 88b; Hosea 14:10)
The bloody, cruel wars that we are witness to are in fact a result of ethical constraints that were artificially placed on the nations. Their unhealthy culture caused severe distress, inducing negative traits, mental imbalance and deep-rooted anger. Their profound resentment erupted into vast displays of destruction and cruelty, with a violence more in line with their as-yet unrefined character.
Even within the Jewish people, in matters pertaining to the public and national arena, the Torah did not attempt to coerce the spirit of the people towards saintliness. This would lead to an unnatural, forced piety; whereas, the Torah's objective is to establish an intellectual awareness in the hearts of the people, based on their own free will. That is why we find the Torah is lenient regarding certain war-related issues (such as the law of female captives).
Yet, we may still ask: what is the purpose of war in general?
In his book Orot, Rabbi Kook sought to uncover the divine purpose even in war. Great wars, he wrote, have a important function in the world: they awaken the power of the Messianic Era. Solomon referred to the redemption with the phrase, "The time of the songbird (zamir) has arrived." (Song of Songs 2:12) It is a time of pruning (zamir) and cutting down the wicked. As for the many innocent lives lost in the destructive surge of violence - this phenomenon contains a measure of the atoning death of the righteous. These souls elevate to the source of life; their lives bring general good and blessing for the overall advance of the world in all of its aspects.
With the conclusion of the war, the world is renewed with a new spirit, and the footsteps of the Mashiach are revealed. We find this connection between war and the messianic light of redemption in the daily morning prayers: "Master of wars, Who sows kindness and brings forth salvations... You will shine a new light on Zion."
[Based on Igrot vol. I, letter 89, p. 100; Orot pp. 13,15]