HaRav Shmuel Eliahu is the Chief Rabbi of Tzfat
In Parashat Shoftim, the laws of war are set forth. In other portions as well, the Torah teaches us these laws. The first of them is to remember that Hashem, Who was with you during the Exodus from Egypt, is with you now. Therefore, do not be afraid:
“When you go out to war against your enemy, and you see horses and chariots, and a people more numerous than you, you shall not be afraid of them, for Hashem your God is with you, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt."
To strengthen their spirit, a special Kohen is appointed who is anointed with the anointing oil, like a king and the Kohen Gadol. He strengthens the hearts of the fighters before they go out to battle:
“You are approaching battle today against your enemies. Do not let your hearts grow faint; do not be afraid, do not panic, and do not be terrified of them. For Hashem your God is the One Who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you" (Deuteronomy 20).
Be Strong and Courageous
The Rambam, in the Sefer HaMitzvot, writes regarding fear:
“The command concerning this matter is repeated many times; that is that they should not flee and should not turn back during war, for through this it is possible to achieve true faith."
Because of its great importance, the prohibition against fear appears in 13 verses in the Torah, ten of them in the Book of Deuteronomy. Altogether, there are more than 30 places in the Torah where we are commanded to have courage. The Jewish People and its fighters are strengthened with the words:
“Be strong and courageous, for you shall come with this people into the Land."
The Anointed Priest
It is a positive Torah commandment for the Kohen Anointed for War to speak to the soldiers, “both in an obligatory war and in a discretionary war." In both, there is importance in strengthening the hearts of the fighters.
“The Kohen Anointed for War speaks to the people twice. Once at the border [the assembly areas], when they are going out, and before they arrange the battle lines. He says to the people: ‘Who is the man who planted a vineyard and has not redeemed its fruit...?’ When one hears his words, he returns from going out. And once at the battle lines [the combat areas], he says: ‘Do not be afraid and do not panic’" (Rambam, Hilchot Melachim 7:1-2).
The Rambam writes in the Sefer HaMitzvot (Positive Commandment 191) that the Kohen Anointed for War, who encourages the people, is charged with adding words of encouragement and strengthening as necessary. In the words of the Rambam:
“And he shall add statements that will arouse the people to war and bring them to risk their lives to assist the religion of God and preserve it, and to take vengeance upon the fools who oppose it and destroy the proper order of society."
And since the Kohen Anointed for War speaks before the soldiers in a discretionary war as well, it follows that a discretionary war also serves to rectify the world, as explained below.
Victory in War - Sanctification of Hashem’s Name
Regarding the war against Midian, it is written, “to execute Hashem’s vengeance against Midian." The war is not merely Israel going out to battle; rather, it is a war before Hashem. The Rambam explains this in his Epistle to Yemen:
“Because the Creator distinguished us through His commandments and statutes, and our superiority over others became evident through His laws and judgments, as it is stated: ‘And what great nation is there that has righteous statutes and judgments?’ all the nations became intensely jealous of us because of our religion, and their kings oppressed us on this account, stirring up hatred and enmity against us. Their desire is to wage war against Hashem and to contend with Him, but He is God, and who can contend with Him?
“And there has been no time since the Torah was given to us when a king who worshiped idols gained power, coerced, prevailed, or oppressed, without his primary intention and purpose being to destroy our Torah and forcibly overturn our religion through conquest and the sword, like Amalek, Sisera, Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Titus, Hadrian, and many others like them."
Therefore, victory over these enemies is a victory in the Name of Hashem.
A Discretionary War as Well - To Sanctify Hashem’s Name
A discretionary war, too, involves sanctification of Hashem’s Name. Thus the Rambam writes:
“Once he enters into the bonds of war, he should rely upon the Hope of Israel and its Savior in time of distress. He should know that he is waging war for the sake of the Oneness of God. He should place his life in His hands and neither fear nor be afraid. He should not think of his wife or his children, but rather erase their memory from his heart and turn away from everything else to the war.
“Anyone who begins to think and worry during battle and frightens himself transgresses a negative commandment, as it is stated: ‘Do not let your hearts grow faint; do not be afraid, do not panic, and do not be terrified of them.’ Moreover, the blood of all Israel depends upon him. If he does not prevail and does not wage war with all his heart and all his soul, he is regarded as one who has shed the blood of them all, as it is stated: ‘So that he should not melt the heart of his brothers like his own heart.’ It is also explicitly stated in the Prophets: ‘Cursed is he who performs the work of Hashem deceitfully, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from blood.’
“But anyone who fights with all his heart, without fear, and whose intention is solely to sanctify Hashem’s Name, is assured that he will suffer no harm and no evil will befall him. He will build a faithful house in Israel and merit it for himself and his children forever, and he will merit life in the World to Come, as it is stated: ‘For Hashem will surely make for my lord a faithful house, because my lord fights the wars of Hashem, and evil will not be found in you... and the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bond of life with Hashem your God’" (Hilchot Melachim 7:15).
The Wars of Our Time - Obligatory Wars
The Rambam (Hilchot Melachim 5:1-2) writes:
“A king should not wage war initially except for an obligatory war. What is considered an obligatory war? The war against the Seven Nations, the war against Amalek, and saving Israel from an enemy that has attacked them. Afterwards, he may wage a discretionary war, which is a war fought against other nations in order to expand the borders of Israel and increase the king’s greatness and reputation.
“In an obligatory war, he does not need to obtain permission from the court. Rather, he may go out on his own at any time and compel the people to go out. But for a discretionary war, he may only take the people out with the authorization of a court of seventy-one."
All of the wars in our time are certainly wars of saving Israel from an enemy.
This was the case in 1948, when all the surrounding Arab countries rose against us to throw us into the sea.
This was the case in the Six-Day War in 1967.
This was the case in the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
This was the case on Simchat Torah three years ago. Our enemies openly declare that if they have the opportunity, they will repeat what happened on Simchat Torah. They dig tunnels to enter the Land of Israel. They prepare ballistic missiles. There is no doubt whatsoever about their intentions.
Saving Israel from an Enemy
The Midrash states (Bamidbar Rabbah 21:4):
“‘Harass the Midianites and strike them.’ Why? ‘For they harass you through their schemes.’"
From here the Sages said: “If someone comes to kill you, rise early to kill him first."
Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli, of blessed memory, expanded upon this and wrote that going out against enemies is also based on the law of vengeance:
“Take vengeance for the Children of Israel against the Midianites; afterward you shall be gathered to your people" (Numbers 31).
This is what in our time is called a “price tag" - so that the enemies will understand that whoever harms Israel will suffer very painful retribution (Amud HaYemini, sec. 16).
Therefore, Gideon takes vengeance upon the men of Succoth:
“ (JuHe took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth a lesson"dges 8).
Conquering the Land - A Mitzvah
The Rambam mentions the conquest of the Land from the Seven Nations who inhabited it. In contrast, the Ramban says that the mitzvah is not limited only to the Seven Nations, but applies to any foreign nation occupying the Land, for the Torah says:
“You shall possess it and dwell in it."
According to the Ramban, this is a positive Torah commandment that applies in every generation, and its meaning is that we must not leave the Land in the hands of any other nation or leave it desolate.
The Pitchei Teshuvah (Even HaEzer 75:6) writes that the position of the Ramban “is clear from all of the halakhic authorities, both Rishonim and Acharonim."
Possessing the Land - Equal to All the Mitzvot
To illustrate how much importance the Torah places on possessing the Land, we should note that the Torah deals with it in approximately 300 verses: its possession, its being given to Israel, entering it, conquering it and apportioning it, its special qualities and its mitzvot, its borders, the division of its inheritances, and the warnings about being exiled from it.
Seventy-four verses speak about possessing the Land, and dozens of others use different expressions. On average, approximately one out of every 20 verses in the Torah deals with the Land of Israel and the connection of the Jewish People to it. From this we can understand why our Sages said that settling the Land is equal in weight to all the mitzvot combined.
The War Against Amalek - The War Against Iran
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik says in the name of his father, Rabbi Moshe, that our wars are also obligatory wars involving the mitzvah of eradicating Amalek. His proof for this novel understanding is that the Rambam, when detailing the fulfillment of the mitzvah of eradicating Amalek, did not state that “their identity has already been lost."
He writes:
“Scripture testifies that Amalek still exists in the world. See what the Torah says: ‘Hashem will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.’ If so, Amalek cannot be completely eradicated from the world until the coming of Mashiach. And so our Sages said: The Throne is not complete and the Name is not complete until the seed of Amalek is eradicated.
“But where is Amalek? The answer I once heard from my father and teacher [Rabbi Moshe], of blessed memory, is that any nation that plots to destroy Knesset Yisrael becomes, according to Halakhah, Amalek."
And so I heard from my father and teacher, our master and great Rabbi, of blessed memory, HaRav Mordechai Eliahu.
Today We Are in an Obligatory War
Today we are fighting to save Israel from monstrous enemies. We are fighting for the soil of the Land of Israel, and we are fighting the agents of Amalek who declare even today that, if given the opportunity, they will do what they did on Simchat Torah.
Iran provides them with money and weapons and trains them for this purpose. It acts and openly declares that its desire is to destroy the Jewish People, as Haman sought to do in his time, Heaven forbid.
There is no war in the world that is more clearly an obligatory war than this one. It certainly contains one of the grounds that define an obligatory war; according to the majority of halakhic authorities, it contains two grounds; and according to some, it contains all three grounds for an obligatory war.
War Over Straw and Stubble
Our Sages taught us that war does not begin only on the battlefield. Our Sages (Eruvin 45a) derived a halakhah from David’s war against the Philistines:
“They told David, saying: ‘Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah.’"
It was taught: Keilah was a city near the border, and they had come only over matters of straw and stubble, as it is written:
“And they were plundering the threshing floors."
And it is written:
“David inquired of Hashem, saying: ‘Shall I go and strike these Philistines?’ And Hashem said to David: ‘Go, strike the Philistines and save Keilah.’"
From here our Sages learned that even in a struggle over straw and stubble in a border area, we fight, risk lives, and even desecrate Shabbat.
If, however, the place is not on the border, but rather non-Jews besieged Jewish towns in the interior of the country, “if they came for monetary matters, we do not desecrate Shabbat on their account. If they came with murderous intent, we go out against them with weapons and desecrate Shabbat on their account."
And if they are already inside your home, Shabbat is desecrated and they may be killed, as in the case of a burglar breaking into a home, even when there is doubt (Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 425:2).
Even in a Case of Doubt - Lives Are Risked and Shabbat Is Desecrated
The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 329:6) writes that when there is doubt whether they came to kill or for the sake of property, Shabbat is desecrated and they may be killed, even outside the Land of Israel.
The Rema adds that we do not wait for them to arrive. It is enough that “they intend to come" for us to go out to war against them, even on Shabbat.
The Shulchan Aruch further writes:
“There is an opinion that nowadays, even if they came for monetary matters, Shabbat may be desecrated, because if the Jew does not allow him to plunder and pillage his property, he will kill him, and it is therefore considered a matter involving danger to life. Nevertheless, everything depends upon the circumstances."
Straw and Stubble as a Metaphor
It is clear to everyone that the halakhah concerning war over straw and stubble is an expression referring to a war over things that are not important. All the more so if our enemies set fire to fields or steal cattle.
Our Sages spoke of straw and stubble so that one should not say: Perhaps we should give up the straw and stubble in order to save lives. Our Sages taught us that whoever gives up straw and stubble today gives the enemy strength, and they will dare to steal more and more.
At the same time, your power to stand firm is increasingly eroded. They accumulate strength and courage, while you accumulate weakness and irresolution. This was one of the mistakes made before Simchat Torah, and the result was disastrous.
Today, the Israel Defense Forces are conducting the war more and more in accordance with the way of the Torah.
Everyone Goes Out in an Obligatory War
“The officers shall speak to the people, saying: ‘Who is the man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war and another man dedicate it.’"
The reason that those who have a house, a vineyard, or a wife return home is that although all of these are a person’s private joy, they all build the House of Israel and bring joy to “Zion through her children."
However, all of these return home only in a discretionary war. “But in an obligatory war, everyone goes out, even a groom from his chamber and a bride from her wedding canopy" (Mishnah Sotah 44b). The Gemara (Sotah 10) implies that this also includes Torah scholars.
And so it was with Moses, Joshua, Deborah and Barak, King David, and the Hasmonean Kohanim, “those who engage in Your Torah," who went out to fight in all the obligatory wars.
Furthermore, it would seem that in an obligatory war, young men reaching military age in the Diaspora are obligated in this Torah mitzvah as well.
Conscripting Torah Scholars for Forced Labor
The fact that King Asa was punished for imposing forced labor upon Torah scholars refers to construction work:
“King Asa summoned all Judah; none was exempt. They carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had built, and King Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah" (I Kings 15:22; Sotah 10).
And the fact that Abraham was punished for taking his students to the war against the four kings was because, as far as they were concerned, it was a discretionary war. The four kings endangered Lot, and Lot had no connection to Abraham’s students, but only to Abraham himself (Nedarim 32a).
Rescue - Through the Great Sages and Scholars of Israel
The Gemara (Yoma 84b) states regarding saving lives:
“These things are not done through non-Jews or Samaritans, but rather through the great ones of Israel."
The Rambam (Hilchot Shabbat 2:3) adds:
“When these things are done, they should not be done by non-Jews, minors, slaves, or women, so that Shabbat should not be treated lightly in their eyes, but by the great ones of Israel and their Sages."
And the Shulchan Aruch states that when saving lives:
“We endeavor not to do so through non-Jews, minors, or women, but rather through adult Jews of sound judgment" (Shulchan Aruch 328:12).
“And when Sages are present, it is a mitzvah, lechatchilah, that this desecration of Shabbat be performed by them" (Mishnah Berurah, subsec. 34).
The Obligation to Enlist
Some say that Torah scholars do not have to enlist for war, even in an obligatory war. The Chazon Ish writes that in a situation involving danger to life, saving the nation, or when they are needed in order to win the war, even in a discretionary war, they must go out to war:
“It appears that what we learned in the Mishnah, that in an obligatory war even a groom goes out from his chamber, does not refer to a situation in which their assistance is needed to win the war, for it is obvious that for the sake of saving lives and saving the nation, everyone is obligated.
“Rather, even when only a specific number is needed - and this was the case in most of their wars, when there was only room in the fighting force for a specific number - it was permissible to take even a groom from his chamber, for those who normally return home have no exemption in an obligatory war."
The Chazon Ish further adds that even:
“In a discretionary war, they are exempt only when Israel’s victory does not depend upon them, because the necessary number of soldiers is available without them. But if they are needed, they are obligated to come to the aid of their brothers, and the matter thereby becomes an obligatory war" (Chazon Ish, Orach Chaim, Eruvin, Likkutim 114, sec. 6:3).
We Do Not Rely on Miracles
Some opinions exempt them based on the Gemara (Bava Batra 7-8), which says that a tax is not imposed upon Torah scholars for the construction of a city wall or gates because Torah scholars do not require protection (Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 163:4).
The Chazon Ish raises the difficulty that we do not rely upon miracles (Chazon Ish, Bava Batra 5:18):
“This requires examination. After all, the Rabbis must also conduct themselves according to the normal ways of the world and not rely upon miracles, as we say in Berachot (35b): ‘Conduct yourself according to the way of the world.’ And in Shabbat (32a): ‘A person should not stand in a place of danger.’ And in Chullin (105a): ‘Had my father been inspecting his property...’ It is possible that in a city whose inhabitants are all Rabbis, they may compel one another to build a wall."
For in truth, we do not rely upon miracles.
This Halakhah Was Said Only Regarding a Financial Tax
The Chazon Ish further explains that the statement that Torah scholars “do not require protection" does not mean that they literally have no need for protection. Rather, it concerns an exemption from taxation for those who devote all their time to Torah study. Therefore:
“In a city where people live and there are Rabbis among them, the cost of the wall is imposed upon the general population and the scholars are exempted, just as they are exempted from taxation, for the Torah exempted them. Since they do not strive to acquire money because of their occupation with Torah, their money should not be taken for taxes.
“For in truth their Torah protects them, and they are not subject to the natural occurrences of life in the same manner as other people, since Divine Providence corresponds to the degree of trust with which a person casts his burden upon his Creator. Therefore, it is fitting to exempt a Torah scholar from the cost of protection and to impose the expense of the wall upon the other residents of the city."
His words imply that there is no sweeping exemption for Torah scholars. Rather, it is an exemption similar to an act of communal charity: the public assumes the tax burden of Torah scholars because they do not possess surplus wealth and devote all of their time to Torah study.
Sharing the Burden
In the Responsa of the Radbaz (II, 752), he writes regarding the Torah scholars of his generation:
“I am doubtful whether today there is anyone who does not require protection. I will not enter into this inquiry now, because my words would cause distress to some scholars, and therefore silence is better than speech."
For the Torah scholars being discussed are of the type described in the Gemara (Berachot 33a):
“The Rabbis taught: There was once a place where there was a poisonous creature that was harming people. They came and informed Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa. He said to them: ‘Show me its hole.’ They showed him its hole. He placed his heel over the opening of the hole. It came out and bit him, and the creature died.
“He placed it on his shoulder and brought it to the study hall. He said to them: ‘See, my children, it is not the creature that kills; rather, sin kills.’ At that time they said: ‘Woe to the person who encounters such a creature, and woe to the creature that encounters Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa.’"
Therefore, the Radbaz rules as a matter of practical halakhah that if the scholars themselves demonstrate that protection is important to them, there is no basis in law or reason for them to compel the community:
“To appoint guards while they themselves do not assist together with them. No one has ever said that the community may be compelled in such a case; and if anyone did say so, we would not listen to him, for the attribute of justice would thereby be corrupted."
He continues that if you find “scholars who say otherwise," do not rely upon their words, because:
“They interpret the law for their own benefit, and we do not listen to them."
All the more so when:
“There is a danger to life involved, as is well known, and it is improper that there be any negligence in the matter."
May it be His will that we merit days concerning which it is said:
“I will grant peace in the Land, and you shall lie down with none to make you afraid; I will remove dangerous beasts from the Land, and the sword shall not pass through your Land."
Amen.