Comments (0)Warrior Nation
Ki Tezeh
August 28, 2009Rabbi Hillel Baron
Special to the Jewish Times
We Jews are a nation of warriors. Not just warriors, but exceptional warriors, unlike the stereotype of the weak ghetto Jew. All we need to do is to look back in our history to the period of the Prophets, to King David, Samson, Gideon and many others who fought valiantly to protect and strengthen the Land of Israel, to see this.
It is part of our “ DNA,” as clearly stated in the Parsha of Ki Tezeh: “When you will go out to war against your enemies and Hashem your G-d will deliver them into your hand.” If you look into the original Hebrew you would see that this is only an approximate translation. Al, the Hebrew word translated as “against,” really means “over” or “above.”
We need to know that, if we should go to war against our enemies, our forces will be superior to and “above” theirs. In warfare, as long as two armies fight it out on the same level, no one is really victorious. Even the one that wins suffers great casualties. We are assured true victory, if G-d will grant us capabilities to be truly above and beyond the enemy forces.
When the Torah speaks of war, though, it is speaking on two planes simultaneously. There were times when our nation has taken to arms and has taken these words to strengthen the resolve and morale of our soldiers in the literal sense. For the Torah’s words are not mere “philosophy,” but G-d’s words on dealing with real life situations.
On the other hand, for most of the course of Jewish history, the battles that we have fought have been primarily “spiritual” wars. The enemy has not been external, but part and parcel of our own being as a battle rages within us. We have both material and spiritual desires continually tugging at our consciousness seeking control. This dynamic tension can be considered war. It is the battle between our Animal soul and our G-dly soul as explained in the Tanya.
In this vein we can truly appreciate what it means to be “above your enemy.” If both souls were equal, neither side could achieve victory. No progress could ever be made to achieve spiritual perfection. We are told in the first few words of our Parsha that we have within ourselves a truly superior potential: a soul that is actually part of G-d. When we express our spiritual core and essence in the practice of Mitzvot we can easily transcend and overpower our physical and material drives.
There is another dimension to being “above” your enemy. When you are dealing with an enemy that is on your own level, you may feel the urge to destroy and stamp them out. However, when you are much stronger you feel pity and compassion. That does not mean you are less thorough in seeking victory, but that you seek victory, not vengeance. Once victory has been achieved there is a willingness to elevate and teach the enemy.
This concept is alluded to as the Torah speaks of taking captives in war, finding a beautiful woman among them and eventually taking her as a wife. In other words, we can potentially transform our opponents into assets, appreciate the positive qualities of our enemies and eventually embrace them as part of our lives.
Similarly, with regard to our spiritual battle, Judaism does not speak of totally wiping out our physical and material desires. We are meant to transform them into positive forces within our lives as Jews. Ultimately the intent is a “marriage” and fusion of the material and spiritual which will be fully realized with the coming of Mashiach, may it be speedily in our days!
Rabbi Hillel Baron is the director of the Lubavitch Center of Howard County.