Two Paths to Victory: Confronting Evil and Causing It to Flee
Fleeing in Seven Directions
Parshat Ki Tavo highlights the blessings that come from our commitment to the commandments, as well as the consequences of neglecting them.
One of the blessings promised for observing the commandments is:
“G-d will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be beaten before you. They will come out against you in one direction and flee from you in seven directions.”
Conversely, among the curses for failing to observe the commandments, the Torah also threatens that we will flee from our enemies in seven directions.
This raises two questions. First, what is the significance of fleeing in seven directions, both when the Torah describes our enemies fleeing from us and, G-d forbid, when it describes us fleeing from them?
Second, when the Torah describes what will happen to our enemies, it appears to divide their defeat into two distinct stages: first, they will be “beaten before you,” and then they will “flee from you in seven directions.” What is the deeper meaning of these two different forms of victory?
Seven Directions: A Measure for Measure
One way of explaining the reference to seven directions is that it represents a measure-for-measure consequence.
The seven Noahide commandments were given to all humanity, initially to Noah and subsequently reiterated at Sinai. Thus, when the Torah describes the enemies scattering in seven directions, it may allude to the seven universal commandments. Their failure to uphold the moral obligations incumbent upon all humanity results in their scattering in seven directions, measure for measure.
But this interpretation raises another question. If the seven directions correspond to the seven Noahide commandments, how can we understand the corresponding punishment for the Jewish people? We are obligated not merely in seven commandments, but in 613 Biblical commandments.
There is, however, another significant set of seven commandments: the seven rabbinical commandments.
The Seven Rabbinical Commandments
The significance of the number seven is hinted at in the very text of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments consist of 620 letters, corresponding, according to one tradition, to the 613 Biblical commandments together with the seven rabbinical commandments. Another tradition understands the additional seven letters as corresponding to the seven Noahide commandments.
We may therefore suggest that the Torah’s reference to fleeing in seven directions alludes to the seven rabbinical commandments—both positively and negatively. When we observe these commandments, our enemies flee in seven directions; when, G-d forbid, we fail to observe them, we ourselves become vulnerable to fleeing in seven directions.
Although the rabbinical commandments were formally instituted long after the Torah was given, the Torah contains within it the potential for all future Torah insights. As the Talmud teaches:
“Everything that a worthy student is destined to innovate was already given to Moses at Sinai.”
The seven rabbinical commandments, therefore, are not foreign additions to Torah. They are rooted in the Torah itself and represent a further dimension of our relationship with G-d.
Yet this raises a fundamental question: Why would the Torah’s warning about fleeing in seven directions focus specifically on the rabbinical commandments rather than on the 613 Biblical commandments?
And, even more importantly, what is the connection between observing or violating rabbinical commandments and the ability to confront or flee from our enemies?
“The Words of the Sages Are Sweeter”
A Talmudic teaching sheds light on the unique significance of rabbinical commandments:
“G-d says: The words of the Sages are sweeter to Me than the words of the Torah.”
This is a startling statement. How can the words of the Sages be described as sweeter to G-d than the words of the Torah itself?
The rationale can be understood through a simple analogy.
There is a difference between a child who follows a parent’s explicit instructions and a child who understands a hint and acts according to what he or she knows the parent would want, even though the parent never explicitly issued that instruction.
Both children are obedient. But the second child’s behavior demonstrates a greater degree of maturity and devotion. That child is not merely responding to an order; the child is trying to understand the parent.
Similarly, someone who observes the Biblical commandments demonstrates a commitment to G-d’s will. G-d has explicitly commanded us to perform these mitzvot, and we fulfill them because we accept His authority and do not wish to violate His will.
But someone who observes the rabbinical commandments demonstrates something deeper. Such a person seeks to discover additional ways of connecting to G-d—ways that were not explicitly commanded in the Written Torah but were discerned by the Sages through their profound understanding of Torah.
The difference can therefore be expressed this way:
The Biblical commandments express our commitment to G-d’s explicit will; the rabbinical commandments express our desire to understand G-d Himself.
The former is rooted primarily in reverence and awe. The latter reflects an additional dimension of love and intimacy.
It is as though the person is saying:
“I know what You commanded me. But what more can I do for You?”
Two Ways of Defeating Evil
This distinction helps explain the Torah’s two descriptions of victory over our enemies.
When confronting evil, there are essentially two different strategies.
The first is direct confrontation. We meet the enemy face-to-face and defeat it through force.
The second is more subtle. Rather than engaging the enemy in direct combat, we create such an overwhelming spiritual force that the enemy loses its power and flees.
These two approaches are reflected in the verse:
“G-d will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be beaten before you. They will come out against you in one direction and flee from you in seven directions.”
The first part describes the enemy being “beaten before you.” This is direct confrontation: the enemy is engaged and defeated.
The second describes the enemy fleeing. Here, the victory is achieved without the same kind of direct confrontation. The enemy’s very presence becomes untenable, and it retreats.
Reuven and Gad Versus Judah
These two approaches can also be seen in the different spiritual characteristics of the tribes.
Regarding Reuven and Gad, the Torah describes their military prowess with the words:
“And they will smite their arms and heads.”
Their method is direct and forceful: the enemy is physically confronted and struck down.
Judah, by contrast, is described in a very different manner:
“Your hands are in the backs of your enemy.”
Judah’s strength expresses itself not merely by striking the enemy, but by causing the enemy to retreat.
These two forms of military victory correspond to two spiritual approaches to the battle against evil.
The Power of Direct Commitment
When we devote ourselves to the explicit commandments of the Torah, we develop the spiritual strength to confront evil directly.
The Biblical commandments are clear and explicit. They define precisely what G-d wants from us. Our observance expresses our absolute commitment to His will.
This gives us the power to confront the forces of evil head-on.
It is analogous to the first stage described in the verse: “Your enemies will be beaten before you.”
We possess the strength to engage the enemy directly and overcome it.
But direct confrontation also carries a danger. Whenever two opposing forces engage one another, there is the possibility that the battle will inflict harm on both sides.
There is another, more powerful approach.
The Power of “What More Can I Do for You?”
When we go beyond the explicit commandments and seek additional ways of connecting to G-d, we develop a deeper spiritual relationship.
This is the unique contribution of the rabbinical commandments.
The Sages did not merely add restrictions and obligations. They revealed additional avenues through which the Jew could express his or her devotion to G-d.
This approach is not limited to the question, “What did G-d command me to do?”
It asks a much deeper question:
“How can I come even closer to G-d?”
That additional dimension of devotion generates a different kind of spiritual power. Instead of requiring us to engage evil directly, it can cause evil to retreat on its own.
This is the second stage of the blessing:
“They will flee from you in seven directions.”
The enemy does not merely lose the battle. It cannot even remain in our presence.
From Rabbinical Law to the Inner Dimension of Torah
The same principle can be taken even further.
If rabbinical commandments represent a deeper expression of our relationship with G-d than the explicit Biblical commandments, then the study and internalization of the mystical dimensions of Torah—Kabbalah and Chassidus—can reveal an even deeper level of that relationship.
The study of the inner dimension of Torah reflects a desire to connect not merely with G-d’s revealed will, but with the deepest dimensions of G-dliness expressed within Torah.
It is a sign that we are seeking the most intimate possible relationship with G-d.
And that deeper connection has a corresponding effect on the battle against evil.
The more deeply we internalize G-dliness, the less necessary direct confrontation with evil becomes. Rather than fighting darkness on its own terms, we illuminate the world with such a powerful revelation of G-dliness that the darkness simply retreats.
From Direct Battle to the Final Redemption
This also helps explain a broader historical progression.
In the conquest of the Land of Israel, the Jewish people were engaged in a direct physical struggle against the seven Canaanite nations. At that stage of history, the direct approach was paramount.
The spiritual paradigm was therefore represented by the warriors of Reuven and Gad, whose strength was expressed through direct confrontation with the enemy.
But as history progresses toward the Final Redemption, the nature of the battle changes.
Our ultimate struggle is not merely a physical war against an external enemy. It is the final confrontation with the forces of darkness and concealment that prevent the world from recognizing G-d’s presence.
For that battle, direct confrontation alone is insufficient.
We must increasingly emphasize the deeper dimensions of Torah: the rabbinical commandments, and especially the teachings of Kabbalah and Chassidus, which have been revealed and disseminated in recent generations in preparation for the Final Redemption.
Empowering Judah and Moshiach
This brings us back to the distinction between the two forms of victory.
The first is the power to defeat the enemy.
The second is the power to cause the enemy to flee.
The first is associated with direct confrontation. The second represents a higher spiritual achievement in which the enemy loses its ability to confront us in the first place.
This second form of victory is particularly associated with Judah, the tribe from which Moshiach descends.
As we approach the Final Redemption, our task is therefore not merely to defeat evil through confrontation. It is to reveal such a profound dimension of G-dliness that evil itself is forced to retreat.
By faithfully observing the explicit commandments of the Torah, we acquire the strength to confront the enemy.
By embracing the rabbinical commandments, we demonstrate a deeper love and commitment to G-d—our willingness to ask, “What more can I do for You?”
And by studying and internalizing the inner dimension of Torah, we access an even deeper revelation of G-dliness.
That revelation empowers the spiritual dimension of Judah and, ultimately, Moshiach, to bring about the ultimate fulfillment of the blessing:
“They will come out against you in one direction and flee from you in seven directions.”
The goal of the Final Redemption is not merely that evil should be defeated.
It is that evil should have no place left to stand.
