Take the High Road
Our essence and default position is peace. War is a necessary evil. While fighting our battles we should never lose sight that we are above war.
Just Wars
War is one of the most objectionable institutions known to humankind. We pray daily for peace and for a time when the “swords will be converted into plowshares,” and “Nations will learn war no more.” Yet, history has taught us that there are just wars. World War II is a perfect example of a just war that was fought to defeat a threat to the Jewish people, and, indeed, to the entire world.
The wars the Jewish people fought before, during and after the conquest of the Land of Israel—some of which are referred to in this week’s parsha—were also examples of wars that were mandated by G-d, to protect and preserve the Jewish people and to rid the world of its most evil elements. But, no matter how many wars the Jewish people have been subjected to, they never lost their sense of the war’s true objective—the end of war.
But, war is not limited to the battlefield. Every time we engage the material world, we enter into a conflict, as to how we should proceed. Materialistic influences “demand” that we devote our lives to more and more “conquests;”
more physical pleasure, more wealth, more acquisitions, more power, etc. The spiritual influences, on the other hand, demand that we utilize the material for noble purposes even as we shun the excesses brought on by a materialistic world view.
Bread and War
In Jewish literature, bread is often used as a symbol for all material matters. And it is instructive that the Hebrew word for bread, lechem, is cognate to the word milchamawar. Every time we engage the material world there is a struggle as to whether we will control to what extent— where, when and how—we will allow the material aspects of life to occupy our minds and hearts.
Our sages also remind us that every time we pray, we are engaged in a struggle between our internal forces of good and evil. The Psalms that we recite near the beginning of our morning prayer is called Pesukei d’zimra. Literally translated, this means the “verses of praise.” It is so called because in no other source can we find such eloquence in describing G-d’s handiwork.
There is another translation of the words, “Pesukei d’zimra” that refers to these Psalms as “songs of pruning.” They are so named because by reciting these exquisite praises of G-d we effectively trim away the undesirable matters and attitudes that prevent us from getting close to G-d.
This week’s parsha, in describing an actual war, begins:
“If you shall go out to war against your enemy, G-d will deliver him into your hands and you will capture a captive.”
In this verse, there are at least three messages the Torah has been teaching us about the proper attitude to war and conflict. This lesson is especially appropriate for the personal war that we must wage—the struggle between good and evil.
Going Out
Firstly, the Torah states “If you shall go out to war..,” implying that one must go out of where they were previously, in order to fight the war. Isn’t that quite obvious that you cannot fight a war from your home? Why then does the Torah not state simply, “If you go to war” or “If you shall wage war?” Why add the word “out?”
Chassidic thought teaches us that the addition of the word “out” was intended to teach us that war is inherently a foreign concept to a Jew. The Jew must go out of his element in order to be engaged in a war. Conflict and a Jew are naturally opposites.
Even when a Jew is compelled into a battle, he must never forget that he is engaged in an alien exercise.
And while certain wars are not only “just wars,” they are a fulfillment of Divine commandments—such as wars of selfdefense or the initial war of the conquest of the Land of Israel—nevertheless, in order to engage in a war a Jew must go out of his true and essential being, which is peace. A Jew must be capable of returning to his or her source of inner peace that is the default state of the soul.
When we realize that our foray into the realm of war has transformed us into a combative individual, we must endeavor to move in the opposite direction—to perform more acts of kindness and peace to restore their true innate nature.
On or Against?
Secondly, the Torah states that the war is Al Oy’vecha, which, when translated precisely, should read “on your enemy,” and not “against your enemy.”
The difference between the two expressions “against” and “on” is clear. In the battle between good and evil, we must always recognize that good is superior to evil. And that even though we are involved in a war; we never allow ourselves to be tainted by this involvement, because we always stand above our enemy.
By stating that the war is “on” your enemy—and not against your enemy—the Torah instructs us to always maintain our awareness of the superiority of our cause. Never consider your enemy your equal.
We must always maintain a clear understanding of the black and white nature of evil and good. When our value system becomes muddled and we are confused as to what is good and what is evil, we cannot prevail in our struggle.
And while there are gray areas in the area of right and wrong, we cannot simply “flip a coin” to arbitrarily decide what our course of action will be. In these situations, we must consult an authority of Jewish law, ethics and Torah spirituality to guide us in these uncharted waters. That too is Torah’s instruction to us that brings clarity to our lives and its struggles.
Capturing a Captive
Thirdly, the Torah speaks of “capturing a captive.” This suggests that the object of the spiritual wars we have to fight is not only to maintain our existence, but to liberate the good that is hidden within the evil and thereby increase the amount of positive energy in the world.
According to the teachings of Kabbalah, every physical object, every experience of life, has a spark of holiness in it that is held “captive” within that object or experience. When we fight our battles against evil, we are extricating and liberating the goodness within that thing and allowing the good to affect the world.
According to the Ari, one of the greatest Kabbalists of all times (whose anniversary of passing on the fifth day of the Hebrew month of Av coincides with the beginning of the Torah reading of the Book of Deuteronomy/Devarim), when the process of liberating the sparks is complete, the world will be ready for Moshiach, because the cumulative forces of holiness that were liberated by all of the battles we’ve been fighting, will make the world receptive for the Redemption.
Mission Accomplished
The Lubavitcher Rebbe has declared that, in fact, this process of “liberating the sparks” has been completed, and the world is now ready for experiencing the final change that is needed for the age of total peace.
This assertion needs to be understood. If we have already liberated all of the sparks of holiness that need to be liberated why isn’t Moshiach here? Why are we still in exile?
While we can never presume to understand G-d’s ways as to why things are the way they are, we can and must understand what G-d demands of us. If the focus on unleashing the sparks has now receded what is to be our focus today?
The Rebbe explained that in the present standing-on-thethreshold mode our efforts should be directed at “opening our eyes” to realize the good that exists and the unlimited positive energy we have released through our cumulative efforts. This not only complements our increased acts of goodness and kindness, it imbues them with a new and refreshing energy.
To summarize: Our mission from the time we became a nation was to wage war against the obstacles to G-d’s presence in this physical world. In this week’s parsha of Ki Seitzei, three guidelines as to how to successfully wage this war were given, as was discussed earlier:
a) Know that war is not our forte; it is a necessary means to the end, but not the end;
b) Know that we are superior to our enemy;
c) “Capture the captives,” i.e., find the hidden good in the world and release it so it augments the good we already possess.
Now, we are ready to enter into next week’s parsha—the beginning of which we always read on the Shabbos of Ki Seitzei—which is Ki Savo, translated as “When you arrive.” Now we are in the arrival mode, with the emphasis on becoming receptive to all the good and G-dly energy that characterizes the Messianic Age.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Ki Seitzei by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
