The primary theme of our weekly reading is that of the wars that invariably occur periodically. In particular, our generation that has witnessed the extermination of a third of the Jewish people, the horrors of Bosnia, and Central Africa knows the suffering and despair, cruelty and inhumanity that are the result of war. Because ein bayit asher ein bo met, there is no Jewish home that has not suffered firsthand the Holocaust that the Nazis committed. Therefore, one of the essential characteristics of the messianic era, which is synonymous with harmony and coexistence, understanding and love between human beings, is the absence of warlike conflicts. These are the words of the prophet Yeshayahu: vehaya beacharit hayamim …, vechitetu charvotam leitim vachaninotehem lemazmerot, lo yisa goi el goi cherev velo yilmedu od milchama; which means, “and it will happen at the end of the days …, and they will turn their swords into plowshares, and their spears into sickles, no nation will raise a sword against another nation, nor will they learn war anymore. In our days, which predate this messianic era, we must study the biblical text that contains a series of ordinances whose objective is to mitigate the drama of all warfare.
The initial conquest of the land of Canaan was carried out by fighting and shedding blood. In the Jewish tradition these wars are placed under the heading of Milchemet Mitsva, a concept that can be translated as a war ordered by the Divinity in the first period of our collective history. Of course, the notion of a God-sanctioned or ordained war collides with one of our basic ideas about the Deity. The text of the blessing of the Kohanim, for example, concludes by imploring that God grant us peace. The word Shalom, which means peace, is used for the daily greeting, thus highlighting our constant desire for harmony and tranquility. Authentic faith in God must result in a kind of inner peace. In short, we cannot conceive of the Creator without at the same time think of the notion of peace. In the Kaddish, which has become a prayer for the deceased, we affirm, ose shalom bimeromav, Hu yaase shalom alenu, which means, “He Who makes makes peace in the heights, He will grant us peace (on earth)”.
In search of an answer to the difficulty raised, we can emphasize that the historical moment to which we refer is characterized by human sacrifices and the greatest aberrations in social behavior. Therefore, the effects of the conquest can be considered as a punishment for the conquered peoples. However, it can be noted that there were different options. Possibly, the way forward should have been a didactic one. Rather than exterminating the residents of the promised land of Canaan, there was the option for our ancestors to teach them the truth discovered by the patriarch Avraham. It is clear, for example, that the Aséret hadibrot, which are the Ten Commandments, could have been used to spread a new moral law in those lands. Another possibility could have been the insistence on observance of the sheva Mitsvot debenei Noach, which are the seven basic laws of Noah’s time. In this way, the residents of Canaan could have been incorporated into the great monotheistic family that was being created within humanity. But there was an enormous danger that the Jewish people could also succumb to idolatry.
Scientific investigations of history and archeology lead us to the conclusion that there were extraordinary people in the past who conceived the notion of one God. The famous Pharaoh Ikhnaton, for example, was essentially monotheistic. However, none of these religious discoveries survived. They were fleeting attempts, flashes of light that are consumed instantly. Their short duration is perhaps due to the fact that they appear in the midst of the prevailing polytheism and could not resist either its constant onslaught or the challenge of ease and pleasure characteristic of idolatry. It is curious to observe that polytheism is distinguished by its tolerance. The Greeks who concentrated their multiple gods on Mount Olympus could conceive of additional deities. Therefore, when they conquered new lands, they used to pay homage to the local deity, because they considered that they had helped them in their victory. Monotheism, however, is jealous. The only God does not allow or grant any living space to another god. There is only one God, and no one else.
It is very likely that Judaism would have also succumbed to the idolatry that reigned everywhere. History teaches us that during the period of the first Beit HaMikdash, the Temple of Jerusalem, idolatry and its concomitant priestly caste were sometimes involved in alien rites, which was an existential problem for the spiritual development of our people. Therefore, it was necessary to eradicate, as far as possible, any vestige of the attractive and contagious idolatry that encourages sexual license and blind religious drunkenness.
In addition to the aforementioned war to conquer the Promised Land, our tradition considers two additional types of warfare. In the case of external aggression, you must respond with Milchemet chova, which means a forced war. The Melech, who is the king of Israel, does not require the consent of any deliberative body to face a military aggression of this nature. In contrast, in the case of Milchemet reshut, which refers to an optional war whose purpose is to enlarge the boundaries of the country, the prior approval of the Sanhedrin, the body of seventy-one religious notables, is required. Later on, the armed forces must be informed about the purpose of the war. (In the period of the Vietnam War, we find the fact that the North American nation was unaware of the purpose and scope of the conflict. This was one of the reasons why the government did not obtain the majority support of its people). Our initial text that reads, ki teitsei lamilchama al oivecha, means that when you go to war against your enemies, our Chachamim demand that it be verified that it really is a case about oivecha, which means your enemy.
According to the instructions of our text, the officers had to speak to the people pointing out, mi haish asher bana bayit chadash velo chanacho yelech veyashov leveito …, “what man is there who has built a house and has not opened it, go and return to your house, lest you die in the war and someone else opens his house ”. Having planted a vineyard and having handcuffed a woman and not taking her, were equally sufficient reasons not to have to participate in the war. Included from going to war were hayare veharach levav, “the fearful and the weak-hearted.”
The adversary must first be offered the possibility of peace, according to the Talmud. The acceptance by the enemy of the basic laws of Noah is reason enough not to kill any living being. In such a case, certain taxes may be imposed. When establishing a siege to a city, the surveillance of one side of the perimeter must be neglected, to allow whoever wishes to save himself to escape. Trees that bear edible fruits should not be cut down and the necessary water must be allowed to enter.
In the Talmud we find the following observation: kol zeman sheIsrael mistaklin klapei maala hem mitgabrim, veim lav noflim, which means that while (the people of) Israel have their gaze fixed towards heaven they are victorious; if not, the fall is inevitable. This teaching alludes to the relative merit of the purpose of wars, which must have important goals and social benefits. Of course, there are those who argue that all war is diabolical, even when some of its objectives have a noble intention. Latin American countries, for example, prefer their own dictatorships to the alternative, for example, to a North American armed intervention.
However, the instructions contained in our text that were widely interpreted by our Chachaim to mitigate the disasters of war, underline our aspirations and desires that are based on understanding and harmony between peoples. Charvotam leitim, the conversion of swords into plowshares is the symbol and motto for a greater humanization of our troubled globe.
