RAV KOOK ON Ki Teitzei Part 2: Waging War
“When you wage a war against your enemies, and God will give you victory over them ...” (Deut. 21:10)
War is perhaps the most tragic and horrific aspect of the human condition. Our most fervent wish is for peace. Peace is the final blessing of birkat kohanim. The closing statement of the Talmud also extols the unsurpassed importance of peace: “The Holy One found no vessel more capable of holding blessing for Israel than peace” (Oktzin 3:12).
So why does Jewish law include such concepts as compulsory and optional wars – milchemet mitzvah and milchemet reshut? Why do we find that the greatest spiritual leaders of the Jewish people – Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, King David, Rabbi Akiva – all led their nation into battle?
In a letter penned in 1904, Rav Kook explained:
“It would have been totally impossible, at a time when all of the surrounding nations were truly wolves of the night, that only the Jewish people would refrain from waging war. The nations would have joined together and destroyed the remnant of the people, God forbid. On the contrary, it was absolutely crucial to act without mercy in order to evoke fear in the wild savages.”
We look forward to the day when the human race will advance to the state when war will become unnecessary. The Torah, however, does not attempt to proceed too quickly, before the world is ready.
“Nothing ruins the groundwork for perfecting human society as much as the influence of lofty ideas on masses who are not ready to accept them. Those who sought to advance humanity by imposing the Torah’s ethical teachings before the world was ready for them completely misunderstood God’s intention.
The proof [that this approach is faulty] is apparent in the phenomenon of those who burnt their victims alive in auto-da-fe [during the Spanish Inquisition] under the banner of ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ This is because the Torah’s lofty ideals require preparation. As the Sages cautioned: ‘The Torah is an elixir of life for those who follow it diligently... but the careless will stumble in it’ (Shabbat 88b, based on Hosea 14:10).
“When you wage a war against your enemies, and God will give you victory over them ...” (Deut. 21:10)
War is perhaps the most tragic and horrific aspect of the human condition. Our most fervent wish is for peace. Peace is the final blessing of birkat kohanim. The closing statement of the Talmud also extols the unsurpassed importance of peace: “The Holy One found no vessel more capable of holding blessing for Israel than peace” (Oktzin 3:12).
So why does Jewish law include such concepts as compulsory and optional wars – milchemet mitzvah and milchemet reshut? Why do we find that the greatest spiritual leaders of the Jewish people – Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, King David, Rabbi Akiva – all led their nation into battle?
In a letter penned in 1904, Rav Kook explained:
“It would have been totally impossible, at a time when all of the surrounding nations were truly wolves of the night, that only the Jewish people would refrain from waging war. The nations would have joined together and destroyed the remnant of the people, God forbid. On the contrary, it was absolutely crucial to act without mercy in order to evoke fear in the wild savages.”
We look forward to the day when the human race will advance to the state when war will become unnecessary. The Torah, however, does not attempt to proceed too quickly, before the world is ready.
“Nothing ruins the groundwork for perfecting human society as much as the influence of lofty ideas on masses who are not ready to accept them. Those who sought to advance humanity by imposing the Torah’s ethical teachings before the world was ready for them completely misunderstood God’s intention.
The proof [that this approach is faulty] is apparent in the phenomenon of those who burnt their victims alive in auto-da-fe [during the Spanish Inquisition] under the banner of ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ This is because the Torah’s lofty ideals require preparation. As the Sages cautioned: ‘The Torah is an elixir of life for those who follow it diligently... but the careless will stumble in it’ (Shabbat 88b, based on Hosea 14:10).
No comments:
Post a Comment