War in Israel
Adapted from Rabbi Braun’s sermon in 5774
A 13 year old boy living in southern Israel created an app that alerts you every time a rocket is fired from Gaza into Israel. When my father in law asked me if I wanted to install it this past Tuesday my initial response was – it would go off all day, what a distraction that would be. That of course is the rub – for the people of Israel and certainly those in the south they don’t just get a text message alert that a missile is rocket has been shot. Their alert means that the rocket is coming at them. And they have precious seconds to grab their families and children and run for cover, 20 to 30 times a day!
It is hard to imagine.
I must admit that my thoughts are really all over the place. There are so many aspects to this current war..
At the end of last week’s parsha we read about Pinchas’s zealotry for God as he publicly spears a prince of Israel.
Today’s parsha opens with God gifting Pinchas a covenant of peace.
In previous years I have talked about the Midrash’s lack of comfort with Pinchas’ unilateral extrajudicial action. So much so argues the Midrash that God himself has to come to justify Pinchas’ action.
Multiple times I have referenced the Netziv’s great comment about why a covenant of peace is the fitting reward for Pinchas. He writes, and it is one of my favorite pieces in the Netziv, that the act of taking a life, even when one must, has an effect upon your soul and the peace that God offers Pinchas is a healing of the wound that killing inflicts upon the killer.
Each of those is its own sermon but has great relevance today.
National action versus individual, who gets to react and how, certainly is one of the issues on the table.
It relates to the atrocious and immoral murder of Hussein Abu Chadeir, an act that betrayed our innate sense of morality that has guided Israel since its inception.
The toll that war takes upon the soldiers of Tzahal and the emotional toll on the people of the south and all of Israel is a very real issue.
What struck me this year as I looked at the parsha on Friday morning was the command given immediately after Pinchas is given a covenant of peace.
במדבר פרק כה
טז) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְקֹוָ֖ק אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר יז) צָר֖וֹר אֶת־הַמִּדְיָנִ֑ים וְהִכִּיתֶ֖ם אוֹתָֽם יח) כִּ֣י צֹרְרִ֥ים הֵם֙ לָכֶ֔ם בְּנִכְלֵיהֶ֛ם
“And God said to Moshe, go to war with the Midyanites and smite them!
What happened to the covenant of peace? Why is the first post “peace covenant” command one of war?
That question becomes even better when you keep reading. After the command to go to war with Midyan, you would expect to find the people carrying out the command and conducting battle with Midyan.
Yet we only read of the war 6 chapters later in chapter 31. Why record the command here if it will be repeated and carried out later?
I think its inclusion here is to teach us a critical and important message. Peace is our goal; spiritual, emotional and physical peace is what we ultimately want. That is the covenant of peace.
But lest we think that means that we are never to fight and only be peaceful, God commands us to fight Midyan. There is always a deep desire for peace but there is a time for war as well. Sometimes the only way to achieve peace is through military action.
Many of the commentators point to this command “Harass the Midianites, and 17. strike them;
- For they harassed you” as the source for (חזקוני ) – מכאן אמרו אם בא להרגך השכם להרגוwhen one comes to kill you arise and kill them.
Thus the command is given here, although it only happens later, to highlight the contrast between the deep desire for peace and occasional necessity of war.
That is where we currently find ourselves; with a deep desire for safety and peace, but the understanding that when rockets rain are fired at nearly 75% of Israel, there is a necessity of self defense and battle.
We pray for a successful war in the hopes of achieving peace.
We pray for peace- and that the people of Israel should find peace from physical harm and that God should bless them with a covenant of emotional and spiritual peace as well.
