Having and fighting in a Jewish Army IS Torah! Proofs from Parashath Matot. Part II.

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In answer to Mishpacha's challenge to "Let's Talk Straight" http://shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com/2013/07/lets-talk-straight-about-what-torah.html, I am respectfully raising clear and obvious references from Parshat Matot that show that a Jewish army is integral to Torah! 

 

Let us not delude ourselves into believing that one that learns Torah stands for Torah and one that joins the army is against Torah. Both are Chayalim and are integral parts of the army.   In fact, in Parashath Matot, the war against Midian in Perek 31 is proof that not only is fighting the Torah way, the personal holiness of the soldier is an important factor in the success of the military operation. In the Medrash, (see below), Jews that were davening were standing in prayer near the battlefield! In Perek 32, Moshe's rebuke to the Tribes of Gad and Reuvein to fight with their brethren in very strong terms must resonate in our ears! (I don't see how those of us in Chutz LeAretz are exempt from the Israeli army either)

Numbers Chapter 31 בְּמִדְבַּר

א וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר.	1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
ב נְקֹם, נִקְמַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, מֵאֵת, הַמִּדְיָנִים; אַחַר, תֵּאָסֵף אֶל-עַמֶּיךָ.	2 'Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites; afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.'
ג וַיְדַבֵּר מֹשֶׁה אֶל-הָעָם לֵאמֹר, הֵחָלְצוּ מֵאִתְּכֶם אֲנָשִׁים לַצָּבָא; וְיִהְיוּ, עַל-מִדְיָן, לָתֵת נִקְמַת-יְהוָה, בְּמִדְיָן.	3 And Moses spoke unto the people, saying: 'Arm ye men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute the LORD'S vengeance on Midian.
ד אֶלֶף, לַמַּטֶּה, אֶלֶף, לַמַּטֶּה--לְכֹל מַטּוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל, תִּשְׁלְחוּ לַצָּבָא.	4 Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war.'
ה וַיִּמָּסְרוּ מֵאַלְפֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶלֶף לַמַּטֶּה--שְׁנֵים-עָשָׂר אֶלֶף, חֲלוּצֵי צָבָא.	5 So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.
ו וַיִּשְׁלַח אֹתָם מֹשֶׁה אֶלֶף לַמַּטֶּה, לַצָּבָא: אֹתָם וְאֶת-פִּינְחָס בֶּן-אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן, לַצָּבָא, וּכְלֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ וַחֲצֹצְרוֹת הַתְּרוּעָה, בְּיָדוֹ.	6 And Moses sent them, a thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.
ז וַיִּצְבְּאוּ, עַל-מִדְיָן, כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהוָה, אֶת-מֹשֶׁה; וַיַּהַרְגוּ, כָּל-זָכָר.	7 And they warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew every male.
ח וְאֶת-מַלְכֵי מִדְיָן הָרְגוּ עַל-חַלְלֵיהֶם, אֶת-אֱוִי וְאֶת-רֶקֶם וְאֶת-צוּר וְאֶת-חוּר וְאֶת-רֶבַע--חֲמֵשֶׁת, מַלְכֵי מִדְיָן; וְאֵת בִּלְעָם בֶּן-בְּעוֹר, הָרְגוּ בֶּחָרֶב.	8 And they slew the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian; Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.
ט וַיִּשְׁבּוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת-נְשֵׁי מִדְיָן, וְאֶת-טַפָּם; וְאֵת כָּל-בְּהֶמְתָּם וְאֶת-כָּל-מִקְנֵהֶם וְאֶת-כָּל-חֵילָם, בָּזָזוּ.	9 And the children of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods, they took for a prey.
י וְאֵת כָּל-עָרֵיהֶם בְּמוֹשְׁבֹתָם, וְאֵת כָּל-טִירֹתָם--שָׂרְפוּ, בָּאֵשׁ.	10 And all their cities in the places wherein they dwelt, and all their encampments, they burnt with fire.
יא וַיִּקְחוּ, אֶת-כָּל-הַשָּׁלָל, וְאֵת, כָּל-הַמַּלְקוֹחַ--בָּאָדָם, וּבַבְּהֵמָה.	11 And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of man and of beast.
יב וַיָּבִאוּ אֶל-מֹשֶׁה וְאֶל-אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן וְאֶל-עֲדַת בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶת-הַשְּׁבִי וְאֶת-הַמַּלְקוֹחַ וְאֶת-הַשָּׁלָל--אֶל-הַמַּחֲנֶה: אֶל-עַרְבֹת מוֹאָב, אֲשֶׁר עַל-יַרְדֵּן יְרֵחוֹ. {ס}	12 And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and unto Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp, unto the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan at Jericho. {S}
יג וַיֵּצְאוּ מֹשֶׁה וְאֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן, וְכָל-נְשִׂיאֵי הָעֵדָה--לִקְרָאתָם: אֶל-מִחוּץ, לַמַּחֲנֶה.	13 And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.
יד וַיִּקְצֹף מֹשֶׁה, עַל פְּקוּדֵי הֶחָיִל, שָׂרֵי הָאֲלָפִים וְשָׂרֵי הַמֵּאוֹת, הַבָּאִים מִצְּבָא הַמִּלְחָמָה.	14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the war.
טו וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם, מֹשֶׁה: הַחִיִּיתֶם, כָּל-נְקֵבָה.	15 And Moses said unto them: 'Have ye saved all the women alive?
טז הֵן הֵנָּה הָיוּ לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, בִּדְבַר בִּלְעָם, לִמְסָר-מַעַל בַּיהוָה, עַל-דְּבַר-פְּעוֹר; וַתְּהִי הַמַּגֵּפָה, בַּעֲדַת יְהוָה.	16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to revolt so as to break faith with the LORD in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD.
יז וְעַתָּה, הִרְגוּ כָל-זָכָר בַּטָּף; וְכָל-אִשָּׁה, יֹדַעַת אִישׁ לְמִשְׁכַּב זָכָר--הֲרֹגוּ.	17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.
יח וְכֹל הַטַּף בַּנָּשִׁים, אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יָדְעוּ מִשְׁכַּב זָכָר--הַחֲיוּ, לָכֶם.	18 But all the women children, that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

 

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In the Stone Edition:

 

All the Tribes, including Levi (Rashi to v. 4) were equally represented in the fighting force.

 

 on vs. 14
"With the Commanders of the Army: Because it was their responsibility to see that appropriate actions be taken, it was to the officers that Moses directed his anger.  This teaches us that when the leaders of the generation have the power to reproach, they are responsible for the failures of the nation (Rashi).

 

In The Midrash Says page 406 it says "Moshe selected a small army of 12,000 Tzaddikim (righteous men), a thousand per Tribe.  None of them had sinned with the Moabite women.  Those who had sinned were not worthy of avenging the Almighty.  Another thousand Jews from each Tribe were chosen to guard the belongings of the army and to supply food and a third thousand per Tribe stood in prayer near the battlefield."  Bamidbar Rabbah 22:3 Tiferet Zion.

 

Not one life was lost in this battle!

Further on in the Parsha, Moshe responded very forcefully and critically of Bnei Gad and Bnei Reuvein. In the Stone Chumash  Perek 32, 6-15 the commentary states  "Understanding the two tribes to be asking for the right to settle on the east bank and not participate in the long and hard war to conquer Eretz Yisroel for their brethren, he [Moshe] accused them of forsaking their fellow tribes in a time of danger"

 

The following Pesukim are very strong proof that it is our obligation to go armed nto battle to conquer Eretz Yisroel and drive out the enemy.  Perhaps Meir Kahana based his teachings on these very Pesukim. 

 

 

 

6. [Thereupon,] Moses said to the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben, "Shall your brethren go to war while you stay here?		ו. וַיֹּאמֶר משֶׁה לִבְנֵי גָד וְלִבְנֵי רְאוּבֵן הַאַחֵיכֶם יָבֹאוּ לַמִּלְחָמָה וְאַתֶּם תֵּשְׁבוּ פֹה:
Shall your brethren: This ['hey'] denotes a question.		האחיכם: לשון תמיהה הוא:
7. Why do you discourage the children of Israel from crossing over to the land which the Lord has given them?		ז. וְלָמָּה תְנִיאוּן אֶת לֵב בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵעֲבֹר אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לָהֶם יְהֹוָה:
Why do you discourage: You turn aside and dissuade their hearts from crossing, for they will think that you are afraid to cross because of the war and the strength of the cities and the people.		ולמה תניאון: תסירו ותמניעו לבם מעבור שיהיו סבורים שאתם יראים לעבור מפני המלחמה וחוזק הערים והעם:
8. This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh barnea to explore the Land.		ח. כֹּה עָשׂוּ אֲבֹתֵיכֶם בְּשָׁלְחִי אֹתָם מִקָּדֵשׁ בַּרְנֵעַ לִרְאוֹת אֶת הָאָרֶץ:
from Kadesh-barnea: This was its name; there were two places called Kadesh [one Kadesh-barnea and one Kadesh unmodified].		מקדש ברנע: כך שמה, ושני קדש היו:
9. They went up to the Valley of Eshkol and saw the land, and they discouraged the children of Israel from crossing into the land which the Lord has given them.		ט. וַיַּעֲלוּ עַד נַחַל אֶשְׁכּוֹל וַיִּרְאוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ וַיָּנִיאוּ אֶת לֵב בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְבִלְתִּי בֹא אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לָהֶם יְהֹוָה:
10. The anger of the Lord flared on that day, and He swore, saying,		י. וַיִּחַר אַף יְהֹוָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וַיִּשָּׁבַע לֵאמֹר:
11. 'None of the men from the age of twenty years and over who came out of Egypt will see the land that I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, for they did not follow Me wholeheartedly,		יא. אִם יִרְאוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים הָעֹלִים מִמִּצְרַיִם מִבֶּן עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וָמַעְלָה אֵת הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב כִּי לֹא מִלְאוּ אַחֲרָי:
12. except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.'		יב. בִּלְתִּי כָּלֵב בֶּן יְפֻנֶּה הַקְּנִזִּי וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן כִּי מִלְאוּ אַחֲרֵי יְהֹוָה:
The Kenizite: He [Caleb] was the stepson of Kenaz, to whom Caleb's mother bore Othniel [see Jud. 3:9]. — [Sotah 11b]		הקנזי: חורגו של קנז היה, וילדה לו אמו של כלב את עתניאל:
13. The anger of the Lord flared against Israel, and He made them wander in the desert for forty years until the entire generation who had done evil in the eyes of the Lord had died out.		יג. וַיִּחַר אַף יְהֹוָה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וַיְנִעֵם בַּמִּדְבָּר אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה עַד תֹּם כָּל הַדּוֹר הָעֹשֶׂה הָרָע בְּעֵינֵי יְהֹוָה:
He made them wander: He moved them about from place to place, as in נָע וָנָד"a wanderer and an exile" (Gen. 4:12).		וינעם: ויטלטלם. מן נע ונד:
14. And behold, you have now risen in place of your fathers as a society of sinful people, to add to the wrathful anger of the Lord against Israel.		יד. וְהִנֵּה קַמְתֶּם תַּחַת אֲבֹתֵיכֶם תַּרְבּוּת אֲנָשִׁים חַטָּאִים לִסְפּוֹת עוֹד עַל חֲרוֹן אַף יְהֹוָה אֶל יִשְׂרָאֵל:
to add: לִסְפּוֹת like"add (סְפוּ) year to year" (Isa. 29:1), and"add (סְפוּ) your burnt offerings" (Jer. 7:21); it denotes addition.		לספות: כמו (ישעיה כט, א) ספו שנה על שנה, (ירמיה ז, כא) עולותיכם ספו וגו', לשון תוספת:
15. If you turn away from following Him, He will leave you in the desert again, and you will destroy this entire people." ....		טו. כִּי תְשׁוּבֻן מֵאַחֲרָיו וְיָסַף עוֹד לְהַנִּיחוֹ בַּמִּדְבָּר וְשִׁחַתֶּם לְכָל הָעָם הַזֶּה:

 

20. Moses said to them, "If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves for battle before the Lord,		כ. וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם משֶׁה אִם תַּעֲשׂוּן אֶת הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה אִם תֵּחָלְצוּ לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה לַמִּלְחָמָה:
21. and your armed force crosses the Jordan before the Lord until He has driven out His enemies before Him,		כא. וְעָבַר לָכֶם כָּל חָלוּץ אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה עַד הוֹרִישׁוֹ אֶת אֹיְבָיו מִפָּנָיו:
22. and the Land will be conquered before the Lord, afterwards you may return, and you shall be freed [of your obligation] from the Lord and from Israel, and this land will become your heritage before the Lord.		כב. וְנִכְבְּשָׁה הָאָרֶץ לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה וְאַחַר תָּשֻׁבוּ וִהְיִיתֶם נְקִיִּם מֵיהֹוָה וּמִיִּשְׂרָאֵל וְהָיְתָה הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת לָכֶם לַאֲחֻזָּה לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה:
23. But, if you do not do so, behold, you will have sinned against the Lord, and be aware of your sin which will find you.		כג. וְאִם לֹא תַעֲשׂוּן כֵּן הִנֵּה חֲטָאתֶם לַיהֹוָה וּדְעוּ חַטַּאתְכֶם אֲשֶׁר תִּמְצָא אֶתְכֶם:

 

 

 

 

 

 

--

Sincerely,

 

Robin Ticker

Activist emails sent to my list  are L'Ilui Nishmat Yisrael ben David Aryeh ob"m (Izzy - Kaplan) and Howard Chaim Grief great activists and lovers of Eretz Yisroel, Am Yisroel and the Torah. Yehi Zichronum Baruch.  May their memories serve as a blessing.

 

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