Parashat Shoftim 5778
by HaRav Nachman Kahana
The mitzva of Meshuach Milchama (the kohen anointed for war) revives in our memory the long history of warfare that has been our lot since the earliest dawn of our nation.
Avraham formed an army of 318 soldiers when he attacked the four kings to save his nephew Lot.
Yaakov was prepared to fight the 400 soldiers of his brother Aisav, if need be.
In our desert experience Moshe established an army under the command of Yehoshua who fought Amalek and others.
The four hundred years of the Shoftim (Judges) period saw many wars when the individual tribes fought with armies on the tribal level.
Beginning with King Shaul, and during the following four hundred plus years, the Jewish nation had a standing army when the Babylonians destroyed the Temple and exiled our nation at the time of King Tzidkiyahu.
When Ezra and Nehemiah established the Second Jewish Commonwealth seventy years later, it is recorded that as the workers labored to rebuild the walls of Yerushalayim and the Bet Hamikdash, they were protected by the nascent Jewish army.
The army functioned for the next 420 years until the Romans destroyed our Temple and exiled our people at the time of King Agrippas the second.
Today’s Army
IDF Caracal battalion
Countries the world over have armies but in Israel it is the army that has a country, where every important decision takes into account security implications.
We love our soldiers. The young people begin their private physical training while still in high school in preparation for army service. And how great the disappointment when a youngster does not make it into a highly dangerous special unit of Tzahal. And the adults willingly report for reserve duty with great loyalty.
However, things could be better. Today our military is an army of Jews, but it cannot be said that it is a Jewish army. Although in the basic bylaws of Tzahal, training is suspended on Shabbat and holidays, and a command to violate them is legally binding only under life-threatening circumstances, and kashrut is compulsory in all military instillations, nevertheless, there are factors that warrant the statement that it is not yet a “Jewish” army which is based in all its aspects on halacha.
The following is a short depiction of how a Jewish army would (and should) look today.
In all Jewish wars the Meshuach Milchama, dressed in the 8 garments of a Kohen Gadol, goes to the front lines to address the troops.
Among other statements he says: “Listen, Israel, today you are about to wage war against your enemies. Do not be faint-hearted. Do not be afraid. Do not panic and do not break ranks before them. HaShem is the One accompanying you to do battle against your enemies to deliver you” (Devarim 20,3-4).By his very appearance a powerful message is sent to the troops. Other armies fight for home and nation; however, the Jewish army fights for the sanctification of the Holy Name. Because, despite the enemy’s rhetoric, our enemies have in the past, and will in the future, come against us because of our spiritual connection to the Creator. And in their minds if they succeed in vanquishing the Jewish army than there is no Jewish god.
So, a Jewish army is one in which every soldier is aware that he represents all Jewish history and the Creator himself. The order of the day when going into battle is total victory with no mercy for the enemies of HaShem and his chosen people.
Let 1000 mothers of our enemies weep for their dead sons, but not one Jewish mother even worry over her son.
The army is no place for women, period! The army is a killing machine, whereas woman are associated with the giving of life.
Not only is there no place for a woman in front line units like Caracal or the newly established tank crews, but not even in benign office work as a soldier.
With that said, we know that there are functions which men cannot fulfill as well as our women soldiers. For example: the eyes and ears of the Medina are the women who search the land, sea and air 24 /7 by high-tech methods, which a man cannot do for more than an hour before erupting in frustration, as well as other very important high-tech operations. So, what’s the answer?
The Halacha would state that not one woman presently serving in Tzahal need be sent home. They would fulfill these exact functions, but not as soldiers rather as civilians in the employ of the military. They would not undergo basic training or any weapons training. They would dress in civilian clothing and be employed for salaries, on contract for 2- to 3-year periods.
Kashrut would be under the army rabbinate which could employ citizen supervisors or military men. The standard would be high end Mehadrin where all could eat without question.
The army would consist of only observant men, the more erudite the better. The Gemara (Kiddushin 76b) relates that the fighting troops of King David were the nation’s most outstanding young men – without physical or spiritual blemish, because victory is dependent on the spiritual merits of the fighters.
The army rabbinate would be upgraded, where every fighting unit would include an ordained rabbi who would be one of the fighting troops and would use his rabbinic specialty only in times of need.
Of course, there are many more areas which would testify to the Torah’s presence in our army.
When the Mashiach appears, the present yeshiva students will don the uniforms of our special forces while their seats in the bet midrash will be occupied by those who are now ignorant of Torah.
Our army and its miraculous achievements is the most prominent, outstanding, significant and undeniable proof that HaShem has brought us home after 2000 years in exile. It also signifies that the time when the gentiles, who so cruelly treated the Jewish nation, will no longer be able to sustain their hate.
Let us pray that these changes occur speedily in our time.
Shabbat Shalom,
Nachman Kahana
Copyright © 5778/2018 Nachman Kahana
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