PARSHAT EKEV by Yehuda HaKohen. Another point of view. EKEV opens and closes with challenging ideas meant to condition the Jewish people towards properly fulfilling our national mission. Early in the Sidrah Moshe instructs Israel saying, “You will devour all the peoples that HaShem, your G-D, will deliver to you; your eye shall not pity them, you shall not worship their gods, for it is a snare for you.” (DEVARIM 7:16)
On this verse, the holy Ohr HaChaim makes reference to a statement by King Shlomo that “showing compassion to the wicked is cruelty” (KOHELET 12:10).
He further explains that contrary to the opinion that displaying mercy is at all times a positive trait, the Torah teaches that there are situations in which compassion can actually be harmful. When facing the enemies of Israel, who are by definition the enemies of HaShem (Rashi on BAMIDBAR 31:3), we must understand the need to don external traits of cruelty seemingly at odds with Israel’s inner essence.
Israel is tasked with bringing humankind to a state of perfection, self-awareness and total fulfillment in the knowledge of HaShem as the timeless ultimate Reality without end that creates all, sustains all, empowers all and loves all. This is achieved through the precise formula of establishing a “kingdom of priests and holy nation” (SHEMOT 19:6) that reveals and expresses the Divine Ideal in every sphere of life. This utopian kingdom in Eretz Yisrael is meant to set a virtuous example to the whole of mankind and radiate kedusha to the world from Jerusalem.
Forces of spiritual darkness, personified in history as various human antagonists, have relentlessly sought to prevent the Jewish people from bringing the world to its ultimate goal. Divinely built into the system in order to challenge and push Israel to reach our full potential, these forces work to sabotage the establishment of G-D’s Kingdom and are manifested in history as human actors attempting to uproot Israel from our soil, eradicate the Jewish people or separate the nation from our Torah.
As Israel returns to independence in our land, the greatest concentration of impurity has gathered to extinguish the light our rebirth brings to mankind. The Zionist Revolution is not merely an attempt to achieve liberation for an individual nation wishing to improve its particular situation but is actually a Divine historic enterprise, universal in scope and central to the world. Israel’s national return to the world stage comes to clarify the meaning of history, the direction of mankind and the essence and value of all human existence.
The remedial light inherent in the blessing HaShem brings to the world through the Kingdom of Israel will heal the souls of those yearning for justice, social progress, inner peace and inspiration in order to free them from their despairing existence in a deficient world built on social contradictions and flawed human notions of justice and morality.
When nations engage in efforts to prevent this blessing from reaching man, Israel must recognize the need to harden our hearts and do what is necessary to advance our struggle and shine G-D’s light to the world. The Hebrew patriarch Yitzhak’s prophetic statement that “the voice is Yaakov’s voice but the hands are Esav’s hands” (BEREISHIT 27:22) reveals that although the savage traits of Esav are actually foreign to Israel’s inner essence, the Hebrew Nation possesses the ability to wield Esav’s hands and adopt his brutal attributes for the sake of advancing the mission represented by Yaakov’s voice.
But even with the knowledge that our wars are wars to reveal HaShem’s Ideal to the world, the question remains how Israel can possibly expect to stand strong in the face of the entire international community, which currently demands that we surrender the heart of our country. Would a strong and decisive Israeli leadership that remains loyal to the Jewish people’s national aspirations and earthly mission not invite economic sanctions, diplomatic repercussions and a possible invasion by multinational forces?
Moshe continues by saying: “Perhaps you will say in your heart, `These nations are more numerous than I; how will I be able to drive them out?’ Do not fear them! You shall remember what HaShem, your G-D, did to Pharaoh and to all of Egypt.”(DEVARIM 7:17-18)
Moshe assures Israel that such fearful “logic” is completely illogical when viewing reality through a more holistic vision. The Hebrews saw Egypt – the most formidable world power of its time – crushed by HaShem as we were liberated from bondage. When engaging in wars that He Himself commands us to wage, it would be reasonable to expect G-D to grant Israel success.
The Ibn Ezra teaches that fear of the nations should be submerged by fear of G-D. If one truly possesses a genuine awareness of HaShem as the infinite Whole in which we all exist, he will naturally view foreign leaders and their armies as insignificant.
The Rambam explains that “Anyone who begins to feel anxious and worried in the midst of battle to the point where he frightens himself violates a negative commandment, as it is written (DEVARIM 20:3): `Do not be faint-hearted. Do not be afraid. Do not panic and do not break ranks before them.’ Furthermore, he is responsible for the blood of the entire Jewish Nation. If he is not valiant, if he does not wage war with all his heart and soul, it is considered as if he shed the blood of the entire people, as (DEVARIM 20:8) states:
`Lest he demoralize the hearts of his brethren as his own.’ Similarly, the prophetic tradition explicitly states: `Cursed be he who withholds his sword from blood’ (YERMIAHU 48:10). By contrast, anyone who fights with his entire heart, without fear, with the sole intention of sanctifying G-D’s Name, may be assured that he will come to no harm, nor will evil overtake him. He will be granted a well-rooted family in Israel and gather merit for himself and his children forever. He will also merit eternal life in the World to Come, as SHMUEL I 25:28-29 states: `HaShem will certainly make my lord a faithful house, for my lord fights the wars of G-D and evil will not be found with you… and my lord’s soul will be bound in a bond of life with G-D.'” (Hilchot Melachim 7:15)
The more we strengthen our awareness of ourselves and our antagonists as not only all existing within the greater Reality we call HaShem but also playing essential parts in the historic drama of mankind, the easier it will be for us to fearlessly march forward in implementing the Divine Will. If we understand that fulfilling our role in history requires us to establish a Hebrew Kingdom in the ancient Jewish homeland, we should show little concern for the potential reactions of the various other players on the world stage. Attaining a more holistic perspective actually focuses our energies on revealing HaShem’s Ideal through advancing the Jewish people’s national aspirations.
There is an unfortunate phenomenon within our nation today where not all the Jewish people consciously share in our historic yearnings and national aspirations. Mitzvot concerning issues central to the Hebrew mission often seem irrelevant to many Jews residing in the Diaspora. And while such Jews can be meticulous in their observance of personal commandments, they often detach themselves from the national story of the Jewish people. The end of EKEV challenges this erroneous approach to Torah and appropriately reveals that not only national precepts but also even personal mitzvot are indeed largely irrelevant outside the Land of Israel.
“Then the wrath of HaShem will blaze against you; He will restrain the heaven so there will be no rain, and the ground will not yield its produce; and you will be swiftly banished from the goodly land that HaShem gives you. You shall place these words of Mine upon your heart and upon your soul; you shall bind them for a sign upon your arm and let them be an ornament between your eyes.” (DEVARIM 11:17-18)
On verse 18, Rashi quotes our Sages in Sifre who explain that the juxtaposition to the threat of exile in the previous verse teaches that Jews must continue to observe Torah commandments even in the exile so that when we return to our borders they will not be new to us. This suggests that the only value in Israel practicing mitzvot in the Diaspora is to ensure that we do not forget how to perform them when we return to our land. Ramban further elaborates on this concept (in his commentary to VAYIKRA 18:25) by explaining that the Torah is meant to be observed specifically in Eretz Yisrael. The commandment to observe Torah Law exists regardless of a Jew’s geographic location but the mitzvot only fulfill their true Divine function when performed within the Land of Israel.
Every mitzvah is like a faucet that, when opened, unleashes Divine blessing into our world and elevates it to beyond where it previously existed. These faucets, however, must be connected to the correct plumbing in order for this blessing to successfully flow through them. The Torah, which was given to Israel to be performed specifically in our homeland, is connected to the plumbing of Eretz Yisrael. A person who performs mitzvot outside the Land of Israel is essentially turning on a faucet with no pipe behind it. No blessing flows through. The physical act was completed but not according to the Torah’s instruction. A Jew practicing mitzvot in the exile may be performing the ritual precepts but he is not enhancing Creation on any spiritual plane. There are no pipes behind his actions because the full expression of HaShem’s Torah is only realized when performed inside the Land of Israel (as nearly the entire Book of DEVARIM instructs).
The Torah mandates that Israel live a collective life of kedusha as a sovereign nation in our homeland. And we must fight valiantly against any and all who seek to prevent our people from actualizing this goal. At times this fight manifests itself as a war of ideas against fellow Jews and at other times as an actual physical war against nations scheming to extinguish our light. As Jewish national aspirations are actually directed towards reaching universal goals for all of mankind, our most central concern when embarking on a milchemet mitzvah (obligatory war) should be advancing our mission of harmonizing the human race. Establishing a Torah society that will serve as a “light unto nations” will bring all of Creation to perfection through G-D’s Kingdom. And only through the rise of this glorious kingdom will HaShem’s Ideal be revealed in every facet of human existence.
With Love of Israel,
-Yehuda HaKohen
