Robert E. Lee famously said, “It is well that war is so terrible; otherwise, we should grow too fond of it.” Many famous military men glorified the concept of war. I never understood that. War, to me, seems like the ultimate form of evil. It is organized, wholesale murder to achieve political goals.
Am I, then, a pacifist? No. As horrible as war is, it is sometimes necessary. History teaches us that. There was a powerful pacifist movement in the United States while Europe marched towards a genocidal war. If that pacifist movement had kept the United States out of the war, two things would have happened: First, Europe and Asia would have fallen under the tyrannical, racist, homicidal governments of the Axis powers and millions more would have died. Second, the United States would have been alone when the Axis powers eventually attacked her. That would have put the United States against the vast combined power of Europe and Asia. Could the US have won that? I am doubtful. A dark age would have descended over the entire world and untold additional millions of innocents would have perished.
One of the lessons of history, then, is that war is sometimes necessary. As horrible as it is, there are worse things.
Parshas Vayishlach focuses on war. It starts with Yaakov meeting his brother Eisav and facing a potential combat situation with his homicidal brother. Rashi tells us that he prepared for the potentially violent confrontation in three ways: Doron, Tefilla, Milchama: tribute, prayer, and war.
Tribute, as it says (Gen. 32:14):
וַיָּלֶן שָׁם בַּלַּיְלָה הַהוּא וַיִּקַּח מִן־הַבָּא בְיָדוֹ מִנְחָה לְעֵשָׂו אָחִיו׃
After spending the night there, he selected from what was at hand these presents for his brother Esau:
Prayer, as it says (Gen. 32:10):
וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב אֱ-לֹהֵי אָבִי אַבְרָהָם וֵא-לֹהֵי אָבִי יִצְחָק יְ-הֹוָה הָאֹמֵר אֵלַי שׁוּב לְאַרְצְךָ וּלְמוֹלַדְתְּךָ וְאֵיטִיבָה עִמָּךְ׃
Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham’s [house] and God of my father Isaac’s [house], O Hashem, who said to me, ‘Return to your native land and I will deal bountifully with you’!
War, as it says (Gen. 32:8-9):
וַיִּירָא יַעֲקֹב מְאֹד וַיֵּצֶר לוֹ וַיַּחַץ אֶת־הָעָם אֲשֶׁר־אִתּוֹ וְאֶת־הַצֹּאן וְאֶת־הַבָּקָר וְהַגְּמַלִּים לִשְׁנֵי מַחֲנוֹת׃
Jacob was greatly frightened; in his anxiety, he divided the people with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps,
וַיֹּאמֶר אִם־יָבוֹא עֵשָׂו אֶל־הַמַּחֲנֶה הָאַחַת וְהִכָּהוּ וְהָיָה הַמַּחֲנֶה הַנִּשְׁאָר לִפְלֵיטָה׃
thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, the other camp may yet escape.”
And how do we know that Yaakov was prepared to battle with his brother? As Rashi explains (Rashi to Gen. 32:8):
ויירא ויצר. וַיִּירָא שֶׁמָּא יֵהָרֵג, וַיֵּצֶר לוֹ אִם יַהֲרֹג הוּא אֶת אֲחֵרִים (בראשית רבה ותנחומא)
HE FEARED GREATLY AND WAS DISTRESSED — He was afraid lest he be killed, and he was distressed that he might have to kill someone (Genesis Rabbah 76:2).
Yaakov was ready to do battle if necessary. He didn’t want war but he was prepared to fight and defend his family.
In this case, Yaakov was able to defuse the situation with diplomacy.
However, later on in the Parsha, Yaakov’s daughter Dina is kidnapped and assaulted by Shechem the son of Chamor. Chamor adds insult to injury by trying to convince Yaakov to allow his son to marry Dina after his heinous act.
Shimon and Levi, Yaakov’s second and third sons respectively, trick Shechem and Chamor into circumcising all their male population. With the entire military-eligible population laid up, they attacked, wiped out, and looted the city.
Yaakov is appalled by their actions. He says (Gen. 34:30):
וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב אֶל־שִׁמְעוֹן וְאֶל־לֵוִי עֲכַרְתֶּם אֹתִי לְהַבְאִישֵׁנִי בְּיֹשֵׁב הָאָרֶץ בַּכְּנַעֲנִי וּבַפְּרִזִּי וַאֲנִי מְתֵי מִסְפָּר וְנֶאֶסְפוּ עָלַי וְהִכּוּנִי וְנִשְׁמַדְתִּי אֲנִי וּבֵיתִי׃
Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me, making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites; my fighters are few in number so that if they unite against me and attack me, I and my house will be destroyed.”
The commentaries discuss what Yaakov was really saying. Rav Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin (1816-1893), known as the Netziv, says that Yaakov was bemoaning that his sons had “taken him out of his lane.” Yaakov was known as a person of love and peace and was now looking at the possibility of war.
Ohr Hachaim1 says that Yaakov was saying that he expected that Shimon and Levi were only going to exact judgment on Shechem and Chamor. Taking out the entire city was needlessly excessive.
Yaakov was doubly concerned: First, he disagreed with his two sons’ actions; second, the surrounding populace would gang up on Yaakov, overwhelm him with numbers, and destroy his family.
The two sons answered simply and directly (Gen. 34:31):
וַיֹּאמְרוּ הַכְזוֹנָה יַעֲשֶׂה אֶת־אֲחוֹתֵנוּ׃
But they answered, “Should our sister be treated like a whore?”
There is a lot packed into this four-word response. First, as the Torah stated (Gen. 34:7):
וּבְנֵי יַעֲקֹב בָּאוּ מִן־הַשָּׂדֶה כְּשׇׁמְעָם וַיִּתְעַצְּבוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים וַיִּחַר לָהֶם מְאֹד כִּי־נְבָלָה עָשָׂה בְיִשְׂרָאֵל לִשְׁכַּב אֶת־בַּת־יַעֲקֹב וְכֵן לֹא יֵעָשֶׂה׃
Meanwhile Jacob’s sons, having heard the news, came in from the field. The men were distressed and very angry, because he had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter—a thing not to be done.
Shechem’s act was heinous and could not be ignored. A response was required. Why? Was it a matter of revenge? No. As Rashi explains (Rashi on Gen. 34:31):
הכזונה. הֶפְקֵר
הכזונה implies as one unprotected.
The attack on Shechem was not for revenge but first as a rescue mission and second as a deterrence against future attacks. Shechem had attacked Israel and therefore Shechem had to be reduced to prevent future attacks.
Of course, the real question is how Shimon and Levi justified the killing of the civilian male population. Obviously, the crime had been committed by their leader, not by them. There are numerous explanations for this. One posits that the seven Noahide laws include a requirement for establishing a justice system and maintaining public order. Since the population had not brought Shechem to justice, they were complicit in the crime and subject to the death penalty2.
The Maharal of Prague discusses this (Gur Aryeh on Gen 34:13):
הכתוב אומר כו’. … אך קשה אם שכם חטא כל העיר מה חטאו להרוג, ותירץ הרמב”ם (הלכות מלכים פ”ט הי”ד) דבני נח מצווים על הדינין, ועבירה אחת שעובר – נהרג על ידו, וכאן ראו המעשה הרע הזה ולא דנוהו, לכך היו חייבין מיתה שלא היו דנין אותם. ובאמת דבר תימה הם אלו הדברים, כי איך אפשר להם לדון את בן נשיא הארץ (פסוק ב), כי היו יראים מהם, ואף על גב שנצטוו על הדינין – היינו כשיוכלו לדון, אבל אונס רחמנא פטריה (ב”ק כח ע”ב), ואיך אפשר להם לדון אותם:
ונראה דלא קשיא מידי, משום דלא דמי שני אומות, כגון בני ישראל וכנעניים, שהם שני אומות, כדכתיב (פסוק טז) “והיינו לעם אחד” – ומתחלה לא נחשבו לעם אחד, ולפיכך הותר להם ללחום כדין אומה שבא ללחום על אומה אחרת, שהתירה התורה. ואף על גב דאמרה התורה (דברים כ, י) “כי תקרב אל עיר להלחם עליה וקראת אליה לשלום”, היינו היכי דלא עשו לישראל דבר, אבל היכי דעשו לישראל דבר, כגון זה שפרצו בהם לעשות להם נבלה, אף על גב דלא עשה רק אחד מהם – כיון דמכלל העם הוא, כיון שפרצו להם תחלה – מותרים ליקח נקמתם מהם. והכי נמי כל המלחמות שהם נמצאים כגון “צרור את המדיינים וגו'” (במדבר כה, יז), אף על גב דהיו הרבה שלא עשו – אין זה חילוק, כיון שהיו באותה אומה שעשה רע להם – מותרין לבא עליהם למלחמה, וכן הם כל המלחמות:
… This is difficult: If [only] Shechem sinned, what was the sin of the [rest of the] city [for which they deserved] to die? Rambam (Hilchot Melachim 9:14) answered that Noachides are commanded to set up courts, and [for]any sin which they violate, they are killed. Here, they witnessed the evil act [of Shechem kidnapping Dinah] and did not judge him. For this they deserved to die, for they failed to judge him. But truthfully, these words are surprising, for how could they have judged the son of their prince, since they feared him? Even though they are commanded to judge, that is when they can judge, but “G-d exempts one who is under duress” (Bava Kama 28b), and how could they have judged him?
It appears that there is no difficulty [explaining why all the males in Shechem deserved to die], because [a war between] two nations is different. The Jewish people and the Canaanites are considered two nations, as it is written “and we will be one nation” (Bereishit 34:16), [implying that] initially they were not considered one nation. Therefore they were permitted to fight, like any nation who fights another nation, which the Torah permits. Even though the Torah says, “When you draw near to a city to fight it, you shall offer peace” (Devarim 20:10), that applies when they have done nothing to Israel. When they have acted against Israel, as they did here when they breached them to commit an evil act, then even though only one of them sinned, since he is part of the nation and since they instigated, it is permitted to avenge this from all of them. This is so with all wars which they encountered, like “Attack the Midianites” (Bamidbar 25:17). Even though there were many who had done nothing, this is not a [valid] distinction. Since they were members of the nation who acted wickedly against [the Jewish people], it was permitted to engage [all the Midianites] in war, and such is the case with all wars.
Halacha recognizes two different types of wars. The first is called a Milchemet Reshut or “optional war.” Unlike any other kingdom, a Jewish king who follows Torah law does not have the power to start a war for personal or national gain without advice and consent of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish supreme court made up of 71 Torah scholars. The second is known as a Milchemet Mitzvah or “obligatory war.”
What is a Milchemet Mitzvah? RamBaM (Maimonides) in his Laws of Kings and their Wars (Ch. 5:1) states:
וְאֵי זוֹ הִיא מִלְחֶמֶת מִצְוָה זוֹ מִלְחֶמֶת שִׁבְעָה עֲמָמִים. וּמִלְחֶמֶת עֲמָלֵק. וְעֶזְרַת יִשְׂרָאֵל מִיַּד צָר שֶׁבָּא עֲלֵיהֶם
What is considered a milchemet mitzvah? The war against the seven nations who occupied Eretz Yisrael, the war against Amalek, and a war fought to assist Israel from an enemy which attacks them.
There are a few key differences between a Milchemet Mitzvah and a Milchemet Reshut. The latter requires permission of the Sanhedrin whereas the former does not. There are limitations on the draft for the latter but not the former. Even Torah students are required to abandon their studies and take up arms according to some Halachic authorities3.
In this case, Yaakov’s family was attacked first. Shimon and Levi attacked not only to rescue their sister but to ensure that the neighboring peoples would see and fear Israel as a superior power thus securing the peace.
The laws of war are covered in more detail in Sefer Devarim (The Book of Deuteronomy) but the basic idea is made clear here. Although Yaakov had problems with their actions, their actions followed Halacha. War is a dirty business but Torah acknowledges that it can be necessary. But, there is a clear difference between protecting oneself and being out for conquest.
This Parsha is quoted a lot when discussing the topic of the morality of war. Self defense is not optional: it is required. As the Talmud says (Sanh. 72a):
גְּמָ’ אָמַר רָבָא מַאי טַעְמָא דְּמַחְתֶּרֶת חֲזָקָה אֵין אָדָם מַעֲמִיד עַצְמוֹ עַל מָמוֹנוֹ וְהַאי מֵימָר אָמַר אִי אָזֵילְנָא קָאֵי לְאַפַּאי וְלָא שָׁבֵיק לִי וְאִי קָאֵי לְאַפַּאי קָטֵילְנָא לֵיהּ וְהַתּוֹרָה אָמְרָה אִם בָּא לְהוֹרְגְּךָ הַשְׁכֵּם לְהוֹרְגוֹ
GEMARA: Rava says: What is the reason for this halakha concerning a burglar who breaks into a house? He explains: There is a presumption that a person does not restrain himself when faced with losing his money, and therefore this burglar must have said to himself: If I go in and the owner sees me, he will rise against me and not allow me to steal from him, and if he rises against me, I will kill him. And the Torah stated a principle: If someone comes to kill you, rise and kill him first.
Providing protection and security for its people is the primary responsibility of government. The founding fathers enshrined in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The first of the rights enumerated is the right to life. Government has the responsibility to provide physical security for its citizens.
For centuries, we Jews forgot this simple truth: self-defense is not only our right but our duty. We were so outnumbered by our enemies, with governments leading the charge against their Jewish citizens, that we gave up on the concept of armed resistance. In World War 2, we learned that armed resistance must forever be an arrow in our quiver. War is never desirable, but we cannot shirk from it when it is forced upon us.
George Washington put it well when he said:
“There is a rank due to the United States among nations which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness. If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war.”
- Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar (1696-1743) ↩︎
- All seven Noahide laws are capital offenses (RamBaM Laws of Kings 9:14) ↩︎
- For example, Peninei Halachah (Rav Eliezer Melamed 1961-) writes (The Nation and the Land 4:5:2):
מצוות תלמוד תורה אינה דוחה את מצוות הגיוס לצבא כדי להציל את ישראל מיד צריהם. אמרו חז”ל (סוטה מד, ב), שכל אלו שנזכרו בתורה שחוזרים מהמלחמה, כגון מי שבנה בית ולא חנכו, או נטע כרם ולא חיללו, או ארס אשה ולא לקחה, הכוונה רק במלחמת רשות. אבל במלחמת מצווה, כדוגמת מלחמה להצלת ישראל מיד צר – “הכל יוצאין, אפילו חתן מחדרו וכלה מחופתה”. וכן פסק הרמב”ם (הל’ מלכים ז, ד).
The Mitzvah of Talmud Torah (Torah study) does not supercede the Mitzvah of joining the army to save Israel from their enemies. Our sages state (Sota 44b) that all those mentioned in the Torah that leave a war, such as someone who built a house and did not occupy it, or planted a vineyard and did not harvest it, or betrothed a woman but not yet married her, the intent (of these rules) is only for an optional war. But, in a Milchemet Mitzvah, like a war to save Israel from an enemy, “Everyone goes, even a bridegroom from his room or a bride from her wedding canopy.” That is also how RamBaM (Maimonides) rules (Kings and their Wars 7:4). (Text translated by the me.) ↩︎