War & Emunah

So in Devarim, Perek Chaf, Pasuk Aleph. כי תצא למלחמה וראית סוס ורכב וגו'. Zo mitzva mechudeshas that the Ramban in Sefer Devarim, well in the hakdama to Sefer Devarim, the Ramban says that many of the mitzvos in Sefer Devarim are being presented for the second time. Maybe it's that the Torah is thereby reinforcing, maybe the Torah is providing us with some details that it hadn't previously.

אבל בישראל יזהיר המצות הנוגעות בהם פעם אחר פעם להוסיף בהן ביאור ופעמים שלא יזכיר אותם רק להזהיר את ישראל ברוב אזהרות כמו שיבוא בספר הזה בעניני עבודת גילולים אזהרות מרובות זו אחר זו ותוכחות וכל קודם אשר יפחיד אותם בכל עונשי העבירה.

Ramban says unlike all the mitzvos which have to do with the kohanim because since kohanim zerizim so they don't need the reinforcement because kohanim zerizim. Then the Ramban says and that's why it's again it's Mishneh Torah because a lot of Sefer Devarim is covering some of the ground which has already been covered previously in the previous Chumashim. But the Ramban says ועוד יוסיף בספר הזה קצת מצות שלא נזכרו כלל. There are some mitzvos which even though they were communicated to Moshe Rabbeinu previously haven't been recorded in the Torah yet. That's what the Ramban is alluding to here when he says zo mitzva mechudeshas, meaning unlike the majority of Sefer Devarim which are not mitzvos mechudashos, but this parsha is a mitzva mechudeshas. This is the first time we're being taught this mitzva in Chumash. אמר להם עתה בבואם למלחמות. Now when they're on the threshold of entering Eretz Yisrael and now they'll be engaging in milchama so HaKadosh Baruch Hu is telling them this mitzva.

וטעם כי ה' אלהיכם ההלך עמכם להלחם לכם עם אויביכם להושיע אתכם יסירם שלא ירך לבבם ולא יראו מן האויבים.

The thrust of telling the warriors that HaKadosh Baruch Hu is with them is that and therefore they shouldn't be timid and they shouldn't be afraid of the enemy. And additionally, ויאמר שלא יבטחו בזה בגבורתם, that they shouldn't be placing their trust in their strength, לחשוב בלבם גבורים אנחנו ואנשי חיל למלחמה, that we'll prevail with our strength, רק ישיבו לבם אל ה'. But on the contrary, they should be turning towards HaKadosh Baruch Hu veyivtechu bi'yeshuaso, and they should be their confidence, their trust, should be in the yeshuas Hashem.

ויחשבו כי לא בגבורת הסוס יחפץ ולא בשוקי האיש ירצה כי רוצה ה' את יריאיו את המיחלים לחסדו. ואמר להלחם לכם עם אויביכם, כי יפילם לפניכם לחרב.

Ve'amar lehoshiya eschem, Ramban is commenting on the pasuk that he quoted earlier, phrase by phrase, sheheim yinatzeilu. שהם יינצלו במלחמה ולא יפקד מהם איש. So lehoshia etchem means every single one of you. That there doesn't have to be a single casualty.

כי יתכן שינצחו את אויביהם וימותו גם מהם רבים כדרך המלחמות.

I mean, there is an alternative, right? One can be victorious and still suffer many casualties rachmana litzlan. But that doesn't have to be because since ה' אלוהיכם ההולך עמכם, if everything is happening bederech hateva, so then that has to be. The winning side has to suffer rachmana litzlan casualties. But since it's shelo bederech hateva, it's כי ה' אלוהיכם ההולך עמכם להילחם לכם עם אויביכם, so mimaila it can be lehoshia etchem, each one of you. V'al kein, because this is what can be, therefore tza'ak Yehoshua, that's why Yehoshua is so distraught

בהינפל מהם בעי כשלשים וששה איש כי במלחמת מצוה שלאל הושע לא היה ראוי שיפול משערת ראשם ארצה.

Right? A hair on their head shouldn't have been touched. Ki l'Hashem hamilchama. But now let's see and try to understand בעזרת ה' בלי נדר this juxtaposition. והנה הכהן שהוא עובד ה' יזהירם ביראתו ויבטיחם. If you're looking in the Chumash with the pesukim also, so Ramban is commenting that the kohen, meaning the kohen mashiach milchama, he says to them אל ירך לבבכם אל תיראו ואל תחפזו and כי ה' אלוהיכם ההולך עמכם. But then there's a shift and then it's ודיברו השוטרים אל העם and they list the different categories of those who are chozer me'orech hamilchama. So why are we shifting from the kohen speaking to the shotrim speaking? והנה הכהן שהוא עובד ה' יזהירם ביראתו ויבטיחם. He's the one who tells them that they should have yirat shamayim and bitachon b'Hashem. אבל השוטרים ידברו בנוהג שבעולם פן ימות במלחמה. So the things are being presented on two different levels. On the one hand, we're being told that Hakadosh Baruch Hu הולך עמכם להושיע אתכם, that there doesn't have to be a single casualty. Things don't have to unfold bederech hateva. Me'idach gisa,

מי האיש אשר בנה בית חדש ולא חנכו ילך וישוב לביתו פן ימות במלחמה.

So the Torah is talking on a very natural level. There's going to be casualties and maybe this person אשר בנה בית ולא חנכו will be one of those casualties, and that's sort of a compounded tragedy the fact that בנה בית חדש ולא חנכו. So what does Ramban say? So on the one hand the kohen frames things sort of superנaturally. But the shotrim frame things naturally, right?

אבל השוטרים ידברו בנוהג שבעולם פן ימות במלחמה. כי בדרך הארץ בכל המלחמות ימותו אנשים גם מכת הנוצח.

No such thing in on a natural level of the victorious side avoiding casualties altogether. But sort of how do we integrate the two? Ramban indicates that the Torah is sort of operating on two different levels, but how do we integrate the two? How are they compatible? So if you have the Chumash take a look. So again, the shotrim list the

אשר בנה בית חדש, נטע כרם ולא חללו, אירש אשה ולא לקחה,

and then they finally say מי האיש הירא ורך הלבב. And then the Torah says pasuk tes right before Shvi'i:

והיה ככלות השוטרים לדבר אל העם ופקדו שרי צבאות בראש העם.

So here too, on the one hand, the Torah tells us כי ה' אלוקיכם ההולך עמכם. So Hashem imachem. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is waging war. And then the Torah says when the Shotrim begin, when the Shotrim finish, make sure the generals now take the lead here: ופקדו שרי צבאות בראש העם. You have to have the generals positioned to lead the battle. So take a look at the Ramban here in pasuk tes.

וצווה ופקדו שרי צבאות בראש העם כי התורה תצווה בדרך הארץ ותעשה הנסים עם יראיו בהסתר ואין חפץ לפניו לשנות טבעו של עולם זולתי כאשר אין שם דרך בהצלה אחרת או להודיע שמו לצריו לעיתים כאשר היה בקריאת ים סוף וכיוצא בו.

So the Ramban says something very, very fundamental. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is poised to perform nissim, but that notwithstanding, we're obligated to act on a natural level. כי התורה תצווה בדרך הארץ. Derech eretz means on the natural plane. We're not supposed to say that since the Ribbono Shel Olam can and bezrat Hashem will perform miracles for us, so all we need to do is daven. No, כי התורה תצווה בדרך הארץ. We're mechuyav, and we have to operate on a natural with the emunah that

כי ה' אלוקיכם ההולך עמכם להילחם לכם עם אויביכם להושיע אתכם.

How's that pasuk go? להילחם לכם עם אויביכם להושיע אתכם. Aval, certainly with that emunah, but we're mechuyav כי התורה תצווה בדרך הארץ, but we're mechuyav to act on the natural plane. And that's sort of the way we integrate what the Kohen, the message the Kohen delivers, and the message that the Shotrim deliver. The Kohen again delivers this message in emunah that Hakadosh Baruch Hu runs the world and the results, the potential results of the conflict are not constrained by natural law. And we should know it and believe it and al menas kein do everything that we do. And then the Shotrim come and say, but all of that notwithstanding, Hakadosh Baruch Hu chooses to operate through natural means, and therefore you are obligated to act on the natural level. And if Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants to operate through natural means, the implication's clear and we don't provide the natural means, then Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn't operate. It doesn't say in the Ramban that Hakadosh Baruch Hu will do a nes nigleh because we chose not to provide the means for the derech eretz. It says if אין שם דרך הצלה אחרת or Hakadosh Baruch Hu thinks that this is the time to send a message to the whole world with a nes galeh, He does so. He doesn't do a nes galeh because we're amiss, rachmana litzlan, in operating bederech eretz. It's a very, very fundamental. התורה תצווה בדרך הארץ is very, very fundamental. We're obligated to act on a natural level. However, whatever one's understanding of hashkacha is, hashkacha ha-yochid, hashkacha ha-klal, in terms of halacha le-maiseh, so we're mechuyav to act on a natural level. Okay, we'll stop here.