כי תצא למלחמה על אויבך, “when you go out to war against your enemies;“ this verse speaks of what is known as מלחמת מצוה, an obligatory war, usually a defensive war against invaders. The paragraph follows one which demands from us not to display pity, detailing “eye for eye, tooth for tooth, or leg for leg.” The message of the Torah writing this sequence is that people who are minus a leg or eye, etc., do not go to war (compare Rashi). [In this instance the definition of מלחמת רשות would apply only to expansionary wars such as the ones conducted by David. Campaigns designed to forestall invasions threatened by enemies, even if waged outside the boundaries of Eretz Yisrael would come under the heading of מלחמת מצוה. The difference is who has to be mobilised. (Compare Malbim on our verse). Ed.] Another message implied by the sequence of what is written here is: “if you will practice righteousness and justice, then, if you have to go to war you will certainly be victorious.”

לא תירא מהם כי ה' אלו-היך עמך, “do not be afraid of them for the Lord your G’d is with you.” It is important that the fear of G’d should be stronger than the fear of the enemy nation. The Torah elaborates on this fear of opposing nations in verse 3 when we read: ‘do not be afraid and do not panic.’ Anyone fearing creatures of flesh and blood is considered as having forgotten the Almighty. This is what the prophet Isaiah 51,12-13 had in mind when he said: “what ails you that you fear man who must die, mortals who fare like grass? You have forgotten the Lord your Maker, etc.” Solomon is also on record on this subject when he says in Proverbs 29,25: “a man’s fears become a trap for him, but he who trusts in the Lord will be safeguarded.”

ונגש הכהן, “the priest shall approach;” this is the משוח מלחמה, the priest anointed for this task in war. ודבר אל העם, “and he shall address the people,” in Hebrew (Sotah 42).

שמע ישראל, אתם קרבים היום למלחמה, “Hear o Israel! Today you are approaching battle.” The priest implies that the intoning of the Keriyat Shema will be a major factor in securing victory as this paragraph deals with the Oneness, Uniqueness, and Unity of Hashem. אל תיראו, “do not be afraid,” in your heart. ואל תחפזו, “and do not panic.” This is an expression describing an accelerated heartbeat due to fear. The word appears as meaning speed in Samuel I 23,26 נחפזת ללכת, “you were in too much of hurry to go.” ואל תערצו, “and do not become broken,” i.e. physically.

להושיע אתכם, “to save you.” This promise refers to total salvation, i.e. that the Israelites would not suffer casualties in their war of conquest against the seven Canaanite nations. It will be just like the punitive campaign against Midian when not a single Israelite soldier was even hurt (Numbers 31,49). It is customary that even victorious armies sustain many casualtis in battle. A war fought as a divine commandment is one when the people carrying out the commandments will prove immune. This is why Joshua was so upset when in the first battle of Ai his army sustained 36 casualties (Joshua 7,5-7). Actually, according to a commentary in Sanhedrin 44, the “36” casualties were merely a single soldier named Yair ben Menashe, who was such an outstanding person that he was considered as equivalent to 36 members of the 71-member Sanhedrin.

מי האיש אשר בנה בית חדש ולא חנכו, “who is the man who has built a new house and has not yet consecrated it?” The expression חנך used here by the Torah for moving into one’s private home is the same as that used by the Torah for the consecration of the Altar in the Tabernacle, i.e. חנכת המזבח. Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra writes: “seeing such a man’s heart and his craving is so dedicated to consecrating his new house he cannot concentrate on the battle as a soldier should. He may therefore become a liability by fleeing, and other comrades may follow his example, the result being demoralization of the army.” In connection with the new vineyard the Torah speaks of it not having been חללו instead of חנכו. The word חללו is similar to חליל, flute; it was customary to dance to the accompaniment of flutes when the first harvest of a new vineyard was brought in. Our sages in Pessikta Zutrata, quoted by Rashi, understand the word as חולין, “secular, profane i.e. after the grapes during the fourth year were holy, now in the fifth year they were available, freely, to the owner for the first time. In the previous year they could be eaten only after having been redeemed, etc.

פן ימות במלחמה, “lest he die in battle.” The Torah refers to his premature death. This is clear proof that all the people who die in battle died before the time allocated as their life span at birth. We have still more direct proof of this in Samuel I 26,10: ”or his ‘day’ will come and he will die, or he will go down to battle and will die.”

מי האיש הירא, “who is the man who is afraid?” to kill others; ורך הלבב, “and faint of heart,” to be killed (Ibn Ezra).

ופקדו שרי צבאות, “and the commanders of the armies shall take command.” The term פקד means the same as מנוי, “appointee,” according to Ibn Ezra. These officers were to be at the head of the army, marching in front. Although, from an onlooker’s point of view, the Jewish army did not seem too different from any other conquering army, G’d performed “hidden” miracles which determined the outcome of the battles. The three types of property mentioned here as causes for deferment of the recruit, i.e. a new house, a new vineyard and a fiancee, represent man’s most cherished accomplishments. They are likely to change a person’s focus so much that by thinking about them his mind cannot be on the requirements of battle. An army, in order to maintain its morale, must first and foremost concentrate wholeheartedly on its immediate objective in order to perform at its optimum. Being burdened with “soldiers” whose mind is preoccupied with personal concerns does not only not improve the strength of an army but, on the contrary, weakens its collective resolve.

If you will examine this paragraph more closely you will discover that it also contains a mystical element. House, vineyard and wife are allusions to the “structure, בנין” of the letters in the Holy name, and their ramifications. You may understand the words of the verse as: “who has built a house and not consecrated it,” as “who has built the house of the Lord and not yet prayed in it?” Such a person should return home and properly dedicate his house so that he will not be struck for his negligence by the attribute of Justice while in battle. His soul would then have to be assigned to another body for the new person to fulfill that soul’s task on earth. Similar considerations apply to people who have planted a vineyard. They have not yet learned that though the Presence of G’d may make its residence on earth, this is in order for us to elevate ourselves to holiness, not for holiness to “descend” to our level. If someone has betrothed a wife to himself but has not yet consummated the marriage, he too has not yet had a chance to translate that union into a higher spiritual level. During the period of betrothal, instead of elevating himself though his marriage to become a whole person, enabling him to pursue דבקות ה', cleaving to Hashem, he has taken only a preliminary step which actually represents a הפרדה, separation from Hashem. When the priest continues calling out: “who is afraid, etc.,” this is an allusion to the sins he knows he is guilty of; seeing he has not expiated for them he is afraid of falling victim to the attribute of Justice when he is in danger anyway while engaged in battle. He is sent home to rehabilitate himself.

The priest whom we described as the הכהן המשוח, is one who has been anointed with the same oil as the High Priest. The anointing ceremony was as if conferring a crown on his head, just as the Kings of Yehudah would be anointed with such oil on their heads. Compare Numbers 7,7 where the Torah uses this expression “crown” in connection with the procedure of anointing. This priest would expound and explain how the help from G’d would be channeled to the soldiers through a number of channels by means of which G’d instructs His agents to do this. The meaning of ופקדו שרי צבאות בראש העם, is that after receiving all these lessons by the כהן המשוח, the “real” commanders of these soldiers would be the angels appointed by G’d who would lead them into battle.

כי תקרב אל עיר להלחם עליה וקראת אליה לשלום, “when you approach a city against which you are planning to make war, you shall (first) call to the city to (surrender) peacefully.” In this instance the Torah speaks about a war which, though it has been sanctioned by G’d via instructions given to the High Priest, is not an obligatory war. The standard name for such a war is מלחמת רשות. In such wars, peaceful surrender is offered first. When confronting the seven nations residing in Canaan, which the Israelites were under orders to conquer, no such peaceful surrender is offered first (compare Rashi). The fact is that the Torah does not spell out here whether a מלחמת רשות or a מלחמת מצוה is referred to in our paragraph. I am certain that any city in any war is included in this legislation, that peaceful surrender must be offered first with the exception of the wars against Ammon and Moav, concerning whom the Torah specifically wrote that “you must not seek their peace or their welfare” (Deut. 23.7). If, however, Ammon or Moav to whom no peaceful overtures are to be made by the Israelites volunteer peace, such overtures are accepted (Maimonides Hilchot Melachim 6,6). All of this teaches how powerful an objective peace is.

The whole paragraph is to be understood as a warning to the Jewish people not to launch an attack on any nation unless they had first explored the chance to settle their differences peacefully. If these people accept the offer of peace and take upon themselves to observe the 7 Noachide laws, none of them is killed. This applies both to מלחמת מצוה and to מלחמת רשות. They must also agree to pay taxes imposed by the Jewish King. This is based on verse 11 “they shall pay taxes to you and serve you.” The “tax” spoken of in this chapter is that they are prepared to serve the king both with their bodies and their possessions. Examples are: participation in building walls around the cities, reinforcing watchtowers, and building the king’s palace. This too is spelled out in Kings I 9,15: ”this was the purpose of the forced labour which Solomon imposed. It was to build the House of the Lord, his own palace, the Milo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and to fortify Chazzor, Megiddo, and Gezer.” If the people under threat of attack from the Jewish army would refuse to make peace or would be prepared to make peace without obligating themselves to observe G’d’s seven basic laws, then, in the event of a מלחמת רשות, their adult males would be killed, as the Torah writes in verses 12-23. (our chapter) Minors and women would be spared as the Torah spells this out, i.e. “only the women and the children and the livestock and everything that will be in the city, all its booty, may you plunder for yourselves” (verse 14). However, in the case of a מלחמת מצוה against any of the seven Canaanite nations of which the Torah writes that “any of their cities of the nations which the Lord your G’d gives to you (verse 16),” the Torah stipulates לא תחיה כל נשמה, “you must not let a single soul remain alive.” The reason for the distinction is that in a מלחמת רשות our objective is to exploit our right to vanquish the power of the horoscopic forces protecting these nations. We are not allowed, however, to uproot the celestial protective angel representing these people in heaven. These people must only become subservient to us. When dealing with a מלחמת מצוה, a war which we have been commanded to engage in, the underlying purpose is to uproot the protectors, representatives of these nations in the celestial spheres. In order for G’d to completely neutralize the celestial influence of these people, we ourselves must eliminate them completely in the terrestrial spheres. This is why the Torah made these distinctions between what is called מלחמת רשות and what is called מלחמת מצוה.

If your heart is revolted by the instructions to kill “innocent” children who have not done any harm to anyone, remember that this is a heavenly decree. G’d does not need to take us into His confidence of why He legislated this. Furthermore, seeing that G’d destroyed any power these people enjoyed in the celestial spheres, it is clear that whatever we do to them on earth is meaningless as their fate had already been sealed. When we kill them we kill in effect people who are already as good a dead though they may still go through the motions of “being alive.” Sanhedrin 96 describes the process of killing them as “grinding ground flour.” As a result, no injustice has been done to these children seeing that G’d has already decreed that they should die forthwith. Even if we do not avail ourselves of this argument, the fact is that minors are considered as shoots off the main trunk. In this instance they are part of a trunk which has gone rotten and we may assume that if allowed to live these shoots will take after their original trunk. The Torah even spelled this out when it wrote in verse 18: “so that they will not teach you to commit all their abominations.” In other words, Torah psychology foresees the sinister historical effect of allowing the spiritually depraved children of such parents to live. If you were to argue that if raised in a Jewish society these children when they grow may embrace Judaism and keep G’d’s commandments, you only need to reflect who it is who instructed us to spill their blood. It is none other than G’d Himself. Surely He knows if any moral/ethical adults will grow out of these children. He decreed their death because He knows that they will not become penitents. Consider the following verse in Isaiah 14,21: “prepare a slaughtering block for his sons because of the guilt of their father so that they will not arise and possess the earth and fill the face of the earth with cities.” In view of the foregoing, the Canaanites whom the Israelites allowed to survive became a source of terrible physical and spiritual damage to the Jewish people. It is no more than logical that people prefer to do things which result in potentially smaller damage than that they take a chance by exposing themselves to greater damage. A man trapped in a blazing building will rather jump out and risk breaking his bones than face certain death by burning. A person will rather drink a terribly tasting medicine than put up indefinitely with a debilitating sickness. In fact, drinking such a medicine is at least not doing violence to himself, whereas refusing to drink it is equivalent to inflicting harm upon oneself. Seeing that one cannot force a person to inflict harm upon himself, ordering him to let these children survive [especially when they will become aware that you have killed their parents, Ed.] it is certainly better to commit minor damage in order to forestall larger damage at a later stage.

At any rate, the permission to kill women and children is applicable only when these people did not initiate or respond to your offer of peace (as the case may be). If they did, subject to the conditions we outlined, they may live, even if they were members of the seven Canaanite nations as we know from Joshua 11,19-20. It is clear from there that just as the Chivites, inhabitants of Giveon, who had made peace with the Israelites were allowed to live, (including the men even though they had tricked the Israelites) so would the other tribes have been allowed to live under similar circumstances. G’d had allowed these pagans to be obstinate enough not to use the escape route offered by Torah law which would have enabled them to survive. We read the following on this subject in Jerusalem Talmud Shevi'it 6,1: “Joshua sent three letters before entering the Holy Land. In the first letter he suggested that they come forward and submit to Jewish sovereignty and the conditions we described earlier. In the second letter he offered that anyone wishing to emigrate from Canaan would be allowed to do so. In his third letter he wrote that those who wanted to fight him were welcome to do so. The Talmud reports that whereas the Chivites from Giveon responded positively to Joshua’s first letter, the tribe of the Girgashite decided to emigrate. We know what happened to the remaining tribes, i.e. 31 kings fought Joshua and lost and were wiped out.

כי החרם תחרימם החתי והאמורי, ”rather, you shall utterly destroy them; the Chivite, the Emorite, etc.” In this instance the Torah enumerated only six of the seven nations omitting the Girgashi, either due to it's small size, or, as our Sages have explained, seeing they had emigrated as we mentioned earlier.

ואותו לא תכרת כי האדם עץ השדה, “but it (the tree) you must not cut down for is then the tree a man?” Ibn Ezra and other commentators understand the lines as “for man’s life and livelihood depends on the trees in the field.” It is comparable to Deut. 24,6 כי נפש הוא חובל, “for he would take as a pledge something his life depends on.” This is the reason the Torah commands us not to destroy fruit-bearing trees, as it would be equivalent to destroying G’d’s blessing. Personally, I believe that the word האדם belongs to the earlier part of the verse and is part of the instruction “do not cut down.” The meaning of the whole verse would then be: “for the trees are not man that you could cut them down as if they were your enemies. It is not the mark of an intelligent people to destroy something which does not confer any benefit on it by doing so. This is why you must not only not destroy such trees but do whatever you can to preserve them and their usefulness. You are to eat its fruit, not destroy the tree. Our sages in Taanit 7 interpret the words כי ממנו תאכל, “for you eat from it,” as an allusion to the Torah scholars whose words of Torah are comparable to the fruit yielded by fruit-bearing trees. If such a Torah scholar does not conduct himself in the manner a Torah scholar should, abandon him.