Sifrei Devarim Paragraph 197
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(דברים כ ח) וְיָסְפוּ הַשֹּׁטְרִים לְדַבֵּר אֶל הָעָם וְאָמְרוּ, לָמַדְנוּ שֶׁהֵם הַדְּבָרִים.
Pisqa’ 197³²⁵
- “And the officers shall continue to speak with the people, saying:” (Dt. 20:8)— thus, we learn that they should speak exactly those words.
footnotes: ³²⁵ H:216; JN2:87.
מִי הָאִישׁ הַיָּרֵא וְרַךְ הַלֵּבָב – שֶׁיֵּשׁ עֲבֵרָה בְּיָדוֹ בַּסֵּתֶר, יֵלֵךְ וְיָשֹׁב לְבֵיתוֹ.
“Who is the man, fearful and faint-hearted” (Dt. 20:8)— this is one who has committed a hidden transgression. “He shall go and return to his home”(Dt. 20:8).
רַבִּי עֲקִיבָה אוֹמֵר: הַיָּרֵא וְרַךְ הַלֵּבָב כְּמַשְׁמָעוֹ. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי הַגְּלִילִי אוֹמֵר: הַיָּרֵא וְרַךְ הַלֵּבָב – שֶׁהוּא בַּעַל מוּם.
- R. Akiva says: Fearful* and *faint-hearted
Fearful and faint-hearted implies that he suffers from an infirmity.³²⁶
footnotes: ³²⁶ //M.Sotah 8:5
וְלֹא יִמַּס אֶת לְבַב אֶחָיו כִּלְבָבוֹ, מְלַמֵּד שֶׁאִם הָיָה אֶחָד מֵהֶם מִתְיָרֵא מִן הָעֲבֵרוֹת שֶׁבְּיָדוֹ – כֻּלָּם חוֹזְרִים וּבָאִים.
“So that the hearts of his brothers not faint away like his” (Dt. 20:8)— this teaches that if only one of them was worried about his transgressions, **they must all return home.**³²⁷
footnotes: ³²⁷ //M. Sotah 5:8.