Deuteronomy · Chapter 20

When you go out to wage war against your enemies and you see horses and chariots, a people more numerous than you, do not fear them, for Hashem your God — His Word is at your aid, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.

כי תצא למלחמה WHEN THOU GOEST OUT TO WAR — Scripture places the going out to war in juxtaposition to this section here (to עין בעין וכו׳) in order to tell you that no person lacking a limb goes out to war (cf. Sifrei Devarim 190:17). Another explanation of why these two sections are put in juxtaposition to each other: it is to tell you that if you execute just judgment you may be confident that if you go to war you will be victorious. Similarly does David say, (Psalms 119:121) “I have done judgement and justice; Thou wilt not leave me to my oppressors” (Midrash Tanchuma, Shoftim 15). על איבך AGAINST THINE ENEMIES — Let them be in thine eyes as enemies: have no pity upon them, for they will have no pity upon thee (Midrash Tanchuma, Shoftim 15). סוס ורכב [WHEN THOU GOEST TO WAR ... AND SEEST] HORSES AND CHARIOTS (lit., horse and chariot) — in Mine eyes they are all as only one horse (i.e. they do not count). Similarly it states, (Judges 6:16) “[Surely “I” will be with thee,] and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man”. And similarly it states, (Exodus 15:19) “For the horse (not the horses) of Pharaoh came [into the sea]” (Midrash Tanchuma, Shoftim 16; cf. Sifrei Devarim 190:21). עם רב ממך [WHEN THOU GOEST OUT TO WAR … AND SEEST] PEOPLE MORE THAN THOU (or, as it may be translated: PEOPLE, NUMEROUS FROM THY POINT OF VIEW) — in thine eyes they may appear to be numerous but in Mine eyes they are not numerous (Midrash Tanchuma, Shoftim 16).

WHEN THOU GOEST FORTH TO BATTLE AGAINST THINE ENEMIES, AND SEEST HORSES, AND CHARIOTS etc. This is a new commandment which he now declared to them as they came into battles. The purport of the verse, For the Eternal your G-d is He that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you is to admonish them against becoming faint-hearted and that they should not fear their enemies. He states that they are not to rely in this matter on their own strength, thinking in their hearts: We are mighty men, and valiant men for the war, but instead they are to turn their hearts only to G-d and rely on His help, thinking that He delighteth not in the strength of the horse, and He taketh no pleasure in the legs of a man, for The Eternal taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, in those that wait for His mercy. He states to fight for you against your enemies meaning that He will make them fall before you by the sword. He states to save you meaning that they will be spared in battle and that not a man among them will be missing, for it would be possible that they vanquish their enemies and that many of them, too, would die, as is the way of battles. Therefore Joshua cried out when about thirty and six men fell in [the battle of] Ai, for in His commandatory war not one hair of their heads should have fallen to the ground, for the battle is the Eternal’s. Now the priest who serves G-d is to admonish [the warriors] to fear Him, and give them assurance [of His help]. The officers, however, speak in the customary way of the world, lest he die in the battle, for in the normal course of events even some people of the group of the victors die. He commanded that these three categories [of people] return because one’s heart is on his [new] house, vineyard, and wife and he will [be the first to] flee.

"When you go out to battle" — this passage is connected to [the preceding] "your eye shall not pity": against one who is guilty you need not spare, yet going out to war you must spare [those who are exempt]: the one who is betrothed, and the one who built, and the one who planted, and the tender-hearted.

כי תצא למלחמה, outside the boundaries of the land of Israel. When a war is fought inside the boundaries of the Land of Israel, i.e. a defensive war, no one is allowed to be exempt from army service; even a bridegroom fresh from the wedding canopy is called up. (Sotah 44)

כי תצא למלחמה, When you go out into battle, etc." Perhaps the verse alludes to the battle man fights against his evil urge. It intends to remove fear and timidity from your heart. The Torah writes la-milchamah instead of le-milchamah, vocalising it thus to indicate that it refers to the well-known battle, the most crucial one, the fiercest one. In this battle man suffers from two elements both of which are apt to undermine him and to weaken his power to resist the attacker. 1) Man has never been trained to fight this particular adversary as he has been trained to fight external enemies. 2) the very composition of man is such that the enemy is constantly part of him urging him to steal, to lie, to murder, to eat whatever he desires, etc. These factors make it difficult for a human being to listen to the voice of the Torah which is "only" an external voice. These difficulties are multiplied once man has sinned repeatedly and his deeds have created forces which aid the evil urge in his fight against him, as I have explained on numerous occasions. This is why G'd tells you here that "when you go out to do battle and you see horses and riders more numerous than yourself etc." The word סוס, "horse," is a simile for the readiness of the evil urge to do battle and the word רכב is a simile for the fact that man is composed of a variety of materials, drawn to the profane as well as to the sacred, instead of a single element as is his attacker the evil urge. The words עם רב, "numerous people," are a hyperbole for the multitude of evil forces created by man's sins all of which are arraigned against him in this battle. The Torah reassures us לא תירא מהם, "you must not be afraid of them for the Lord your G'd is with you." The Torah agrees that if you were on your own, unassisted by G'd, you would be justified in being afraid of this battle; however, seeing that the Lord your G'd is on your side you need not fear; you may rest assured that G'd will save you provided you want to rehabilitate yourself morally and ethically. The Torah continues with המעלך מארץ מצרים, "the G'd who has brought you out of Egypt." The miracle of what happened at the Exodus demonstrated to you that G'd has the power to free you from the spiritually negative forces, קליפות, which had held you captive prior to the Exodus and had prevented the sanctity within you from being freed. The memory of the Exodus must always serve as a sign for you that you can overcome the forces of evil in the war in which you are engaged. We find confirmation of this thought in Psalms 37,32: "The wicked watches for the righteous, seeking to put him to death." The Psalmist assures us in the verse following "G'd will not abandon him to his power; He will not let him be condemned in judgment." Our sages in Kidushin 30 explain that these verses refer to the assault on man by the evil urge and to the assistance G'd extends to man in that fight.

כי ה' אלוקיך עמך, “for the Lord your G-d is with you.” The Torah refers to the Holy Ark, and the trumpets, both of which are instruments representing the presence of the Lord among the Jewish people which will give them courage when fighting a war.

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.”

When you go out to war against your enemy. We need to explain the change of language from singular to plural several times, for it says and you see horse and chariot and afterwards it says a people more numerous than you [mimkha, which can also mean from you]. The commentators have said that in the eyes of the blessed God, they are all like one horse and chariot, and if they are a people numerous, that is from you — they are numerous in your eyes but not in the eyes of God. Additionally, when you go out is in singular language, but afterwards it says and it shall be when you approach in plural language. And the comparative kaf [the letter kaf meaning “like/as”] in as when you approach [kekarbekhem] needs explanation, because it should have simply said “when you approach” [bekarbekhem]. And I say that when there is peace among the enemies, then the war is most dangerous because they all unite as one against God and His anointed. However, when their hearts are divided and they are not united as one group, the danger is not as great. This is the miracle that the Holy One, blessed be He, performs for Israel: even though at the beginning when they go out to war, all the nations join together as if they were all one horse and rider, like one man, nevertheless, as you approach the battle, in the meantime, God will send confusion among them, and they will separate from one another, and each man’s sword will be against his fellow. As it is written: In one way they will come out against you, but in seven ways they will flee before you (Deuteronomy 28:7). Because at the beginning they are in one accord, but in the meantime God will send confusion among them, causing their hearts to be divided until all seven nations — each one of them — will flee by their own separate way, as it is written: For You will make them turn their back (Psalms 21:13), etc., meaning to divide them into separate parts. This is what is meant by “When you go out to war against your enemy.” Without the yud [after] the bet, indicating a single enemy. And you see horses, chariots, and a people more numerous than you, meaning such a numerous people who have all gathered together in an equal valley initially as one person and as one horse and chariot, with each nation saying to its ally, “My horses are like your horses.” Because of this, fear will likely enter your heart. Therefore, it says, “Do not fear them or their multitude,” because eventually they will be separated from one another, as it is written, You are approaching today to battle against your enemies [in plural form], because before Israel approaches them, God will scatter them and mix a spirit of confusion among them (Isaiah 19:14) and divide their hearts from one another. Correspondingly, the Holy One, Blessed be He, performs a second miracle for Israel. For if at the time of going out to war, only a few Israelites went out as if only one man from Israel went against them, initially Israel would appear few in the eyes of the enemies. In the meantime, God will send His help so that the enemies will see the shadow of mountains as people, similar to what is said And the Lord had caused the army of Aram to hear the sound of chariots and horses, the sound of a great army (Second Kings 7:6). From here is proof that even when few in number, the Holy One, Blessed be He, makes them appear to the nations as if they were many in order to frighten them. Therefore it says, And it shall be, when you draw near to the battle, where the comparative kaf [as/like] in the word kekoravchem [when you draw near] refers to the plural form, suggesting that you appear as many even though in reality it is not so, for you are few, and this is a precious explanation.

כי תצא למלחמה, ”When you engage in an expansionary war, etc.” Nachmanides writes that Moses reveals something totally new to the people in this paragraph, because the Israelites were approaching the day when they would have to engage in warfare..

And it shall be, when you draw near to wage war, that the priest shall come forward and speak to the people.

כקרבכם אל המלחמה [IT SHALL BE] WHEN YE COME NIGH UNTO THE BATTLE, [THAT THE PRIEST … SHALL SPEAK] — i.e. when ye are on the point of leaving the ספר — the boundary of your land (Sifrei Devarim 191). ונגש הכהן AND “THE” PRIEST SHALL STEP NIGH [AND SPEAK] “the” priest means, he who has been anointed for that purpose; it is the one who is termed in the Talmud משוח מלחמה, “the priest anointed for war” (Sotah 42a). ודבר אל העם AND HE SHALL SPEAK UNTO THE PEOPLE — in the Holy Language (Sotah 42a).

"And the priest shall approach" — [this refers to] the priest anointed for battle.

והיה כקרבכם אל המלחמה, “and it will be when you will be close to the battle, etc.” once the soldiers have approached the borders of the enemy, before actually engaging him in battle, Moses informs them of all the conditions which must be observed during active warfare. They are, of course, reserved for the men actually engaged in the fighting. This is clear from the wording in verse three, where only those men are being addressed. [Seeing that the Torah speaks not of a defensive war, but of a war designed to enlarge the borders of Israel, with the approval of G-d of course. Ed.] ונגש הכהן ודבר אל העם, “the priest shall approach and address the people. The soldiers are being addressed separately by the priest, representing the spiritual voice of the people, and the mundane authorities, officers, charged with ensuring success in battle, According to the Talmud, what is written from the words: ונגש in verse three, until verse five, when the secular authorities the commander continues. [There are different opinions about these sequences. Seeing that we cannot prove which is correct, it does not pay to go into further details. Ed.]

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).

And he shall say to them: Hear, O Israel — you are drawing near this day to wage war against your enemies. Let your heart not waver; do not fear, and do not be alarmed, and do not be broken before them.

שמע ישראל [AND HE SHALL SAY UNTO THEM] HEAR O ISRAEL — Even though you have no other merit than the fulfilment of the command of “Reading the Shema” you would deserve that He should help you (Sotah 42a). על איבכם [YE APPROACH THIS DAY UNTO WAR] AGAINST YOUR ENEMIES — By these apparently redundant words the priest says, as it were: Remember that these are not your brethren, and if you will fall into their hands they will have no pity on you; — it is not like the war of Judah against Israel of which it states, (II Chronicles 28:15) “And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of the palm trees, to their brethren: they returned to Samaria” — it is your enemies against whom you march, therefore show yourselves strong for the battle (Sifrei Devarim 192:2; Sotah 42a). אל ירך לבבכם אל תיראו ואל תחפזו ואל תערצו LET NOT YOUR HEARTS FAINT; FEAR NOT, AND HURRY NOT PRECIPITATELY, NEITHER BE TERRIFIED BECAUSE OF THEM — These are four admonitions corresponding to four things which the kings of the nations do in battle: they bring their shields close together in order to strike them one against the other and thereby make a loud noise so that their opponents should flee precipitately; they trample the ground heavily with their horses — and make them neigh — in order to make a noise through the beating of their horses’ hoofs; they themselves shout aloud and blow trumpets and other noisy instruments. אל ירך לבבכם LET NOT YOUR HEARTS FAINT — through the neighing of the horses, אל תיראו FEAR NOT from the noise made by the clashing of the shields, ואל תחפזו AND HURRY NOT PRECIPITATELY at the sounds of the trumpets, ואל תערצו NEITHER BE TERRIFIED by the noise of the shouting (Sifrei Devarim 192:3; Sotah 42).

"Do not be afraid" — in the heart. "And do not hasten" — to flee in panic. "And do not be terrified" — in deed.

אל תיראו, “do not be afraid;” these words address the heart. ואל תחפזו, “and do not be alarmed,” resulting in fleeing;. ”ואל תערצו, “and do not display fear, [even if you feel it. Ed.]

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.

“And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel,’” Rashi explained that even if you have no merit except the recitation of the Shema alone, etc. Is the Shema such a minor matter? So it seems to me that the main thing is about the tefillin worn on the head, because one who recites the Shema presumably only recites it while wearing tefillin, so as not to bear false witness against oneself (Berakhot 14b). And through the tefillin on one’s head, dread and fear will fall upon the enemies, as it is written, Then all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of the Lord is proclaimed over you, and they shall stand in fear of you (Deuteronomy 28:10). Our Sages said (Berakhot 6a) that this refers to the tefillin worn on the head, and this is what they needed in war: that the enemies would see and fear them. Even the Shema recited at night, just as it protects from all harmful entities and destructive beings, so too it protects from the nations whose power comes from the celestial ministers above. Therefore, they [the Sages] connected (Bamidbar Rabbah 20:20) the Shema to the verse It will not lie down until it consumes prey and drinks the blood of the slain (Numbers 23:24), for the simple meaning of this verse presumably speaks of ordinary warfare. In Tractate Berachot (5a), our Sages taught: “A person should always incite their good inclination against their evil inclination,” as it is said, Tremble [Rigzu, which can also be understood as, Get angry] and do not sin (Psalms 4:5). If it [the evil inclination] departs, good. If not, one should engage in Torah study, as it is said, Commune with your heart. If it departs, good. If not, one should recite the Shema, as it is said, Upon your bed. If it departs, good. If not, one should remember the day of death, as it is said, And be still, Selah. These four [remedies] are mentioned in this portion because it says, When you go out as a camp against your enemies, you shall guard yourself from every evil thing. Rashi explains that this is because Satan prosecutes in times of danger. And this prosecution means that Satan, who is the evil inclination, endeavors to cause a person to sin during war, a place of danger, in order to make him fall into the hands of his enemies. Therefore, in war, a person needs more protection from the evil inclination, for in this dangerous place, it provokes a person more than in other places to turn him toward evil. Our Sages (Ketubot 46a) derived from the verse you shall guard yourself from every evil thing that a person should not have improper thoughts during the day that might lead to nocturnal emissions at night. Is it only during war that one needs to be cautious and not at other times? Rather, certainly during war the evil inclination provokes a person more intensely, both regarding sexual immorality and other transgressions, in order to make him fall into the hands of his enemies. Therefore, the Torah taught them to be vigilant in war to stand against their inclination so it would not bring them to sin in a place of danger. You should know that in the Akeida [Rabbi Isaac Arama’s philosophical commentary] and other commentaries, I have seen interpretations of all the wars in this portion as referring to a person’s wars with their [evil] inclination. This approach is far from my understanding, as it removes the verses from their plain meaning. What we have written is consistent with the plain meaning in every respect, showing the way by which they will defeat the nations — and that is when they are complete in their actions during war, and none of them will be lost due to transgression. Therefore it is said, “And it shall be, when you draw near to the battle,” with the nations, and you fear sin lest the evil inclination cause you to stumble, for it is the Satan, who prosecutes in times of danger, then they should engage in Torah study. This is what is meant by the priest shall approach and speak to the people. In the Tractate Sotah (42), they said, and speak to the people in the holy language, and we learn this from the verbal analogy with Moses’ would speak mentioned at the giving of the Torah Moses would speak (Exodus 19:19) — just as there it was in the holy language, so too here. And I say the verbal analogy is not partial — just as there it concerned Torah study, so too here the priest speaks words of Torah to the people. For Joshua was punished for neglecting Torah study during war, as the angel said to him, Now I have come (Joshua 5:14), [which our Sages interpreted as] “because of the neglect of Torah” (Eruvin 63b). The reason for this is that Torah study protects against the evil inclination, the Satan who especially prosecutes in times of danger. And if perhaps there is someone who is not learned in Torah, for not everyone has mastered Torah, then with what will those groups be saved from the hand of this internal enemy during war? Therefore, and he shall say, ‘Hear, O Israel,’ meaning they should recite the Shema, which everyone knows how to recite, and through this all will be saved from the head of the enemy’s attacks. And if perhaps there is an ignorant person who doesn’t even know the Shema, or some stiff-necked person whose evil inclination is stronger than him and will not turn back because of any Torah or Shema, then it is necessary to remind him of the day of death, and then it [the evil inclination] will certainly depart. Therefore, the officer announces, Who is the man who has built a house, etc., lest he die in battle, etc. By mentioning death in war, he will incidentally remember the day of death in general, and with this he will certainly overcome his inclination, as it is written If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at the opening (Genesis 4:7) — meaning, let him remember the opening of his grave, and then even though its desire is for you, nevertheless you shall rule over it. And on this, our Sages of blessed memory commented (Berakhot 18a) that “the living know that they will die” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) refers to the righteous, etc., meaning that they know they will die and therefore the remembrance of the day of death is constantly before their eyes, and this saves them from sin. And the dead know nothing refers to the wicked, who even during their lives are called dead, as it is said, And you, O corpse, wicked one, etc., whose day has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end (Ezekiel 21:30). Meaning, the wicked know nothing because the remembrance of the day of death is not before their eyes at all. And this is what it means when it says, whose day has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end, meaning, because of the sin regarding his end, for the remembrance of his end was not before his eyes at all. Unlike David, who prayed and said, Lord, make me know my end, etc. (Psalms 39:5), but rather their inner thought is that their houses will last forever (Psalms 49:12). And this is a precious interpretation.

אל תיראו, “do not be afraid” in your heart; ואל תחפזו, “and do not panic;” causing you to flee. ואל תערצו, do not display your fear.

For Hashem your God is He who goes before you to wage war for you against your enemies, to deliver you.

כי ה׳ אלהיכם וגו׳ FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD [IS HE WHO GOETH WITH YOU] — They come to war relying on the conquering strength of human beings (lit., flesh and blood) but you come relying on the strength of the Omnipresent God! The Philistines once came to war relying on the strength of Goliath — what was his end? He fell and they fell with him (Sotah 42a). ההלך עמכם [FOR THE LORD THY GOD] GOETH WITH THEE — this refers to the camp of the Holy Ark (the camp that has the Holy Ark in its midst, i.e. the camp of the Levites) (Sotah 42a).

להלחם לכם..להושיע אתכם, "to do battle for you with your enemies and to save you." The meaning of להלחם is to destroy your enemies, whereas the additional להושיע אתכם means to ensure that not one of you becomes a casualty of war. This last point is always the essence of the miracle by means of which we know that G'd fights on our side. This may be the reason that at the beginning of the verse the Torah mentions ה׳ אלוקיכם emphasising that both the attribute of Mercy and the attribute of Justice are involved here. The attribute of Mercy expresses itself by saving the Israelites, the attribute of Justice by destroying its adversaries. Had it not been for the Torah wanting to emphasise this it only had to write כי אלוקיכם הולך.

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.

כי ה' אלוקיכם ההולך עמכם, “for the Lord your G’d is the One going with you.” The details about who is subject to the draft are meant to remind us that in spite of our feeling physically superior to our enemies, success in war, as in other enterprises that are facing opposition, depends on G’d’s being on our side. If He is, we will win, if not, our numerical superiority or our superior weaponry will not secure us victory either. להושיע אתכם, “to save you.” Moses adds these words even though he had already told the people that G’d would participate as a Warrior on their side. The reason is that even victory in war does not mean that the winning side does not sustain casualties, sometimes very heavy casualties. Moses assures the people that in justified wars G’d would ensure that they would not sustain such casualties. A priest, who is a servant of Hashem, warns the assembled soldiers to be G’d-fearing, and to be confident of His help. The שוטרים, the enforcers of the law, are concerned with the more mundane aspects of warfare, the fact that people worry about their lives when exposed to abnormal dangers. He concentrates on three major concerns of such young soldiers, the betrothed, the ones engaged in building a house, and the ones who just began to establish an economic base for themselves, by planting a vineyard, but not having tasted any of its fruit. These three groups of young men are sent home before the battle is joined.

And the officers shall speak before the people, saying: Who is the man who has built a new house and has not yet dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the waging of war and another man dedicate it.

ולא חנכו [WHAT MAN IS THERE THAT HATH BUILT A NEW HOUSE] AND HATH NOT DEDICATED IT — i.e. has not yet dwelt in it. The term חנך denotes beginning a thing (here, it means beginning to live in it; cf. Rashi on Genesis 14:14). ואיש אחר יחנכנו [LEST HE DIE IN THE WAR] AND ANOTHER MAN DEDICATE IT — which is a matter that causes grief of mind.

"Dedicated it" — [this word is] like "the dedication (חֲנֻכַּת) of the altar," and likewise "train (חֲנֹךְ) a youth." From this our Sages of blessed memory derived that one initiates [educates] the young. The meaning is that his heart and all his desire are set on dedicating his house, and so his heart is with his house and not with the battle — therefore he will flee and cause others to flee.

פן ימות במלחמה ואיש אחר יחנכנו, perhaps the man in question had been guilty of a sin on account of which he would be punished by death or one of the punishments mentioned in the Tochahach, the lengthy warnings of Moses in chapter 28. His death would undermine the morale of his brothers in arms.

אשר בנה, “who has built;” the Torah here teaches the correct order in which young men are to approach the subject of matrimony; first they have to make a commitment to the woman they have chosen; then they have to provide for their bride a place to live in; then they have to establish a sound economic base, such as planting a vineyard. Having done so, they may proceed to complete the wedding ceremonies. The reason why such people are excused from fighting in an expansionary war, is that their worries about if they will be able to complete their plans for the future will distract them from performing their military duties to the best of their abilities. They will worry that in spite of promises from G-d they may be or have been guilty of sins which will be used by G-d to withdraw His protection from them when they are facing danger. ילך וישוב לביתו פן ימות, “he would not be much use in battle if he is too preoccupied with his personal concerns.” [As to the fainthearted soldiers, they are excused so that their low morale does not infect and undermine the confidence of their comrades in arms. Therefore they are best sent home.] יחנכנו, “will dedicate it.” The letter ח in this word has the semi vowel sh’va under it.

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.

And who is the man who has planted a vineyard and has not yet redeemed its fruit? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the waging of war and another man redeem it.

ולא חללו [AND WHAT MAN IS THERE THAT HATH PLANTED A VINEYARD] AND HATH YET NOT EATEN OF IT — לא חללו means, has not yet redeemed it in the fourth year of its growth, for the fruits had either to be eaten in Jerusalem or to be given a non-holy character (חולין), by exchanging them for money and the money’s worth to be consumed in Jerusalem (The phrase therefore means no more than: who hath not eaten of it).

V’LO CHIL’LO’ — the fourth year [since the vineyard was planted] had not yet arrived. For the custom regarding a vineyard used to be that when the produce was ripe they would dance there and walk in it with chalilim (flutes). Now, Scripture commanded that all the fruits thereof [of the fourth year] shall be holy, for giving praise unto the Eternal, that they should praise the Glorious Name at that celebration. It is possible that the meaning of v’lo chil’lo is “that he has not made it chulin (secular),” this referring to the “redemption” [i.e., exchanging the fruits for money in case he cannot transport them to Jerusalem] which our Rabbis have mentioned, it being similar to the expressions: for Judah ‘chileil’ (hath profaned) the holiness of the Eternal [which means Israel has exchanged Him for other gods]; and he shall not ‘yechaleil’ (profane) his seed [which also means that he shall not exchange his holy seed by taking a woman forbidden to him].

"Inaugurated it" — from the root of חֲלִילִים [flutes/dances], for it was their custom to dance in the vineyards.

ולא חללו, “and has not been able to enjoy the fruit of it.” The word describes dancing of a kind. It was customary at the end of the fourth year after planting a vineyard for the owner to give a party seeing that up to then the fruit of that vineyard was not at his free disposal. (Compare Judges 21,21, about the daughters of Shiloh.)

ולא חללו, “and he has not yet redeemed it.” Nachmanides writes that this means that the fourth year of that vineyard has not yet reached harvest time. The word חלל is derived here from מחולות, dancing. When the harvest of the fourth year is completed, the people owning the vineyard are happy and express their gratitude to G’d by dancing, although that year’s harvest is still קודש הלולים, “sanctified to laud” (Leviticus 19,24) It is not secular yet, that is why it has to be consumed in Jerusalem. It is also possible to interpret the word לא חללו, to mean that the owner had not yet redeemed that crop so that it was not yet חולין, secular produce.

And who is the man who has betrothed a woman and has not yet married her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the waging of war and another man marry her.

פן ימות במלחמה [LET HIM GO AND RETURN] LEST HE DIE IN THE WAR — The meaning is: let him return so that he not die, for if he will not hearken to the words of the priests he deserves death (Sifrei Devarim 194:5).

"Betrothed a woman but has not taken her" — in marriage. Now this verse is a sign that there is one who dies when his appointed time comes; but one who dies in battle dies before his time — therefore David said: "or in battle he will go down and perish."

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.”

And the officers shall continue to speak to the people, and they shall say: Who is the man who is fearful and broken of heart? Let him go and return to his house, so that he not break the heart of his brothers as his own heart is broken.

ויספו השטרים AND THE BAILIFFS [SHALL SPEAK] FURTHER [UNTO THE PEOPLE] — Why does it here state: they shall speak further unto the people? The meaning is that they added this to the words of the priest, for the priest spoke and proclaimed from שמע ישראל (v. 3) to להושיע אתכם (end of 5:4), whilst the paragraphs beginning with מי האיש (v. 5) and with the second מי האיש (v. 6) and with the third מי האיש (v. 7) the priest said quietly and the officers proclaimed. This paragraph, the officers spoke and proclaimed, so that Scripture rightly introduces this last part by the word ויספו השוטרים (Sotah 43a). הירא ורך הלבב [WHAT MAN IS THERE] WHO IS FEARFUL AND FAINT-HEARTED — Rabbi Akiba said, Take these words as what they literally imply; they mean that he cannot stand in the dense ranks of battle and look on a naked sword. Rabbi Jose, the Galilean, said that it means one who is afraid of the sins he has committed, and therefore Scripture gave him the opportunity of attributing his return home to his house, his vineyard, or his wife, in order to veil the motives of those who really returned because of the sins they had committed, so that people should not know they were great sinners, and whoever saw a person returning would say, “Perhaps he has built a house, or planted a vineyard or betrothed a wife” (Sotah 44a).

AND THE OFFICERS SHALL SPEAK FURTHER UNTO THE PEOPLE, AND THEY SHALL SAY: ‘WHAT MAN IS THERE THAT IS FEARFUL.’ According to the opinion of Rabbi Yosei the Galilean [who says, the fearful is someone who is afraid that he will fall in battle as punishment for his transgressions], after the priest had assured them that G-d would help them and that not one man of them will be lacking, it was fitting that the righteous put their trust in Him, [that He will help them not to be overthrown in battle]. Then, the officers warn those that are afraid [to go into battle] because of the transgressions they had committed. The Torah, therefore, gave everyone the opportunity of attributing his return home because of his house, his vineyard, or his wife, in order to serve as a pretext for others who are returning home because they are afraid of their transgressions. And the meaning of the expression lest he die in the battle [mentioned in each of the three categories] is that he will think so in his heart and he will flee [despite the fact that the priest had already assured them that no one would be lacking after the battle]. But in the opinion of the Rabbi Akiba [who says that fearful is he who cannot endure a pitched battle or bear to see a drawn sword,] the verse is to be understood in its simple meaning, that whoever is still afraid after the assurance of the priest, does not trust in G-d properly and the miracle [of being saved] will not be done for him [and therefore the Torah gave him the opportunity to return home]. FAINT-HEARTED. The meaning thereof is that it is not in his nature to see the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, for the fearful is he who does not trust, and Scripture commands him to return to his home because of his deficient trust. The faint-hearted is sent home because of the weakness of his nature, for he will flee or faint. Now the Rabbis have said in the Yerushalmi that “all who return home need to bring proof for their words,” that is to say, they are to bring proof concerning the [new] house, the vineyard, or the wife before the captain of the host who then gives him permission to return home. Similarly they also said according to the opinion of Rabbi Yosei the Galilean [who says the fearful is he that is afraid because of his transgressions] that he needs to bring proof concerning the transgression he committed, for otherwise most of the people would have been returning home under false pleas. But according to Rabbi Akiba, the faint-hearted cannot endure pitched battle or bear to see a drawn sword, [the Yerushalmi states] he need not bring proof, “for his witnesses are with him” [i.e., everybody sees that he is fearful and faint-hearted]. LEST HIS BRETHREN’S HEART MELT AS HIS HEART. The author of the Hilchoth Gedoloth considered this verse a negative commandment, meaning that [if he is fearful and faint-hearted] he should not avoid returning home, lest he melt his brethren’s heart like his own. It is similar to the verse, and it...

"Who is fearful" — of striking another. "And tender of heart" — of enduring another's blow. "The heart of" — here the word אֶת appears to be superfluous, but its meaning is as I have explained: it is like the very substance of the matter.

מי האיש הירא, "Who is the man who is afraid, etc." We are told in Sotah 44 that our verse speaks of soldiers who are afraid to die in battle due to sins they had committed. We find such a concept in Isaiah 33,14: "Sinners in Zion are frightened." It is natural that people who have sinned should be worried. Even people who are not aware that they did commit sins would start to worry about such a possibility when they go to war, on a dangerous mission. Shulchan Aruch Or Hachayim 54 mentions that one has reason to worry even if one only knows that one spoke during certain parts of the prayers when one should not have interrupted one's prayer by talking. The reason is simple. When one goes into battle one needs a miracle in order not to be hurt. If one is guilty of sins which one has not atoned for one cannot expect G'd to perform a miracle.

מי האיש הירא, “who is the man who is afraid?” The first part of this verse speaks about people whose fear is based on becoming the victim of painful injuries, or worse. The second part of the verse describing “fear,” speaks of someone who is uncomfortable about having to inflict pain, injury or worse, on opponents that have never done him any harm or even threatened to do so. Such a person is described by the Torah as רך הלבב , “faint hearted.” (Ibn Ezra) ילך וישוב לביתו, “let him go and return to his house.” He is not released from every duty, but is assigned to support the troops in the frontline by keeping the lengthening lines of supply open. This is as opposed to the previous three categories of mobilized men, who are released from any participation. Any war which involves defending the land of Israel against an invasion by Gentiles is to be resisted without any reservations such as listed above. In fact, according to the Talmud in tractate Sotah folio 44, even a bridegroom just after the vows have been completed must join his unit to defend the country and its people.

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

מי האיש הירא, “who is the man who is fearful;” he does not trust the assurance by the priest.” ורך הלבב, “and he is of faint heart;” he is constitutionally unable to face swords and blood. Nachmanides writes that according to the approach by Rabbi Yossi Hag’lili who interprets the word הירא as not applying to physical fear but to fear of retribution for the sins he is aware of having committed, the words פן ימות must be understood that he is afraid of dying as punishment for his sins. He may therefore plan to desert his comrades, rationalizing his action by the priest having promised his compatriots that they will remain unharmed, i.e. his absence does not weaken the army. They, his compatriots, will not be at risk on account of his sins. According to Rabbi Akiva, who interprets the words in our verse as one reads them, at face value, simply says that if someone even after being reassured by the priest, G’d’s interpreter, still feels afraid that G’d would not perform a miracle on his account and save him, he is sent home so that he does not undermine the morale of his fellow soldiers. The Jerusalem Talmud Sotah 8,9 quotes a view according to which all those claiming release from the army must furnish proof of their “excuses,” and that according to the view of Rabbi Yossi Hag’lili the person afraid of retribution for his sins must furnish proof that he is indeed guilty of such a sin, except the person who claims to be afraid and all can see from his demeanour that he is a coward. ולא ימס את לבב אחיו , “so he will not melt the heart of his buddies.” According to the author of halachot gedolot (Rabbi Yehudah ben Rabbi Shemuel of the ancient academy in Sura) the above words are a negative commandment, applicable to the שוטרים not to deny that “coward’s” application to go home.

ילך וישוב לביתו. If he is afraid that his mazzal is poor and he would die in battle, seeing that G’d made him worry that he might not live to consecrate his new home, wed his bride, or eat from the fruit of his vineyard, he had assumed that if he was now required to participate in this war it was apparently ordained to prevent him for realising his objectives on earth. The Torah selected three examples of what would inspire such fear, concern over one’s house, one’s wife, and one’s vineyard. Having first named these specific concerns and declared them as legitimate under the circumstances, the Torah proceeds to include all other kinds of concerns which inspire fear for his impending death in the heart of a person. (verse 8). This pattern is not as unusual as it strikes us at first glance, seeing that Solomon employs it in Kohelet 1,3-9. He begins by listing examples of things he considers futile in this life, such as 1) a generation goes, another takes its place, a constant change, nothing remaining whereas the “dead” earth remains forever. 2) The sun rises and the suns sets; 3) the rivers all end up in the ocean but the ocean never flows over. Solomon tires of listing all the phenomena that recur constantly since the days of creation, all except man, because no new generation is exactly like the generation preceding it. The result is that the generation that has died is not remembered as it has never been replaced. This is why Solomon considers death the most futile phenomenon, seeing it wipes out what there was without replacing it. By the time Solomon reaches verse 9 he comes to the conclusion that seeing that there is nothing new in this life on earth which has not happened before, everything is remembered by reason of that very fact. However, just because one generation is not at all like a previous generation, man’s existence is apt to be forgotten, precisely because there is no one around anymore to duplicate what previous generations have done. There is therefore nothing by which to remember the existence of previous generations. (verse 11 there)

And it shall be, when the officers have finished speaking to the people, that they shall appoint commanders of the army at the head of the people.

שרי צבאות [THEY SHALL APPOINT] OFFICERS OF THE HOSTS — This means that they shall place guards (זוקפין from זקף “to stand erect”) in front of and behind them (the troops), with iron axes in their hands, and if anybody attempted to desert he (the guard) was empowered to chop off his legs. זוקפין are men who stood in the wings of the battle-line to raise (זקף) those who fall and to strengthen them by encouraging words: “Go back to the battle and do not flee, for flight is the first step to defeat” (Sifrei Devarim 198; Sotah 44).

AND CAPTAINS OF HOSTS SHALL BE APPOINTED AT THE HEAD OF THE PEOPLE. He so commanded because the Torah enjoins in accordance with the way of the world while G-d does miracles for those who fear Him secretly. There is no desire before Him to change the natural order of the world, unless there is no other way for salvation, or in order to make His Name known to His adversaries at certain times as at the splitting of the Red Sea and similar events.

"And they shall appoint" — from the root פָּקוֹד [to appoint, to muster].

ופקדו שרי צבאות, after all those who were sent home had left. If even one of the people that should have been sent home were included in the roll call by the commanders this might eventually prove demoralising if the party in question became a casualty of war. Compare Amos 9,1 הך הכפתור וירעשו הספים, “strike a knob and the very foundations will quake,” [insignificant appearing actions have far-reaching consequences. Ed.]

ופקדו, “and they shall appoint, etc.” This takes place after all those that have been allowed to return home have done so. The use of the root פקד to describe making appointments is first found in the advice Joseph gave to Pharaoh in Genesis 41,34.

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.

ופקדו שרי צבאות בראש העם, “the leaders of the people shall take command at the head of the people.” Nachmanides writes that the Torah’s instructions here run parallel to what the nations of the world are doing in similar circumstances. G’d’s intervention on behalf of the Jewish soldiers is in the nature of “hidden miracles,” the types that resulted in the collapse of Haman and the rise to power of Mordechai. [People are saved or killed by being in the right place, or the wrong place at the right time or at the wrong time, as required in order for His will to be done. Ed.] G’d does not interfere with natural law overtly unless unavoidable in order to achieve His ends without depriving man of his free will in the process.

When you draw near to a city to wage war against it, you shall call out to it words of peace.

כי תקרב אל עיר WHEN THOU APPROACHEST UNTO A CITY [TO FIGHT AGAINST IT] — Scripture is speaking of a war which is not obligatory upon them (as was the war against the seven nations of Canaan, referred to in v. 16), as it is distinctly stated in this section (v. 15) “Thus thou shalt do unto all the cities which are very far [from thee]” etc. (Sifrei Devarim 199:1).

WHEN THOU DRAWEST NEAR UNTO A CITY TO FIGHT AGAINST IT, THEN PROCLAIM PEACE UNTO IT. “Scripture is speaking of a permissible war [rather than a war required by the Torah, such as the invasion of the seven nations of Canaan], as it is expressly stated in this section, Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee.” This is Rashi’s language. The Rabbi [Rashi] wrote this based on the Sifre where a similar text is taught: “Scripture is speaking of a battle waged of free choice.” But the intent of our Rabbis with reference to this verse [before us, was not to say that the requirement of proclaiming peace applies exclusively to permissible, but not to obligatory, wars; rather, their teaching in the Sifre] refers only to the later section wherein there is a differentiation between the two kinds of wars [i.e., in Verses 13-14 declaring that if the enemy insists on war, then only the men are to be killed, but the women and children are to be spared — that law applies only to a permissible but not to an obligatory war]. But the call for peace applies even to an obligatory war. It requires us to offer peace-terms even to the seven nations [of Canaan], for Moses proclaimed peace to Sihon, king of the Amorites, and he would not have transgressed both the positive and negative commandments in this section: but thou shalt utterly destroy them, and thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth! Rather, the difference between them [i.e., obligatory and permissible wars] is when the enemy does not make peace and continues to make war. Then, in the case of the cities which are very far off, Scripture commanded us to smite every male thereof and keep alive the women and male children, but in the cities of these peoples [i.e., the seven nations of Canaan in the event they refuse the call to peace], it commanded us to destroy even the women and children. And so did our Rabbis say in the Midrash of Eileh Hadevarim Rabbah, and it is found also in Tanchuma and in the Gemara Yerushalmi: “Rabbi Shmuel the son of Rabbi Nachmani said: Joshua the son of Nun fulfilled the laws of this section. What did Joshua do? Wherever he went to conquer, he would send a proclamation in which he wrote: ‘He who wishes to make peace let him come forward and make peace; he who wishes to leave, let him leave, and he who wishes to make war, let him make war.’ The Girgashite left. With the Gibeonites who made peace, Joshua made peace. The thirty-one kings who came to wage war — the Holy One, blessed be He, cast them down etc.” And so indeed Scripture states with reference to all cities [including those of the seven nations], There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon; they took all in battle. For it was of the Eternal to harden their hearts, to come against Israel in battle, that they might be utterly destroyed. Obviously, if they had wanted to make peace, the Israelites would have made peace with them. ...

"And you shall call" — calling to it [the city] for peace is a commandment, though it is possible that it is optional.

כי תקרב אל עיר, "When you approach a city, etc." Perhaps this paragraph alludes to something that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said in Zohar volume 2 page 62 that G'd sends man an additional soul to guide him on the right path and to save him from committing sins against Him. In our paragraph we may perceive G'd as addressing this additional soul telling it: "when you approach a city," i.e. the body of the human being whom you will inhabit which is kown as עיר. We know from Zohar Chadash Ruth page 97 on the verse in Kohelet 9,14: עיר קטנה ואנשים בה מעט, "there is a small city with few inhabitants," that the city Solomon speaks of is the human body. This additional soul may be the "miracle" needed to protect the Jewish soldier at the time he goes into battle as it helps stop him from committing sins which could result in his violent death in war. The Torah was careful to write עליה, which here needs to be translated as "on her account." The idea is that this soul is intended to save the body from the evil urge; it is in line with the verse in Kohelet 9,14 which continues ובא אליה מלך גדול, (the small city) "against which a great king comes and lays siege to it, An insignificant looking wise man saves that small city from the onslaught of the great king using his wisdom" (compare Nedarim 32). וקראת אליה לשלום, "and you call out to her: 'peace'." The meaning is that you do not immediately wade into the den of iniquity (your evil urge) and try to conquer it in one single frontal assault; rather you first suggest that it also give heaven its due, as a result of which it will experience great benefits. As a result the evil urge will allow that man has a duty also vis-a-vis heaven. After all, secular activities such as eating and drinking in this life also enable man to perform his spiritual tasks better. As a result of this accomodation with the evil urge one assures oneself of not losing one's hereafter altogether. והיה אם שלום, It will be if "peace," etc. The word והיה as usual, refers to something joyful; here too, if your approach to the evil urge is in the manner we have just described so that you have opened the door a crack to spiritually positive values, G'd in His turn will open this door wide, i.e. והיה כל העם הנמצא בה, so that it embraces all the "people" i.e. the 248 bones and 365 sinews which man's body is constructed of and they will all become subservient to the soul (instead of to the evil urge). The body will then perform both the positive commandments and refrain from violating the negative commandments. ועבדוך, "and they will serve you," i.e. like a slave who is afraid of his master and will neither deviate to the left nor to the right. -15. ואם לא תשלים, "If she is not prepared to surrender peacefully," If the "city" does not accept the soul's proposal to allow heaven its due, or that even after man began to become a penitent he slid back into sin, then you have to make all out war against the city, i.e. the evil urge. The words ועשת...

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 תקרב אל עיר, Rashi understands this paragraph as speaking of a מלחמת רשות, a war sanctioned by Hashem, but not conducted for reasons of self defense. Nachmanides, elaborating on this, adds that Rashi was forced to offer this interpretation on account of what is written a few verses later, i.e. that if in spite of peaceful overtures the inhabitants of the city described insist of conducting a war against the Israelites, then the males are to be killed, whereas the women and even the male children are to be kept alive, which is different from the rules of the Torah when the seven Canaanite nations will be attacked. There, all the inhabitants of such cities are to be killed regardless of sex or age. What is noteworthy is that even when confronting cities of the seven Canaanite nations about to be driven out from their country or to be killed, the Torah commands the people to offer surrender first. These Canaanites, if willing, will even be accepted as converts and thus escape death or forced exile. This is what Moses had done with the people under the rule of Sichon, King of the Emorite, one of the seven Canaanite nations. [This editor does not see evidence that any of Sichon’s subjects had converted to Judaism, although Rachav, who had hidden the two spies in Jericho, was saved and not enslaved or exiled, although judging from her own words she may have been close to conversion to Judaism long before Joshua crossed the Jordan. Ed.] It appears that there was a difference between the offer of peace to the cities of the seven nations on the one hand, and those in more distant countries, not Canaanites. The latter were informed that if they wanted to survive they could accept subservient status to the Israelites, work for them, etc, but lose their independence, whereas a similar offer to the Canaanite cities contained an additional rider, namely that they had to abandon idolatry and accept the seven Noachide laws. This had to be a minimum as the Torah had expressly forbidden sparing the lives of any idolatrous population in what was going to be the land of Israel. Once they would have become enslaved to the Jewish people, they would find out that their idols and any remnants of their religious symbols would be destroyed, in accordance with Torah law, which does not tolerate the existence of such relics of idolatry in the Holy Land. Rashi, on the other hand, states that no compromise of any kind was permitted with the seven Canaanite nations and they either were killed or had to emigrate to escape such a fate. According to his view, even total conversion to Judaism was not an option for them. Nachmanides does not concur, as he interprets the warning by the Torah in verse 18 that the presence of these people in the Holy Land represents a danger that they will influence the Israelites culturally and morally, as clearly demanding that these people must leave or be killed. The Jerusalem Talmud states that Joshua offered to such people that they become labourers for the Israel performing menial tasks, such as hewing wood and carrying water. Exodus 23,33 makes it plain that these people are considered as a cultural hazard “if they continue to practice their religion.” In Nachmanides’ view this means that if they abandon idolatry they may live in the land of Israel, but as slaves or serfs. We are familiar with the story of Gibeonites, who pretended to have come from outside the land of Canaan in order to qualify for conversion of sorts. When Joshua found out too late (after having made a solemn deal with them) that he had become the victim of a fraud, he did not kill these people but made labourers of them, a status that continued down to the time of Solomon over 400 years later. (Joshua chapter 9) If these Gibeonites had not first misrepresented themselves causing the Israelites to make a pact with them reinforced by an oath, Joshua would not have punished them by denying them all the rights that normal converts are entitled to. Under the unusual circumstances at that time Joshua saw himself forced to apply what is written in Some commentators interpret the line והיה אם שלום תענך, as applying only at the time when the offer is first made. If the offer is not accepted immediately, there is no second opportunity to save one’s life by means of converting to Judaism, so that Joshua would have acted illegally by granting them a second opportunity, and he should not have accepted them. [The fact is that there were bloody repercussions later on both in the time of King Sha-ul and King David. (Compare Bamidbar Rabbah, 8)

וקראת אליה לשלום, “you shall first offer peace to that city. According to some sages the rule mentioned here even included nations who the Israelites had been ordered by G–d to kill every “soul.” However, this command did not apply if the inhabitants agreed to vacate the town and relocate outside the Holy Land. We know that peace is superior to war, i.e. hostility, from when G–d Himself changed what Sarah had thought about her husband when she considered him too old to impregnate her with effective sperm. (Genesis18,12) He did not tell him about that part of her reaction to the angel’s prediction that by the following year she would have a son. We have a verse in Hoseah 4,17: חבור עצבים אפרים הנח לו, “Ephrayim is addicted to images,- let him be.” This verse is quoted by Rashi in connection with the verse we just quoted from Genesis, where he says that this cannot be understood at face value, i.e. that the prophet should not predict doom for idol worshippers. Our author cites several additional examples of where we cannot take a quotation at face value, especially when the brothers after Yaakov’s funeral quote their father as having commanded them to ask Joseph for forgiveness. (Genesis 50,17) The Torah wrote this in order to preserve harmony between Joseph and his brothers, not because Yaakov had actually said these words. Both the blessings by the priests end with bestowing the blessing of peace and the last of the 19 benedictions in the amidah prayer that we recite at least three times daily, concludes with the blessing of shalom, peace. Our sages in the Talmud, tractate Gittin folio 61, bid us to greet a gentile with the blessing of shalom before waiting for him to greet us, and in the event that he does to respond with using the expression shalom twice. Seeing that this might appear insincere on our part, the Talmud urges us to greet him before he can greet us so that we can avoid using the word shalom twice when greeting him, something that is forbidden in the Talmud, tractate Gittin folio 62. On folio 59 in the same tractate we are also told not to accept something that had been found by a deaf person or a minor, as it might have come into his possession illegally. We are also to feed the poor of the gentiles, all in order to maintain harmonious relations with the gentiles, generally. For all these reasons Hashem blessed His people with shalom (Psalms 29.11)

And it shall be, if it answers you in peace and opens to you, then all the people found in it shall become tribute-bearers for you and shall serve you.

כל העם הנמצא בה ALL THE PEOPLE THAT IS FOUND THEREIN [SHALL BE TRIBUTARIES] — all: even if you find in it persons belonging to the seven nations which you have been commanded to exterminate, you are allowed to keep them alive (Sifrei Devarim 200:2). למס ועבדוך [ALL THE PEOPLE … SHALL BE] TRIBUTARIES [UNTO THEE], AND THEY SHALL SERVE THEE — You must not accept their surrender until they take upon themselves both the payment of tribute and servitude (one alone is not sufficient) (Sifrei Devarim 200:3).

TRIBUTARIES UNTO THEE, AND THEY SHALL SERVE THEE. “[Their surrender is not to be accepted] until they accept tribute and servitude upon themselves.” This is the language of Rabbeinu Shlomo [Rashi]. And in the Sifre the Rabbis have said: “If they say ‘We accept tribute upon ourselves but not servitude’, or ‘servitude but not tribute,’ they are not to heed them until they accept both upon themselves.”Now the purport of the tribute was that the king of Israel or the Sanhedrin could impose a levy upon them, [drafting men] to build the king’s palace and his store-cities, also the House of G-d. The servitude was that any Israelite could take one of them to be the hewer of his wood and the drawer of his water and pay him proper wages. This is the sense of what is written in connection with Solomon a levy of bondservants, meaning that they took upon themselves [both] tribute and servitude as is the law of the Torah. [However, the law of the Torah is] not as is written, And it came to pass, when Israel was waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, but did not drive them out entirely, for “servitude” is not mentioned there. Instead it was like a king who bribes a more powerful king not to wage war against him. Know that the matter of the Gibeonites came to pass because they did not know the law of Israel with respect to proclaiming peace, and therefore they put forward their plan, before Joshua’s proclamation arrived. Hence they said, and we were sore afraid for our lives. Or it may be that, at first they did not wish to hearken to Joshua’s offer [thus laying themselves open to invasion], and in the end they became frightened and disguised themselves as strangers, as it is written, And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, they also did work wilily. Their trickery helped them yet in that they did not become their servants, but their confederates. The Israelites were irritated at them and would have killed them had it not been for the oath of the princes because the Gibeonites should have taken upon themselves tribute and servitude, as we have said, while they [the princes] made a covenant with them to be equal and to be their confederates helping each other in their wars. They made peace with them [the Gibeonites] because they had thought that they were [from] very distant cities, from the peoples against whom they [the Israelites] had no intention of advancing. Therefore, Joshua cursed the Gibeonites, saying, Now therefore ye are cursed, meaning that they are of the accursed peoples whom the Eternal had cursed, and he did to them according to the law appropriate to be applied to them, to fulfill that which is written concerning them, tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee, that they be hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the Eternal, this being the tribute and the servitude, as we have explained. And some scholars say that the meaning of the ve...

למס ועבדוך, “shall become liable to be taxed by you and become subservient.” Rashi explained that it is sufficient that they make an oral declaration to do so. Seeing that some of their cities may be a long distance away from you, it is unlikely that they will teach you and your children their pagan culture; this is why the rule that you must not allow a soul to survive in the lands captured by Joshua does not need to be applied in such situations as described here. Conversion to Judaism by any of the members of the seven Canaanite nations whose territory would form the first Jewish state is out of the question.

But if it does not make peace with you and wages war against you, then you shall besiege it.

ואם לא תשלים עמך ועשתה עמך מלחמה — Scripture tells you that if it does not make peace with you it will in the end make war against you (attack you) — if you leave it alone and go away (Sifrei Devarim 200:4). (The translation therefore is: AND IF IT WILL MAKE NO PEACE WITH THEE. IT WILL WAR AGAINST THEE). וצרת עליה THEN THOU SHALT BESIEGE IT — This implies that you are entitled even to starve it out, to make it suffer thirst and to kill it (the inhabitants) by mortal diseases (Sifrei Devarim 200:5).

"Make peace" — make peace.

And Hashem your God will deliver it into your hand, and you shall strike down all its males by the decree of the sword.

ונתנה ה' אלהיך בידך means THEN THE LORD THY GOD WILL GIVE IT INTO THY HANDS — if you have done all that is prescribed in this section the Lord will in the end give it into your hands (Sifrei Devarim 200:6).

And when the Lord your God will have delivered it into your hand, then may you smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword.

However, the women and the children and the livestock and all that is in the city — all its spoil — you shall take as plunder for yourself, and you shall consume the spoil of your enemies which Hashem your God has given to you.

והטף AND THE LITTLE ONES [… SHALT THOU TAKE UNTO THYSELF] — the male children, too. But how am I to understand (v. 13) “and thou shalt smite every male thereof”? As referring to the male adults (Sifrei Devarim 200:7).

Thus shall you do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations.

"That are very far from you" — that are not among the seven nations.

הרחוקות ממך מאד, distant from the present location of the Israelites in their camps. At that time the boundaries of the Land of Israel will be far from the center in every direction.

But from the cities of these nations that Hashem your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall not let any soul remain alive.

"You shall not let live" — it is forbidden to give them food or drink; and the general rule in their day was that one was obligated to kill them if one could. He did not mention the Girgashite because they were the smallest and least [numerous] among them.

לא תחיה כל נשמה, “you must not allow to remain for anyone to be alive;” if you were to ignore this commandment, the survivors would stir up trouble internationally, even, over having been deprived of their ancestral land. The validity of this commandment is limited to the generation Moses is addressing, i.e. the period during which the Israelites will be engaged in fighting the Canaanites in order to settle in the land promised by G-d to their patriarchs, Avraham, Yitzchok, and Yaakov. If members of these tribes had emigrated voluntarily, and at some future date return individually, and even wish to convert to Judaism this is acceptable. According to this interpretation, the Israelites under Joshua did not sin when they accepted the conversion of the Givonim, even though these had misrepresented themselves.

לא תחיה כל נשמה. When you confront them in battle do not offer them peace and expulsion as in the case of other hostile nations that are not Canaanites, a procedure I (Moses) have already explained in verse 10. However, if they make the first move in approaching you, and express their willingness to become your slaves before the battle is joined you are allowed to let them live.

For you shall utterly destroy them — the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites — as Hashem your God has commanded you.

כאשר צוך [BUT THOU SHALT DOOM THEM TO DESTRUCTION: THE HITTITES, … AND THE JEBUSITES,] AS [THE LORD THY GOD] HATH COMMANDED THEE — The words: “as God hath commanded thee” are intended to include the Girgashites (the seventh nation that is not mentioned here) (Sifrei Devarim 201:4).

כי החרם תחרימם, “but you shall utterly destroy them.” You might think that also their belongings would be out of bounds to you, (as the booty from Jericho); in order to assure you that this is not so, the Torah wrote in Deut. 6,11, that you will capture (and keep) their houses and contents intact.

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.

So that they not teach you to act according to all their abominations that they practiced for their idols, and you would sin before Hashem your God.

למען אשר לא ילמדו [BUT THOU SHALT DOOM THEM TO DESTRUCTION …] THAT THEY TEACH YOU NOT TO DO [AFTER THEIR ABOMINATIONS] — Consequently if they repent of their abominations and wish to become proselytes you are allowed to accept them as such (Sifrei Devarim 202:1).

THAT THEY TEACH YOU NOT TO DO AFTER ALL THEIR ABOMINATIONS, WHICH THEY HAVE DONE UNTO THEIR GODS. The purport thereof is that they will teach you to worship the Glorious Name with the burning of your sons and daughters and every abomination to the Eternal, which He hateth, and so ye sin against the Eternal your G-d Who has warned you against saying, How used these nations to serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. Now the Torah warned them, They shall not dwell in thy Land, lest they make thee sin against Me, for thou wilt serve their gods, for they will be a snare unto thee, which is an admonition against idolatry, for if you make a covenant with them and their gods, they will dwell in your Land and many of them will entice you to worship the idols. He added here to explain that thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth, for even one of them that remains among you to serve you, will remind you of the worship of their gods and perhaps you will be persuaded to do so to the Glorious Name and you will sin against Him, blessed be He.

למען אשר לא ילמדו אתכם לעשות, וגו', “so that they will not teach you to act, etc.” so that they will not teach you how to worship Hashem by burning your children in His honour, as they do to their respective deities. Actually, the Torah had already warned the people not to allow these former inhabitants of the land of Canaan to remain in their land, as Hashem was afraid they would lead the Israelites to sin by adopting part of the religious mores that had prevailed in that land. (Exodus 23,33) This was part of the prohibition not to enter into any pact or alliance with those people, because, if they felt secure, they would remain behind in large numbers. Moses reinforces that original command by adding that the Israelites must not allow any of those former inhabitants of the land of Canaan to survive, without ifs or buts. Even individuals allowed to survive pose a spiritual danger to his environment. Observing such a person performing his cult arouses curiosity among the onlookers.

When you besiege a city for many days to wage war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an iron tool against them, for from them you shall eat, and you shall not cut them down — for the tree of the field is not like a person, that it should come before you under siege.

ימים [WHEN THOU SHALT BESIEGE A CITY] ימים DAYS — The plural implies at least two days, רבים MANY must imply at least three days (cf. Rashi on Leviticus 15:25). From here they (the Rabbis) derived the law that the siege of a heathen city must not be commenced less than three days before the Sabbath, and it (this verse) teaches you that the opening up (the invitation to make) peace (v. 10) must be repeated two or three days, for so it states, (II Samuel 1:1) “And David abode two days (ימים שנים) in Ziklag” (Sifrei Devarim 200:4; Shabbat 19a). And Scripture is speaking here of a war which is not obligatory upon them (Sifrei Devarim 200:1). כי האדם עץ השדה FOR IS THE TREE OF THE FIELD A MAN [THAT IT SHOULD BE BESIEGED BY THEE]? — כי has here the meaning of “possibly”, “perhaps” (cf. Rashi on Exodus 23:5) — is the tree of the field perhaps a man who is able to withdraw within the besieged city from before you, that it should be chastised by the suffering of famine and thirst like the inhabitants of the city? Why should you destroy it?

FOR IS THE TREE OF THE FIELD A MAN? Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra has explained it well, that the purport of the verse is as follows: “for thou mayest eat of it, for the man is the tree of the field [i.e., man is dependent on the fruit-tree for food], and thou shalt not cut it down that it be used by you in the siege. And the meaning of the expression for the man is the tree of the field is like for he taketh a man to pledge” [which means, “when he takes away a man’s tools and means of earning a livelihood in security for a debt, it is as if the man’s very life is being taken from him,” and here too it means “for the tree of the field is man’s life” because his life depends on it]. But in the opinion of our Rabbis, it is permissible to cut down a fruit-tree to build a bulwark, and the statement of the Torah, Only trees which thou knowest that they are not trees for food etc. is to assign priority, meaning that a fruitless tree should be cut down prior to a fruit-tree. If so, the meaning of the section, in their opinion, is that the Torah warned, Thou shalt not destroy the trees to cut them down destructively, not for the purpose of the siege, as is the custom of armies [to cut down trees needlessly]. And the reason for it is that warriors destroy a city and its environs in the hope of conquering it, as it says, and ye shall fell every good tree, and stop all fountains of water. You are not to do so, to destroy it, for you are to trust in G-d that He will deliver it into your hand. For the man is the tree of the field, for you will eat of its fruit and live, and through it the city will be besieged by you, meaning to say, you will eat from it after conquering the city, and also when you are encamped, engaged in the siege, you should do likewise. And the meaning of the expression, them thou mayest destroy and cut down is that you are permitted to cut them down to build bulwarks and also to destroy them until it be subdued, for sometimes the destruction [of the trees] is for the purpose of capturing the city; for example, when the people of the city go out and fetch the wood thereof, or they hide there in the forest to fight against them, or when the trees are a refuge and a covert to the city from stones of stumbling.

"For the human being is a tree of the field" — I have already explained in my foundational work that in any language it is possible to abbreviate and take a shortened path, as [in the expression] "the bread of a donkey" [i.e., elliptical constructions]; but the word לֹא ["not"] cannot rightly be omitted, for the meaning would then be reversed. A great grammarian from Spain said that the interrogative ה is missing, and that the text reads: "Is it because the human being is a tree of the field?" — but this interpretation does not seem correct to me, for what sense would there be in saying "do not destroy the fruit tree, for it is not like human beings who can flee before you"? In my view we have no need of any of this. The explanation is as follows: "from it you shall eat, and it you shall not cut down, for the human being is [as] a tree of the field" — meaning, the life of a human being is the tree of the field. It is comparable to "for it is his life [that he has pledged]" — meaning, [pledging] the life [itself] is what he has pledged. "And it you shall not cut down" — this is connected to "to come before you under siege": do not destroy a fruit tree, which is life for a person; you are permitted to eat from it, but you are forbidden to destroy it in order to bring the city under siege before you. Proof that this explanation is correct is the subsequent statement: "but you may cut it down and build a siege-work."

לא תשחית את עצה לנדוח עליו גרזן, do not destroy its trees merely in order to practice wielding an axe. Destruction must not be wanton; it is justified only if it serves to harm the enemy residing within the city. כי ממנו תאכל, wanton destruction of such trees is justified only when it is not certain that without such action the war will come to a successful conclusion. The wars of conquest of the Land of Israel, however, the success of which has been guaranteed by G’d, does not fall into this category; it will be won without the need to destroy such trees. Destroying fruit bearing trees in the Land of Israel harms the country. כי ממנו תאכל, because as soon as you have conquered the land you yourselves will want to eat the fruit of such trees. כי האדם עץ השדה, for is a tree of the field equivalent to a human being, capable of defending itself and therefore posing a danger to you? Neither is it able to surrender on account of the siege; seeing that this is so, even though part of its timber could serve as a rampart for helping you to mount an attack against the city itself, since this will not be achieved (directly) by cutting down these trees it is not proper for you to destroy such trees, as opposed to your being permitted to kill human beings in that city opposing you and endangering you. לבא מפניך במצור, so that you would besiege the city on their account so they would surrender to you? [the underlying idea, if I understand the author and the text correctly, is that the purpose of laying siege to a city instead of assaulting it and destroying it, is to preserve it intact after its inhabitants have been forced to surrender. Cutting down fruit bearing trees would be the opposite of your objectives in such a war. Ed.]

כי תצור אל עיר ימים רבים , “when you lay siege to a city for a long time;” from this we learn that one does not lay siege to a city for less than three days before the Sabbath. If the city had been encircled and the Sabbath occurs before the city surrenders, this is not a reason to cease military activity on the Sabbath. This rule is one of three that the sage Shammai, (contemporary of Hillel) had stated. The three are: one does not engage in an ocean voyage less than three days before the Sabbath. This rule applies when the destination is further way than a three day voyage. If it closer, under normal circumstances, it may be undertaken closer to the Sabbath. (Sifri) These restrictions apply to those who travel for voluntary matters but not to those whose travel is for a matter of mitzva; the latter can leave on any day. All the rules concerning how to conduct a siege are valid only during expansionary wars. [Defensive wars when the land of Israel has been attacked, are not subject to any of these restrictions. Such defensive action may be commenced on any day of the week. Ed.] לא תשחית את עצה, “You must not destroy its (fruitbearing) trees;” this applies to trees near the town under siege. כי ממנו תאכל, “for you will be able to eat their fruit once you have conquered the town.” כי האדם עץ השדה, according to Rashi, the word כי here means :”perhaps” and is used as a question, i.e. “did you think perhaps that rules that apply to human beings are the same as those applying to fruitbearing trees?” Why should the tree which is giving man of its fruit suffer and endure the hardships of the population of the town you have laid siege to? Seeing that these trees are not guilty of anything why would you destroy them?

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.

כי האדם עץ השדה, “is then the tree of the field a man?” Ibn Ezra claiming that there is no need to add additional letters to make this verse intelligible, writes that the life of man can be compared to that of a tree in the field, therefore you must not destroy the fruit-bearing trees. The words: ואותו לא תכרותו, “you shall not cut it down,” belong together with the words לבא מפניך במצור, “that it should enter the siege before you.” Phrased differently, “seeing that the fruit-bearing tree is a lifeline for man how could you consider destroying it?” Nachmanides writes that according to the approach of our sages (Baba Kamma 91) it is permissible to destroy such trees during the siege and to use the timber to erect structures to enable the troops to bring the war to a speedy end. As to the meaning of the subsequent line that only trees that are not fruit-bearing may be cut down, the meaning is that if you have the choice to cut down fruit-bearing trees, or others that you know not to be of the fruit-baring variety, you must first cut down the trees that cannot furnish fruit. Fruit bearing trees are not to be cut down when such cutting down is not performed in order to fulfill a commandment of the Torah. The reason for this entire legislation, and specifically for its being mentioned at this point, is, that in war soldiers are in the habit of wreaking havoc all over, without regard to the ecological damage they cause by doing so. The Torah, therefore, goes on record that even in war, one must be concerned with what will be needed after the war has ended. The Jewish soldier, fighting a just war, must have confidence in G’d’s help so that he does not have to resort to wholesale destruction.

כי תצור אל עיר ימים רבים, and you find it necessary to cut down the surrounding trees to erect ramparts from which to launch missiles, etc. כי ממנו תאכל, for you will again be in need of these trees to eat of their fruit after the war is over and you have captured the city in question. ואותו לא תכרת, this fruit bearing tree which does not serve as support for the inhabitants of the beleaguered city such as the more distant ones, you must not cut down, כי האדם עץ השדה לבא מפניך במצור, every time we find the word כי in the Torah after the word לא it must be understood as meaning “but, however.” Therefore, the meaning of the verse is: “only those trees of the field which can be used by man to hide behind, and therefore interfere with your pursuit of your war, these you may cut down.” They are generally the trees that are very close to the outer perimeter of the city under siege that serve as hideouts for the enemy and represent a potential danger to your soldiers in addition to giving shelter to enemy soldiers seeking to flee. (compare Kings II 24,10 כי האדם עץ השדה, for man is the tree of the field, i.e. man uses the trees of the field to necessitate the enemy to lay siege to a town instead of assaulting it frontally.

כי האדם עץ השדה, “for man is the tree of the field.” The word: כי in this verse means the same as אלא, “but, only; meaning “supposing a row of trees growing fruit appeared before your eyes while you were laying siege to a city, and these trees would provide cover for your enemies to hide behind them and plan to ambush you, how would you act if it were within your power to destroy these trees? An alternate interpretation: assume that this verse had been abbreviated and should have read: כי האדם עץ השדה ואותו לא תכרות, “for a human being is like a fruit bearing tree, which you are forbidden to cut down.” How would the fact that this phenomenon occurred while you were laying siege to the city behind this orchard affect you? Just as a human being is meant to produce children, i.e. fruit, so the trees are supposed to produce the fruit for which they have been provided by nature. You must not destroy such trees!

Only a tree that you know is not a fruit-bearing tree — it you may destroy and cut down, and you shall build siege-works against the city that is waging war against you, until it is conquered.

עד רדתה [AND THOU SHALT BUILD BULWARKS AGAINST THE CITY …] UNTIL רדתה — This (the word רדתה) means “subduing”, [and the meaning is, thou shalt besiege it until] it becomes submissive.

"Until it falls" — for if it were not so strongly fortified, the text would not have said "many days."

רק עץ אשר תדע כי לא עץ מאכל הוא, even if it belongs to a category of trees which normally bear fruit; if you know that it is defective or too old to still bear fruit, so that no sane human being would waste his time on tending it, pruning it, etc. אותו תשחית, such a tree you may destroy for your own purposes.

כי לא עץ מאכל הוא, “for it is not a tree providing food; the Torah suggests that once a fruitbearing tree has reached a stage when it no longer bears fruit, it may be treated as if it had never born fruit. Another interpretation: you must not cut down any fruitbearing tree on the field; the exception are those trees that serve as cover for your enemies and help them escape you and continue in their fight against you. If such trees make it impossible for you to reach the walls of the city which you are besieging, you may remove such an obstacle by cutting it down even if it still does bear fruit. רק עץ אשר תדע כי לא עץ מאכל הוא וגו, “only a category of tree of which you know that it does not bear edible fruit, you may destroy even it is far from the walls of the city which you are besieging. ”Why did this line have to be written here? If it is permissible to cut down a fruit-bearing tree under certain conditions, is it is not simple logic that you may cut down non fruit bearing trees? The answer is something that we have come across repeatedly. Punishment for a sin committed may never be imposed based only on logic. Unless the Torah has specifically spelled out such punishment, it is not for us human beings to determine appropriate penalties for violating laws made by the Creator. An alternate interpretation: The text has to be understood literally, “It you must not cut down.” If you wish to understand the rationale: for man is similar to the tree of the field; for just as the people who lay siege to a city and the living beings inside are compared here to the tree of the field. In order to illustrate this better, let us compare it to Deuteronomy 24,6, כי נפש הוא חובל, “for this would be equivalent to taking that person’s life;” where the Torah compares vital household utensils taken by a creditor to secure his loan as the creditor taking the debtor’s life. The human being owing the money can continue to exist only as long as he is not deprived of these vital utensils. The fruit-bearing trees around a city are similarly a basic utensil ensuring the inhabitants’ economic survival. Since the object of the siege is not to kill all its inhabitants,but to make them subservient to you, depriving them of their fruit bearing trees would be neither in your interest and certainly not in their interest.

אותו תשחית וכרת, “it you may destroy by cutting it down.” You are free to cut down such a tree without restriction whether in order to build platforms to shoot arrows from, or for whatever reasons, such as to build a fire at night to keep warm.

'רק עץ אשר תדע וגו, a tree which never bore fruit, whether close to the city under siege or distant from it, you may cut down to help you construct the ramparts from which to launch missiles; but a fruit bearing tree that is far enough removed from the city not to afford shelter to your enemy you must not cut down. אשר תדע, which you recognise as such. עד רדתה, until you have broken down the city’s wall and other fortifications. (compare 28,52)

רק עץ אשר תדע כי לא עץ מאכל, אותו תשחית וכרת, “only trees that you know that they are not trees for food, you may destroy and cut down;” you may do so in order to use the lumber for purposes connected with the siege. In the Talmud, tractate Taanit, folio 7, the sages contrast the word עץ with a Torah scholar, suggesting that if the Torah scholar in question possesses the virtues that we are entitled to expect of him, we are permitted to eat of its fruit, i.e. to study Torah with him. If his character does not match his Torah knowledge, we must not study Torah from him as he is not fit to be our model. Something similar applies to disseminating Torah to students whose character and purpose in wanting to study Torah is not in order to keep the commandments; such students are not worth your while to instruct.