"We Must Fight"
Yaakov Avinu, like Israel today, found himself approaching a hostile enemy. Eisav approaches Yaakov with four hundred men in tow. Yaakov is unsure of what this meeting with his brother Eisav will be given Eisav’s commitment to killing him years earlier.
Yaakov is worried. The Torah describes his emotions; ‘And Yaakov was fearful and concerned.’
Rashi suggests that ‘Yaakov was fearful – lest he or members of his family be murdered; and he was concerned – lest he kill others.’
With a potential battle on the horizon, Yaakov is fearful for his life and that of his family; and he is also concerned about the prospect of killing others.
The Talmud states, ‘if one approaches to kill you, you shall preempt them and kill them.’
The current war in Gaza is classified as a milchemet mitzvah, an obligatory war, because like in Jacob’s situation, it is about defending our lives.
If the members of Eisav’s clan were intent on killing Yaakov and his family, then it would be not only appropriate, but even required to destroy them.
Yaakov’s concern was based on the striving to do what is right and just.
We wage war based on our Jewish values. We believe in life and in goodness. We are not just concerned with protecting our own lives, but in doing our very best to make sure we protect the lives of those not involved with the conflict.
We are Yaakov’s children.
Our goal is to root out and destroy Hamas and
those intent on annihilating us. We are faced with an enemy that we have a moral and halakhic imperative to destroy, even at the cost of innocents whom Hamas have dragged into the conflict.
With God’s help we will prevail.
Much love and Shabbat shalom
Elissa
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