Rabbi
Meir Kahane – The Jewish Idea (Or Hara’ayon)
WAR
AND PEACE (Excerpts)
“I will grant peace in the land” (Lev.26.6): Perhaps you will say, “Well, there is food
and there is drink, but if there is no peace then all this is nothing!” Scripture therefore states, “I will grant
peace in the land” This teaches that
peace counterbalances everything.
Its likewise says (Isaiah 45.7), “I will make peace
and create evil.” This teaches that
peace counterbalances everything. (See Bamidar Rabbah, 11:5-6)
Since peace is limited to its own time, it follows that
in wartime all traits associated with love, kindness and mercy are
redefined. It is then kind and merciful
to go to war against the wicked. Our
sages teach (Kohelet Rabbah, 3:[8]1):
There is “a time to kill” – during war; “and a time to
heal” – during peace. There is “a time
to break down” – during war; “and a time to build up” – during peace – There is
“a time to seek” – during peace; “and a time to lose” – during war. There is “a time to rend” – during war “ and a time to sew” – during peace…There is
“a time to love”- during peace; “ and a time to hate” – during war. There is “a time for war” – during war; “and
a time for peace” – during peace.
The word of the Living G-d! And how relevant they are to our day: there is a time for war – during war; and a
time for peace during peace. We might
ask why Scriptures must tell us that there is a time for war. Might anyone think otherwise? Our sages were teaching that, in fact, some
might really think so, especially with the insane, alien culture holding
portions of our people captive in its sullied hands. Above I quoted Tanchuma, Shoftim15:
“When you go forth to battle against your enemies
(Deut.20:1)… What is meant by “against
your enemies”? G-d said, “Confront them
as enemies. Just as they show you no
mercy, so should you not show them any mercy.”
We have to realize that the non-Jew who goes to war
against Israel is our enemy and not our friend.
How unaware people are nowadays of this simple yet profound
principle! Our sages also said (Sifri Shoftim 192):
You are going to war against your enemies and not
against your brethren. It is not Judah
against Simeon or Simeon against Judah such that if you fall captive they will
have mercy on you…It is against your enemies that you are waging war. If you fall into their hands, they will show
you no mercy.
Indeed, a timely war is a mitzvah, a duty, a kindness and
an everlasting act of righteousness. Ex.34:6, which enumerates G-d’s
attributes, ends by mentioning “truth”:
The L-rd, the L-rd, Omnipotent, merciful and kind, slow to anger, with
tremendous resources of love and truth.”
I have already explained that there cannot be “mercy, kindness and
tremendous resources of love,” without “truth.”
We often find the combination of “kindness and truth,” to teach us that
that same Deity who is “merciful, kind and loving,” is above all else a G-d of truth.
Likewise, G-d is described as follows (Ex.15:3): “The
L-rd is the Master of war, ‘Hashem’ is His name.” Despite His name being “Hashem,” a name
indicating mercy, He is still “Master of war.”
That same Hashem of mercy is also a Master of war against the
wicked. All this is the plain
truth. There is a time for war and cruelty
and a time for mercy, kindness and clemency.
It all depends on G-d’s laws, the laws of war by the Master of war. Our sages said (Mechilta,Ibid): “The L-rd
is the Master of war, Hashem is His name:
Our sages teach us a great lesson here regarding love for
one’s fellow Jew and the duty one bears to him:
It is not enough for a Jew not to murder. Surely, “Turn away from evil” (Ps.34:15)
applies here, but a much weightier duty applies too: he must do all he can to save
his fellow Jew from danger, to eradicate every danger and mishap, to defeat
every foe who imperils the Jewish People before he can harm them.
A non-Jew who tries to attack or kill a Jew must be
punished, and if that non-Jew flees to save himself from punishment, it clearly
is not just permissible but a mitzvah and duty to shoot to kill him. Whoever opposes this and orders that the
enemy be allowed to flee, thereby enabling him to return later and kill Jews,
will never be able to rise up and proclaim, “My hands have not spilled this
blood.” He is aiding a rodef, is
allied to murderers of Jews, and should be treated like a criminal
(Moreover, such non-Jews not only fail to accept upon
themselves taxes, slave status, and G-d’s and Israel’s sovereignty over the
Land, but they declare war on the Jews, attacking and murdering us. We are duty-bound to wage a milchemet
mitzvah against them, a compulsory war, and they deserve death, as I shall
write below.)
King David said (Ps 9:17), “The L-rd has made Himself
known. He has executed judgment.” That is, the nations will know G-d and His
glory only when he executes judgment in His war against them.
He also said (Ps 24:8), “Who is the King of glory? The L-rd strong and mighty, He is mighty in
battle.” The wars Israel was commanded
to wage were not meant to satisfy any selfish urge on their part, any craving
for land or desire for personal glory, but to sanctify G-d’s name and cast down
the wicked, who plunder and afflict the upright. Just as every part of Israel’s life must be
holy, so must be their wars.
Due to our sins, the reason we were exiled from our land,
the laws of war, have been so corrupted and confused by so many fine students
that ignorance on this matter has surpassed all limits. Some have no understanding whatsoever of what
a milchemet mitzvah is, and in their blindness ask whether the war
between us and the Arabs today is such a war.
Woe, to the ears that hear this!
Rambam writes
(Hilchot Melachim 5:1) In a milchemet mitzvah, the king need not obtain
permission of the court. Rather, he may
go forth himself at any time and compel the people to follow. With milchemet reshut, howoever, he may only
compel the people through a court of seventy-one.
Here is the law before us. Clearly, no king is needed either. After all, the judges who preceded Saul were
not kings nor were the Hasmoneans when they rose up against the Greeks. How long can our disgraceful ignorance of
these laws go on?-
Holiness and knowledge of G-d elevate a person from
bestiality, fear and confinement to trust in G-d. Kiddush Hashem brings the redemption
“speedily.”
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