Parshat Vayishlach

2001

The Jewish View of War

Unfortunately, we live in a time of war. President Bush has declared war on all terrorists. Prime Minister Sharon has called the actions of the Palestinians against Israel "acts of war." But how does a Jew fight a war. SHOULD we fight war at all? Our Parsha has much to tell us in answering these questions.

Jacob feared for his life when he was about to meet his brother Esau. Esau wanted to kill Jacob for "stealing" his birthright. Clearly, Jacob approached Esau defensively. Commenting on this story and about Torah stories in general, Nachmanides (on Genesis 32:4) and others state that "Maase Avot Siman Libanim – the actions of the fathers are a sign for their descendants," that many Biblical stories, notably this one, are foreshadows of all of Jewish history, predicting similar events that will occur later to the descendants of Jacob and Esau. Thus, the battle between these two brothers is a symbol for future wars between Jews and non-Jews. With this in mind, we may learn from the Jacob story some specifics on how to fight a "Jewish" war today.

Genesis 32:8-16

Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, in two bands; And said, If Esau comes to the one company, and attacks it, then the other company which is left shall escape. And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, Return to your country, and to your family, and I will deal well with you... Save me, I beseech You, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he will come and strike me, and the mother with the children... And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; Two hundred female goats, and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty cows, and ten bulls, twenty female asses, and ten foals.

Your Torah Navigator

1. What three different actions did Jacob do in preparing for his encounter with Esau?

2. Based on the verses and logic, what do you think was the order of these three actions?

3. How can we apply Jacob's actions to the values of fighting war today?

A Word

Rashi (commentary to Genesis 32:8) and other commentaries, based on the above text, say that he prepared in three distinct ways: through gifts of appeasement for Esau, through prayer, and through preparations for actual battle. Thus, we can infer that these three preparations are legitimate Jewish methods of readying for and fighting a war. The first step is to try to avoid war completely by trying to appease the adversary, if possible. Simultaneously, Jews should pray for God's assistance to avert the war or for victory, and this is also a legitimate means of fighting war. Since the outcome of the war is ultimately in the hands of the Almighty, heartfelt prayer (and Torah learning) can have an impact on the war's outcome. Later in the Torah, in the first war fought by the Jewish people (as a nation) with Amalek, even before they received the Torah, the outcome of the war was determined by the Jews looking or not looking heavenward -- a physical outcome of war based on a totally spiritual act. It is no coincidence that right before the outbreak of the Gulf War in January 1991, the Rabbinic leadership in Israel also called for a mass prayer service at the Western Wall, attended by tens of thousands of Jews.

It is interesting to note that Nachmanides (introduction to Vayishlach) also mentions the same three steps in preparing to face the enemy, but the order is changed somewhat. He still places actual fighting as the third option - only after every other option fails. But he states that first one prays, and ONLY then one attempts to appease the enemy. This subtle difference may reflect a philosophical argument between Rashi and Nachmanides in how to approach war from a psychological perspective. But it is clear that the normative Jewish view is that only when all other tactics fail to prevent war, Jacob and all Jews should be prepared to fight. Fortunately, in that case with Esau, war was avoided when Jacob and Esau reconciled their differences (Genesis 33:4).

War as a last option was seen before in the Torah.

Jacob's preparation for war was not the first war fought by a Jew in the Torah. The first world war had been raging between four kings and five kings for 13 years. But suddenly Abraham, the first Jew, got involved.

Genesis 14:14-15

And when Abram heard that his brother (Lot) was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them to Dan. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and defeated them, and pursued them tto Hobah, which is on the lef side of Damascus.

Your Torah Navigator

1. What made Abraham decide to fight in the war and defeat the four kings?

2. Is Abraham's fighting in war consistent with what you know about Abraham's personality? How do you explain it?

3. Is this story consistent with the values we learned with Jacob's preparation to fight Esau? Why or why not?

A Word

The very first Jew, Abraham, was certainly a man of peace. He invited everyone into his tent and spread the name of God by means of his kindness and caring personality (Sotah 10b). And yet, when he needed to, Abraham, the man of peace, went to war. Abraham was not involved at all for the first thirteen years of the "world war" between five city-states and four city-states. But when his nephew Lot was captured in the war, Abraham quickly went into action, saved Lot, defeated the occupying army, and ended the long war. In victory, Abraham refused all booty and spoils of war (Genesis 14:22-24). He did not seek war, but in order to save a captive, one of the highest obligations in Judaism, Abraham was "forced" to wage war as the only means to save his nephew's life.

Prepared by Rabbi Nachum Amsel, Hillels in the Former Soviet Union and Beit Hillel at Hebrew University.