In choosing between war and peace, we all prefer peace. War brings endless suffering. So why does the Torah bless us that we should pursue our enemies and defeat them? Why is it not enough to bless us that we should merit to have peace? This is the subject of this week’s discussion.
This week’s Torah portion is parshat Bechukotai. The parsha mainly deals with the great reward for those who keep the Torah’s commandments and the punishment for those who violate them, G-d forbid. One of the promised blessings is: “And I will grant peace in the Land” (Leviticus 26:6), peace and quiet, with no wars. Then the Torah adds: “Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you” (Ibid., 26:8).
Rabbi Natan raises the question: If the Torah promises that we will have peace, why do we also need a promise that we will pursue our enemies and bring them down with the sword? Is this our main objective, that we, the Nation of Israel, will pursue our enemies, shedding their blood and wiping them out, G-d forbid? Even if it would be a justified military campaign, who is interested in war? Isn’t the wonderful promise “And I will grant peace in the Land” enough for us? Isn’t it the ultimate desire of every human being to live in peace and tranquility without wars and unnecessary anxiety?
Rabbi Natan says that these words must be referring to something else—a pursuit of our enemies on the spiritual realm. To understand this, we shall start with a wonderful idea that Rebbe Nachman taught:
Every Jew is required to attain daat, knowledge: to recognize the Creator and to distance himself from transgression. He is required to enlighten his own mind, and also those of his family and friends. This is the main purpose of the creation of man, and this is the main intention behind the mitzvah of “pru u’rvu,” of having offspring (Genesis 1:22 and 9:7). It is so that we can enlighten the minds of every human being all over the world to recognize the Creator and pass this message on from generation to generation. This is also the main task of the Tzaddik in this world: to enlighten each person with this knowledge and to direct them how to draw closer to the Creator.
Rebbe Nachman also teaches that a person’s livelihood depends on “rulership” (the sefirah of Malchut or kingship). From the king (today this would refer to the president or prime minister) down to the lowest minister, the more people who are dependent on him for their livelihoods, the more he needs a greater degree of malchut/kingship and authority to provide them with that livelihood (see Daniel 4:17-18). Also when he accepts upon himself in his ketubah (marriage document) to provide for his wife, a man is given dominion over her, as it is written: “And he will rule over you” (Genesis 3:16).
(Rabbi Natan clarifies the meaning of malchut/kingship here is the intention to guide the other person along the proper path and to enlighten them to recognize the Creator. This is also the true role of the husband, to lead his household, to direct and chart the family on the proper path. This does not mean that he should behave like a dictator, G-d forbid, because all imposition of authority, and specifically by a man in his own home, which is not directed toward this purpose is not true authority, as our Sages said: “Today a person is here, and tomorrow he is in the grave, and his dominion is not eternal” (Masechet Brachot 28a).
Isn’t the wonderful promise “And I will grant peace in the Land” enough for us? Isn’t it the ultimate desire of every human being to live in peace and tranquility without wars and unnecessary anxiety?
Rebbe Nachman concludes that the enlightenment of the mind which the Tzaddik brings about influences the degree of malchut a person has, and accordingly, it draws down a fitting livelihood. This enlightenment comes to a person at the time when he is eating and is called “he’arat ha’ratzon,” the “Light of Desire” which causes a person to yearn to understand and attain closeness to the Creator with a wondrous desire, each on his own level (Likutei Moharan II, 7:10).
We can now come to a better understanding of the concept of peace. True peace is not what most people think of when they think about “peace.” Rabbi Natan defined it well: true peace is possible only when a person comes to a recognition of the Creator, and he fulfills his duty. As long as a person does not merit to know and recognize the Creator and does not do what is required of him, even if he thinks he has achieved “peace,” it is not considered true peace. We shall bring the words of Rabbi Natan:
“For as long as he does not merit to the kind of knowledge we mentioned above and does not do His will and leave his sinful ways, G-d forbid, even if seems to him that he is truly at peace with himself, it is not peace at all, because ‘G-d says that there is no peace for the wicked’ (Isaiah 42:22). For as long as his deeds are not in accordance with G-d’s will, how could it be that he will have true peace, because even within himself, he will have no peace, as it is written, ‘There is no peace in my bones because of my sins’” (Psalms 38:4).
A resounding example of such a false peace can be learned from the time of World War II. Before the war, there was a conference summit in Munich of the leaders of Europe—Britain, France, and Italy, along with Germany—where they gave Czechoslovakia as a gift to Nazi Germany in exchange for their not declaring war, in a shameful agreement of surrender. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Neville Chamberlain, was seduced by the imaginary peace and declared pathetically: “Peace for our time.” The bitter results of this agreement are well known, as World War II broke out a few days after this unfortunate statement. To this day, humanity still licks the wounds of this wretched “peace.”
So, what is really the meaning of “peace”?
Peace is the true recognition of the Creator—when a person is sincerely doing His will. This peace should be instilled not only in ourselves but in everyone in the world. This is what King David teaches us in the verse: “Seek peace and pursue it” (Psalms 34:15). It is not enough for us to merit to true peace, in which we are only at peace with our own mission in life. Rather, we are obligated to run after others, as the Holy Zohar writes: “Zacha’ah man d’achid b’yadah d’chiba, u’bai l’mardaf abatrei” (Zohar, parshat Trumah, 128). The translation of this is: Happy is he who grabs sinners by the hand and brings them back in repentance to G-d. He must run after them in order to bring them closer to G-d. Only this is considered peace: when one chases after others to bring them close to G-d and succeeds in bringing them closer to G-d.
This peace should be instilled not only in ourselves but in everyone in the world!
It is our duty to instill these values in all mankind, including the nations of the world, as it is written: “Tell of His glory among the nations” (Psalms 96:3) and “Make His deeds known among the peoples” (Psalms 105:1)—that we must inform everyone in the world Hashem is G-d, and this is the true purpose of life.
The one thing that is essential in order to achieve a genuine peace is truth. “Peace” which is based on a lie is not peace. This is also the reason why we are, unfortunately, very far from peace. Almost thirty years ago, Israel signed a peace agreement with its Palestinian Arab neighbors, and unfortunately, apart from terrorism, we have received nothing: neither quiet nor peace. Israel waves the white flag of submission and surrender every time, in the same way that Chamberlain waved his wretched “Peace Agreement.” This leads to nothing but terror, bereavement, and loss—G-d save us! And this is all because we are lacking the simple truth. As long as peace is based on lies, ceremonies, hypocrisy and people looking to take all the credit for themselves, there can be no real peace.
Only when there is truth, one can strive for the goal of peace. As it is said, “You must love truth and peace” (Zechariah 8:19). First of all, one needs the truth, the real goal, otherwise there is no peace.
This is what the Torah promises: “And I will grant peace in the Land” (Leviticus 26:6). Everyone must be a “man of valor” and reveal for himself the enlightenment in his mind. But this is not enough. Everyone must also run after others and also draw them close, in the aspect of: “Seek peace and pursue it” (Psalms 34:15).
However, is it practical? Can we run after everyone in the whole world and influence them and bring them closer to God? The answer is: “Five of you will pursue a hundred.” If a person truly dedicates himself to this goal, he will find that he will be able to pursue others and literally, miraculously draw them closer to G-d. As Rashi comments on the verse, “and your enemies will fall by the sword before you” (Leviticus 26:8), “in an unnatural way.”
The “sword” mentioned here in the verse refers to prayer, the spiritual power, about which Rebbe Nachman teaches on the verse: “which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow” (Genesis 48:22), that according to the translation of Onkelos means: “with my prayer and my supplication.”
It is possible when a person is truly very strong in his mind. In the end, all the nonsense, wars, and arguments—each one battling with the other—everything will come to an end, and only the eternal truth will remain. Five people who truly make an effort to do their very best will be able to bring a hundred people closer to G-d, and a hundred true peace seekers have a huge power, several times greater, and they can already bring back tens of thousands.
Please G-d, we will all merit to true peace, and we will all come closer to G-d…
(Based on Likutei Halachot, Pidyon Bechor 5:13)
