In this week’s Torah reading we find lots of Mitzvoth (commandments). The opening verse already gives us an important lesson on how to serve God in the proper way.
This week’s reading is called Ki Teitzei. It’s one of those readings that has so many teachings, so many mitzvot (commandments), that it’s difficult to pick and choose. There’s so much to talk about—because 73 or 74 of the Torah’s 613 commandments, which is more than 10%, are found in this particular reading. So, instead of saying, “I’m going to talk about this or that,” let’s just start at the beginning.
The Torah brings a verse, and the verse says, “When you go out to war against your enemies, and G-d gives your enemy into your hand, and you take captives.” It then continues. I invite each one of you to go and read the text, and you will see what happens with this particular mitzvah. I won’t go into the details now, but the point is that there are two parts to each mitzvah in the Torah, like two sides of a coin.
First of all, there’s the practical, real-world, material application of that particular commandment. It’s talking about a war, about conquering someone, about seeing someone you like among the conquered people, and so on. That’s what it’s talking about. Does this apply today? The answer is no. Today, we don’t have a king in the land of Israel. Today, we don’t have a Sanhedrin, the great court that decides the laws. So many conditions are different: people don’t live there like they used to, we don’t count the years in the same way, etc. The details don’t really matter, but the point is we don’t have the necessary conditions to fulfill this particular commandment.
So, a person might ask, “So, does it mean it doesn’t matter anymore?” (Parenthesis: this is a very short answer—if you get it, fine, if not, forget it.) The point is, when the conditions aren’t met to keep a specific commandment, you are automatically exempt from that commandment. It’s not that you’re not keeping it; you simply don’t have to. Okay, let’s close that parenthesis and move on.
That’s one side of the coin, the practical application of the commandment. However, even if the practical side of the commandment doesn’t apply because the conditions aren’t met, the spiritual part of the commandment does apply. You can extract spiritual lessons from the commandment and apply them to your daily life, wherever you are and whenever you live.
What’s the teaching here? First of all, let’s read it again: “When you go out to war.” What war are we talking about? We’re not talking about a physical war against an enemy. No, no, no. This is a war that happens everywhere and at all times. What are we talking about? There is a war inside of you, between your good part and your bad part. There is a constant conflict. Should I do good? Should I not? Should I fulfill the will of G-d or my own will? These wills shouldn’t differ, but sometimes they do.
There is this war inside every person, at all times. And sometimes, our sages teach us, this war never ends. You were born to fight this war, and you are meant to fight it every single day, because your negative part, your yetzer hara (evil inclination), gets stronger every day. You have to fight it more and more. But the Torah gives us a promise: G-d, your L-rd, will give your enemy into your hand. But there’s a condition. The condition is, “When you go out to war.”
Let’s look at the two Hebrew words the Torah uses for “against your enemy”—al oyvecha. A nice translation is “against,” but if you go deeper, it means “on top of your enemy.” If your attitude, when you go out to this war, is that you are on top of your enemy from the start, then G-d will give your enemy into your hand. Not only will you win the battle or the war, but you will also take captives.
What does that mean? Our sages explain that there’s a good part inside of you, and a bad part inside of you. The bad part is usually tied to emotions, and emotions are strong. The good part is more intellectual, and intellect is cooler, more detached. But when these two combine—when you bring the strength of emotions together with the focus of intellect—you can achieve much higher levels of service to G-d.
So, what does it mean to take captives? Your enemy, the negative emotions, the yetzer hara, has strength and energy. When you conquer it, you take that energy and enthusiasm and use it in the service of G-d.
So, let’s read the verse again: If you make a strong decision and a strong commitment to fight this war, and you don’t get discouraged by the difficulties, and you go out with the attitude of being on top of your enemy, G-d will give your enemy into your hand. Not only that, but you will also take “captives”—you will extract strength from your enemy and use it in a positive way for the service of G-d.
Parshat Talk from Rabbi Tuvia Serber
The above is a representation of the spoken text converted to written text.
© Copyright, all rights reserved. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further.
Our blogs may contain text/quotes/references/links that include copyright material of Mechon-Mamre.org, Aish.com, Sefaria.org, Chabad.org, and/or AskNoah.org, which we use in accordance with their policies.
