From HaRav HaGaon Rav David Sh’altiel Sh’lit”a, a son-in-law of HaRav HaChasid HaMekubal Rav Salman Mutzafi ztvk”l (1900-1975)
(translated by our dear friend Rav Daniel Levy Sh’lit”a, Leeds UK)
Better Less Soldiers Who Are Free From Sin than a Larger Force
It states in this week’s Parashah that before Am Yisrael go out to war they were cautioned that anyone who was fearful shouldn’t go out to battle, so as not to cause faint-heartedness in the hearts of his comrades. And so it says, “The lower officers shall then continue speaking to the people and say, ‘Is there any man among you who is afraid or faint-hearted? Let him go home rather than have his cowardliness demoralise his brothers’” (Devarim 20:8).
In the Gemara (Sotah 43a) our Chachamim bring many explanations for “who is afraid or faint-hearted”. Rebbi Akivah says, this is a person who cannot withstand the throes of battle, seeing drawn swords and people killed. Simply meaning that a person is afraid to fight. A person of weak character, unable to withstand the natural hardships of war.
Rebbi Yossi HaGalilee says, it is someone who is afraid of their sins. If they have sinned and aren’t clean from it there is a concern that when they go to battle, they will be G-d forbid wounded and die due to their sin, therefore they are told to return home. However, so as not to offend them as then everyone will know that they have sinned, the Torah didn’t state, “who is afraid of a sin which they carry,” but rather referred to it in a roundabout manner, “who is afraid or faint-hearted”. This way people will think that this person is simply afraid of combat. Furthermore, even though in truth the person is afraid, because of their sins, nevertheless, the Torah added, “Who is the person who married a woman or planted a vineyard,” as all of these also don’t go to battle, and so, no one knew the precise reason why he was not enlisting for the war. Here we see how much the Torah spares the dignity of a person, that even if they have committed a transgression, nevertheless, Hashem Yitbarach doesn’t want to publicly humiliate them, by people knowing that they are guilty. Even though this is "the porridge he cooked,” nevertheless, our Holy Torah possesses great moral depth and refined Divine wisdom, the aim of which is to refine people and enable Am Yisrael to understand the meaning of human dignity.
From here we further learn that due to protecting the dignity of one person from Am Yisrael, the Torah agrees to send less people to battle, despite the fact that Am Yisrael’s strength will be weakened, nevertheless, so as not to cause embarrassment to just one of Am Yisrael, even though they are a sinner. “…for nothing prevents Hashem from saving, whether through many or through few” (Shemuel I, 14:6), and HKB”H fights for Am Yisrael, therefore a few soldiers may be spared, who are afraid of their transgressions. It is better to have only the soldiers who are pure and free from sin, rather than many go out who are transgressors.
They relate that the Eastern-European Maskilim [the so-called “enlightened Ones” 1770s-1880s] once arranged a satirical theatrical scene whose sole purpose was to mock both those who observe the Torah and the Torah itself. In doing so, they made a false representation. They announced before the people ahead of battle, “Who is afraid or faint-hearted?” With this 60% of the soldiers descended the stage. Then they announced, “Who is the man who married a woman etc.” And then another 10% of the Jewish soldiers left the stage. And so on this way, until in the end, there were left on the stage just three elderly soldiers, who weren’t fit to engage in battle [some version record just two soldiers remain and they were intended as The Vilna Gaon z”l (1720-1797) and Aryeh Leib Gunzberg z”l (known after his work Sha’agas Aryeh) (1695-1785)]. Then the audience burst into laughter, thereby attempting to cause a great derision of our Holy Torah.
When they told this to the Gaon Rav Chaim Soloveitchik z”l (1853-1918) the Rav of Brisk (in Belarus), he replied, “Indeed they are correct! It is conceivable that this is what would have happened! It’s a pity however, that the show’s producers did not see fit to depict the rest of the story; for undoubtedly, the victors in the battle were the righteous soldiers - sent from Heaven by Hashem to wage this “milchemet mitzvah” (obligatory holy war).
[See further the biography of Rav Baruch Ber Leibowitz z”l (18562-1939) (a pupil of Rav Chaim Soloveitchik), written by Rabbi Yitzchak Edelstein whose father was a student of Rav Baruch Ber (pp. 130-131).]
Shabbat Shalom!
