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But while the Torah makes crystal-clear the absolute necessity for us to fight for our land & our safety – indeed, those who are "counted" in the numerous censuses in the Torah are those who are eligible for the army! – there are
categories of soldiers exempted from military service:
- Those that have built a house, but have not yet taken residence;
- Those that have planted a vineyard, but have not yet enjoyed the fruits of their labor;
- Those who have become engaged to a woman, but are not yet married.
Many explain that in these particular situations, the soldier will be so mentally pre-occupied, or so depressed, that he will not be able to properly wage battle, & so may do harm to himself and/or his fellow soldiers. But there is a deeper message here: These exemptions, represented by Wife, Home & Profession, are the essential goals which the Torah stresses a person should pursue in life; in short, what ultimately will define us.
A wife completes a man; until he marries his soul-mate, he is only half a person (some would kiddingly say that when he marries, he is finished!). The home we build – not just the physical structure, but the family we create, the moral standard we set, the place we occupy in the community – describes who we are (thus the Hebrew nickname for an upstanding member of society is a "Bal HaBayit," a "master of his house(hold)." And finally, the profession we choose constitutes our contribution to the universe, how we employ our particular gifts & strengths to help perfect the world & further Hashem’s plan. Indeed, many Jewish names actually are (or were) professions; Goldsmith, Schneider, Singer, etc.
So crucial are these elemental pursuits, that Hashem sets aside the requirement for military service (in a non-obligatory war, we should note; in an obligatory war, when Israel is threatened, everyone serves). But it also sends the message to each & every one of us - soldier or civilian – as to what we should all strive to accomplish in the course of our time on Earth; what G-d expects of us.
This, too, we now can say, is based on the Sedra’s theme of Tzedek, for to do any less would simply not do justice to this precious gift of life which the Almighty has graciously bestowed upon each & every one of us.
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Hosha'ana Rabba FLYDUBAI & HOSHANA RABBA- ANI VAHU HOSHIA NA- I & HIM SAVE US
"Ani vaHu Hoshia Na", "I and Him, Save Us". We don't just pray to Him, but we also pray to and for ourselves that we should emulate and educate our children to have that instinctive altruism with which He created the world. President Trump seemed amused about Yaniv Hayon, our PLUMBER who confidently worked with G-d like Superman (he learned from a pilot on a TV show!) to save 174 lives on the Dubai hijacking, but we in Israel are totally accustomed already 78 years to our plumbers, teachers, garbage-men, rabbis, farmers & doctors being Hashem's shlichim! This is what Zionism is about.
Moreshet Shaul Hashem Is your Shadow – part I
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 420 – an address from 1941
