Moshe & The Military | Rabbi Stewart Weiss | Beit Midrash

Torah Portion and Tanach
Va'etchanan

קטגוריה משנית

For all his greatness & closeness to G-d, Moshe still was a human being. He had feelings & he had failings; he experienced joy as well as sadness & frustration.

His greatest disappointment was being told by Hashem that he would not be allowed to enter Eretz Yisrael. But Moshe pleaded; according to Chazal, he offered no less than 515 prayers (the gematria of "V’Etchanan"), all to no avail. He was willing to enter as a "private citizen," rather than as leader of the nation, but that was rejected. He even, says the Medrash, asked to become a bird & fly over the border, but Hashem nixed that, too!

Many reasons are given for Moshe’s desperate desire to live in Israel, the principal one being that he wished to fulfill the Mitzvot that can only be earned in Israel, like Shmita or Ma’aser. Others say that it wasn’t about any specific Mitzva; it was simply Moshe’s steadfast belief that every Jew should live in the Holy Land, that the greatest Mitzva one can do is to be surrounded by the Kedusha permanently permeating this, & only this land.

But there is yet another compelling reason why Moshe was so insistent, even obsessive in wanting to join his people in Eretz Yisrael.

According to some of the commentaries, Moshe very much wanted to be part of the war of conquest that would be fought against the 7 Canaanite nations then residing within the land. He wanted to join a brigade & fight side-by-side with Israel’s brave soldiers, under Yehoshua’s command, & be one of those Giborim who would liberate Israel & claim it for the Jewish People forever. The z’chut, the privilege of being a chayal, Moshe felt, was among the greatest merits he could ever gain in this world. That was one source of his desire to cross the border into Israel & add "soldier" to his titles of King, Navi & Rabbeinu.

What an appropriate message, as we reflect on the wars, both within & without our borders, that we have been fighting for so long, & the current controversy over soldiers & pilots considering "boycotting" military service.

There is no the greater responsibility nor greater honor than donning a Tzahal uniform & fighting to protect the Jewish People. There are some special individuals, such as surgeons & soldiers, who stand apart from the crowd in both their willingness to sacrifice & their elevated status in society, & they must always be above the fray.

We stand in respect of them & in their great merit, we ask that Hashem save us (mostly, from ourselves), bring us true Nechama in these challenging times & grant us victory & lasting Shalom.

Va'etchanan