פרשת שופטים תש"ה - "כי תצא למלחמה..."

for the LORD your God is He that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’

And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying: ‘What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.

ואיש אחר יחנכנו [LEST HE DIE IN THE WAR] AND ANOTHER MAN DEDICATE IT — which is a matter that causes grief of mind.

inaugurated it as in “the dedication of the altar” [Numbers 7: 10], and also “initiate the child” [Proverbs 22: 6] (from which our Sages, of blessed memory, derived the principle that one must educate one’s children [Qiddushin 30a]). The reason for these commandments is that his attention, and all of his desires, are directed to dedicating his house. Thus, his thoughts are on his house, and not on the battle; consequently, he will flee, and he will induce others to flee.

ילך וישוב לביתו. If he is afraid that his mazzal is poor and he would die in battle, seeing that G’d made him worry that he might not live to consecrate his new home, wed his bride, or eat from the fruit of his vineyard, he had assumed that if he was now required to participate in this war it was apparently ordained to prevent him for realising his objectives on earth.
The Torah selected three examples of what would inspire such fear, concern over one’s house, one’s wife, and one’s vineyard. Having first named these specific concerns and declared them as legitimate under the circumstances, the Torah proceeds to include all other kinds of concerns which inspire fear for his impending death in the heart of a person. (verse 8). This pattern is not as unusual as it strikes us at first glance, seeing that Solomon employs it in Kohelet 1,3-9. He begins by listing examples of things he considers futile in this life, such as 1) a generation goes, another takes its place, a constant change, nothing remaining whereas the “dead” earth remains forever.
2) The sun rises and the suns sets; 3) the rivers all end up in the ocean but the ocean never flows over. Solomon tires of listing all the phenomena that recur constantly since the days of creation, all except man, because no new generation is exactly like the generation preceding it. The result is that the generation that has died is not remembered as it has never been replaced. This is why Solomon considers death the most futile phenomenon, seeing it wipes out what there was without replacing it. By the time Solomon reaches verse 9 he comes to the conclusion that seeing that there is nothing new in this life on earth which has not happened before, everything is remembered by reason of that very fact. However, just because one generation is not at all like a previous generation, man’s existence is apt to be forgotten, precisely because there is no one around anymore to duplicate what previous generations have done. There is therefore nothing by which to remember the existence of previous generations. (verse 11 there)

And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying: ‘What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.

The next verse states: “And what man is there that has betrothed a wife, and has not taken her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her” (Deuteronomy 20:7). He is sent home if he is one who betroths a virgin, or if he is one who betroths a widow. This applies even if his yevama, his late brother’s wife, is a widow waiting for him as her yavam to perform levirate marriage; and even if he heard that his brother died in the war and the widow begins to wait for him only then, he returns and goes home. Each of these men, although they are exempt, still hear the address of the priest and the regulations of war at the local camp, and thereafter they return to their respective homes. However, they still support the war effort, and they provide water and food for the soldiers and repair the roads.

And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say: ‘What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart melt as his heart.’

cowardly afraid to kill another. faint hearted afraid to be killed by another.

And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say: ‘What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart melt as his heart.’

ויירא...ויצר HE FEARED GREATLY AND WAS DISTRESSED — He was afraid lest he be killed, and he was distressed that he might have to kill someone (Genesis Rabbah 76:2).

כי תצא למלחמה WHEN THOU GOEST OUT TO WAR — Scripture places the going out to war in juxtaposition to this section here (to עין בעין וכו׳) in order to tell you that no person lacking a limb goes out to war (cf. Sifrei Devarim 190:17). Another explanation of why these two sections are put in juxtaposition to each other: it is to tell you that if you execute just judgment you may be confident that if you go to war you will be victorious. Similarly does David say, (Psalms 119:121) “I have done judgement and justice; Thou wilt not leave me to my oppressors” (Midrash Tanchuma, Shoftim 15).

על איבך AGAINST THINE ENEMIES — Let them be in thine eyes as enemies: have no pity upon them, for they will have no pity upon thee (Midrash Tanchuma, Shoftim 15).

סוס ורכב [WHEN THOU GOEST TO WAR ... AND SEEST] HORSES AND CHARIOTS (lit., horse and chariot) — in Mine eyes they are all as only one horse (i.e. they do not count). Similarly it states, (Judges 6:16) “[Surely “I” will be with thee,] and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man”. And similarly it states, (Exodus 15:19) “For the horse (not the horses) of Pharaoh came [into the sea]” (Midrash Tanchuma, Shoftim 16; cf. Sifrei Devarim 190:21).

עם רב ממך [WHEN THOU GOEST OUT TO WAR … AND SEEST] PEOPLE MORE THAN THOU (or, as it may be translated: PEOPLE, NUMEROUS FROM THY POINT OF VIEW) — in thine eyes they may appear to be numerous but in Mine eyes they are not numerous (Midrash Tanchuma, Shoftim 16).

על איבכם [YE APPROACH THIS DAY UNTO WAR] AGAINST YOUR ENEMIES — By these apparently redundant words the priest says, as it were: Remember that these are not your brethren, and if you will fall into their hands they will have no pity on you; — it is not like the war of Judah against Israel of which it states, (II Chronicles 28:15) “And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of the palm trees, to their brethren: they returned to Samaria” — it is your enemies against whom you march, therefore show yourselves strong for the battle (Sifrei Devarim 192:2; Sotah 42a).

ויספו השטרים AND THE BAILIFFS [SHALL SPEAK] FURTHER [UNTO THE PEOPLE] — Why does it here state: they shall speak further unto the people? The meaning is that they added this to the words of the priest, for the priest spoke and proclaimed from שמע ישראל (v. 3) to להושיע אתכם (end of 5:4), whilst the paragraphs beginning with מי האיש (v. 5) and with the second מי האיש (v. 6) and with the third מי האיש (v. 7) the priest said quietly and the officers proclaimed. This paragraph, the officers spoke and proclaimed, so that Scripture rightly introduces this last part by the word ויספו השוטרים (Sotah 43a).