From Devarim to modern wars, the Torah teaches that Israel’s survival and victory come not from waiting behind walls but from seizing the initiative and striking first.
This week’s Torah portion echoes with urgency for our generation.
The verses in Devarim teach: “When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God delivers them into your hand, and you take them captive” (Devarim 21:10). Again it says: “When you go out as a camp against your enemies, you shall guard yourself from every evil thing” (Devarim 23:10). And in Parashat Shoftim: “When you go out to war against your enemies… you shall not fear them, for the Lord your God is with you” (Devarim 20:1).
Notice the pattern: Israel is commanded to go out — to strike at the enemy in his land, not to sit passively and wait.
This contrasts with Bamidbar: “When you come to war in your land against an enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets” (Numbers 10:9). Here, the war comes to us, and the Torah describes the enemy as “the oppressor who oppresses you.”
My teacher and father, the late Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu zt”l, taught that the Torah here lays out a principle:
- If you take the initiative and bring the war to the enemy’s territory, you prevail and take captives.
- If you wait for the enemy to come to you, you suffer under oppression.
The Shem MiShmuel, quoting the Kotzker Rebbe, extended this to spiritual warfare: one must strike at the evil inclination before it strikes you. Yet the plain meaning is military: Israel’s security depends on going forward, not hiding behind walls or technology.
The Torah’s message could not be clearer: the best defense is offense.
Even when the enemy has crossed into our land, the verse commands: “When you (plural) come to war in your land.” The plural verb teaches that from the moment we wake up, we must move from defense to offense. As the Sifri explains: once the war begins, it is our duty to dictate the battlefield — not to remain besieged, but to strike.
The Lesson of History
- In the Six-Day War, Israel struck first — and achieved miraculous victories.
- In the Yom Kippur War and the Simchat Torah Massacre, Israel waited behind walls and fortifications, and the results were catastrophic. The “Bar Lev Line” collapsed like paper. The walls of Gaza became an illusion shattered in blood.
Had we heeded the Torah’s wisdom, we would have known: waiting invites disaster; initiative brings salvation.
The Call of Our Time
Our generation must learn: Iron Domes and defensive barriers cannot replace the Torah’s command. Leaders and generals must internalize this teaching: Israel wins when it brings the battle to enemy ground, not when it hides behind fences.
This was the way of our ancestors — Abraham, Moshe, Joshua, King David — who went out and conquered with God’s help. As Nachmanides reminds us, “the deeds of the fathers are a sign for the children.”
With faith and courage, if we return to this Torah strategy, Israel will prevail again.
