Teens Question, Shoftim 2025

Question

What excuse does the Torah give בעלי עבירה so they don't have to admit to their עבירות? Why was it important for the Torah to give it?

Answer

Who leads a nation in war? Is it our bravest soldiers? Or perhaps our smartest generals? Maybe the strongest or fastest? Or legions upon legions of troops?

None of those is right for the Jewish nation. We know our success isn't connected to how good our strategy is or how strong or smart our soldiers are. Our success is 100% dependent on Hashem.

והיה כקרבכם אל-המלחמה ונגש הכהן ודבר אל העם. ואמר אלהם שמע ישראל אתם קרבים היום למלחמה על-איביכם אל-ירך לבבכם אל-תיראו ואל-תחפזו ואל תערצו מפניהם. כי ד' אלקיבם ההולך עמכם להלכם לכם עם-איביכם להושיע אתכם.

And when you will come to war, the Kohen will approach and will speak to the nation. And he shall say to them "Listen, Israel, today you are close to a war upon your enemies. Do not let your heart grow soft; do not fear them. For Hashem your Gd is going with you to fight for you against your enemies to save you."

Devarim 20:1

Hashem fights for the Jewish nation. We have nothing to fear from our enemies. It doesn't matter if they're numerous or powerful. It doesn't matter what weapons or tactics they have. Hashem fights for us and will save us against all of them.

We saw this in action when Amalek attacked us as we left Egypt. Moshe Rabbeinu stood on a ridge overlooking the fight and held his hands up to the Heavens to remind us Hashem is the one fighting for us.

והיה כאשר ירים משה ידו וגבר ישראל וכאשר יניח ידו וגבר עמלק

And it happened that whenever Moshe would raise his hands Yisroel would prevail, but when he lowered his hands, Amalek would prevail.

Shemos 17:11 

וכי ידיו של משה עושות מלחמה או שוברות מלחמה? 

אלא לומר לך כל זמן שהיו ישראל מסתכלים כלפי מעלה ומשעבדין את לבם לאביהם שבשמים, היו מתגברים; ואם לאו, היו נופלין. 

Did Moshe's hands actually make war or shatter our enemies?

Rather the pasuk is telling us as long as Yisroel looked up [to Shomayim] and placed their hearts in service of their Creator in Heaven, they prevailed; but when the did not, they fell.

Mishna, Rosh Hashana 3:8 

And when we fought Egypt at ba'al peor

ד' ילחם לכם ואתם תחרישון

Hashem will fight for you and you will be silent

Shemos 14:14

The biggest risk to the Jewish army is losing our connection with Hashem. If we lose our בטחון, our trust in Him, we're left to fight on our own. Our foes outnumber and outmatch us in purely military terms. We "have no chance" without Hashem fighting on our behalf.

That means the most important thing for the Jewish nation when we go to war is protecting our אמונה and בטחון. How can we protect it? One important aspect is not letting the nation undermine ourselves. If some of our soldiers visibly express their fear, it can lead others to falter. That fear can spread through the army until seeds of doubt and distrust start to sprout. That disrupts our אמונה connection.

You can imagine, given this, how important it is to make sure no one has a chance to introduce fear and doubt into the ranks of the army. In fact, the Torah explicitly instructs the Kohen to send anyone who's experiencing such fear back home

מי האיש הירא ורך הלבב ילך וישב לביתו ולא ימס את לבב אחיו כלבבו

What man is afraid and has a soft heart? Let him go and return to his house lest he melts his brother's hearts like his heart. 

Devarim 20:8

Let him return home. This is a profound statement of Jewish thought. On the surface, in what we often call "derech hateva," we're undermining our ability to succeed. We're sending able bodied soldiers home and reducing the size of our army. But our spiritual standing  is far more important.

The Torah brings one more concern up here. What if someone is afraid because he knows he has sinned, and what if he's too embarassed to admit it. He might choose to stay with his brothers in the army. That could lead him to melt their heart, eventually undermining their emunah.

How do you stop that?

By giving them an excuse. Three excuses in fact. The Torah is so concerned to make sure no one who might melt our hearts is in the army, it gives them three different excuses they could make to leave. That way anyone who sees them leave will assume its for a different reason.

 מי-האיש אשר בנה בית-חדש ולא חנכו ילך וישב לביתו פן ימות במלחמה ואיש אחר וחנכנו. ומי האיש אשר נטע כרם ולא חללו ילך וישב לביתו פן-ימות במלחמה ואיש אחר יחללנו. ומי-האיש אשר ארש אשה ולא לקחה ילך וישב לביתו פן-ימות במלחמה ואיש אחר יקחנה.

What man has built a new house and not yet dedicated it? Let him return home lest he die in battle and another man dedicates it. And what man has planted a vineyard and not harvested it? Let him return him lest he die in battle and another man harvests it. And what man has become engaged but not yet married? Let him return home lest he die in battle and another man marries her?