Sermon Ki Teitzei

The opening passage of this week’s Parasha presents some very disturbing and challenging scenarios. Scene one transports us to a battle field.  There is nothing redeeming about war. Siegfried Sassoon the famed poet wrote “ "

I knew a simple soldier boy

Who grinned at life in empty joy,

Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,

And whistled early with the lark.

In winter trenches, cowed and glum,

With crumps and lice and lack of rum,

He put a bullet through his brain.

No one spoke of him again.

You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye

Who cheer when soldier lads march by,

Sneak home and pray you'll never know

The hell where youth and laughter go.

In war there are many victims.  For some, war becomes an excuse to live by the motto, “In war anything goes.” This is simply not true and as the Temptations and later Eddi Star sang war is “not good for anything.”

War, I despise, 'Cause it means destruction of innocent lives. War means tears to thousands of mother's eyes. When their sons go off to fight, And lose their lives. It ain't nothing but a heart-breaker, (War) Friend only to The Undertaker. Oh, war, has shattered many a young man's dreams, Made him disabled, bitter and mean, Life is much too short and precious, To spend fighting wars each day. War can't give life, It can only take it away, oh. They say we must fight to keep our freedom. But Lord knows there's got to be a better way, oh War, huh (God y'all) What is it good for? You tell me (nothing) Say it, say it, say it, say it War (good God), huh (now, huh) What is it good for? Stand up and shout it (nothing)

Women are victims of war too. In all ancient cultures and even tragically today women were often viewed as booty to be taken by the victor.

The Torah describes a disturbing and horrific scene. During a war, a man sees a beautiful woman whom he becomes very attracted to. He desperately wants her. In the ancient world, war rape was common. Women were objects and prizes for brave valiant soldiers. We would have imagined the Torah to be very clear and forbid any relationship here. The man should control himself and walk away. 

One might wonder why women were on or near the battle field. Were they possibly sent as “honey traps” similar to what might be familiar from the many femme fatale’s faced by James Bond or by many intelligence agents from the West who might have been trapped by KGB  Mozhno girls” or “Mozhnos”. This fascinating word means “allowed,” as these agents had the ability to violate rules prohibiting Russians from contact with foreigners. 

Perhaps these women were sheltering in the village that had now been conquered and this is where our Jewish soldier first encountered the woman whom he now desires. Surprisingly the Torah does not forbid a relationship in this case. The soldiers are ordinary people that become crazed due to combat. To prevent rape and abuse the Torah demands a month long ritual in which the man will calm down, be more in control of his passions. The captured woman, must either openly grieve for her family and mentally detach from her past or become dishevelled and presumably no longer attractive. If after thirty days the man still desires her they can marry and get on with life. 

Alvin Gouldner was a Jewish American sociologist who emphasised the  importance of context in understanding human actions, famously stating, "context is everything" and "human action can be rendered meaningful only by relating it to the contexts in which it takes place". 

One must consider the surrounding circumstances and environments, rather than viewing actions in isolation. He believed that understanding the "ills" and conditions of a society requires understanding the context in which those ills arise. For Gouldner, context wasn't just about background details; it was about the entire social, historical, and cultural framework that influences social phenomena. The context of life over 3000 years ago and even into modern times, permitted a much more callous and violent attitude to prisoners of war. The Torah spoke to our ancestors 3000 years ago and it continues to speak to us today. To our modern sensibilities, this passage ranks amongst the most challenging in the Torah. Can we make sense of it? In the same way that slavery legislation is longer a common practice and no one is looking to own a slave today. I believe that  this will be so with our situation. I say that because of a school of thought that sees humanity as developing and becoming more like Hashem wants as time goes on.  What was needed in the past should not be needed in the future. That is not to suggest that the Torah is redundant but that we must understand things differently. 

Already a thousand years ago , Rashi viewed the entire section as presenting a very strong cautionary warning against the practice. Following this section, the Torah presents the case of a man married to two woman one of whom he hates the other he loves. Regardless of his individual feelings if the first born son comes from the woman he hates, he must still give him the double portion of inheritance.  Finally we have the case of the rebellious son who is executed before he can cause serious trouble. Rashi views the narrative as presenting a clear warning of what will happen if our passionate excited soldier doesn’t calm down and that a relationship based on physical attraction alone will likely fall apart and end in rejection and misery.

The Torah gets very real with who we are. On the one hand we are the crowning glory of creation, the only creature capable of having a personal relationship with Hashem. We are invited to speak with Hashem  in payer, to emulate Hashem in our behaviour. Yet we also have challenges to overcome, jealously , lust , anger, desires, self control. This regulation speaks to us when we are not fully in control, when if left unchecked we are likely to engage in horrendous violent acts.

T

here is a fascinating debate in Jewish thought between the idea that human beings are continually declining as we become farther removed from the revelation of the Torah, and the idea that we are increasing in holiness as we approach the messianic age. Yeridat ha-dorot, the decline of the generations, is the dominant ethos.

There is, however, a countervailing tradition that emphasizes aliyat ha-dorot, the ascent of the generations. This perspective does not diminish the stature of earlier generations, but rather sees the past as building towards a higher spiritual level.

 We can take upon ourselves to make fuller use of the vantage point we have been given, seated astride the giants of our remote and recent past, be it in the domains of Torah, humanities, or the sciences. We are charged with embracing the significance of our particular place in the long history of our people. Rather than see ourselves as degraded with respect to our predecessors, we have grounds for being abundantly grateful to inherit their wisdom and knowledge, charged with applying it toward building a better world. This better world is one in which we respect and honour the humanity of everyone. { The minority of evil like Hitler/Hamas  et al are not the focus here}

As we continue to utilize the awesome days of Elul to prepare for Rosh Hashanah I want to suggest that this challenging narrative must alert us to who we might be and who we ought to be. The soldier’s fight for life,  his desire to be fulfilled, to feel alive, to have his desires fulfilled must be something that we recognise in the other. We must never lose sight of the right to life of everyone we come across. We don’t own others, they are not playthings or objects that we can control. Consequently the scenario described here, must never happen. If historically it was needed , it should no longer be so. Already the mystical tradition interpreted the entire passage as addressing the Yetzer Hara more generally. This being so the passage remains relevant with this alternative homiletical interpretation.

On RH we will ask Hashem to be written in the Book of Life. This is not an extension of time but rather the opportunity to live a meaningful life. After Maariv on the first night we wish each other a Tikatev Veteichatem l’alter l’chaim tovim u’leshalom. We don’t want to live in isolation. But we are also keenly aware that life presents challenges and we must strive to overcome them. Reminding ourselves of human potential and who we want to be is an important stage in reimagining ourselves and making the changes necessary.