Near the end of parshas Shoftim (D'varim 20:1-9) we learn how Klal Yisrael went to war. I wrote about this in a TftD once before -- five years ago this week, in fact. There the discussion is about how sin affects us. This time I want to focus more on how we deal with sin.
The setup is well known. The War Kohein tells the troops that they should not be afraid; HaShem is fighting for them and they just need to have trust. Then he tells them that anyone who has a new house/vineyard/wife but has not yet experienced the fruits of his labor should go home lest he die in war and another takes his place. Then the War Kohein gives his final instruction: Anyone who is afraid should go home. On that, R' Akiva says it means what it says. R' Yossi says it means they have a sin in their hand and are therefore afraid. What is the Torah telling us with this speech and what do Chazal want us to learn from the divergent opinions of R' Akiva and R' Yossi?
Let us first have clarity that R' Akiva and R' Yossi both know very well -- and agree -- that the source of fear in war is a lack of faith that HaShem will save/protect you; as the world says, there are no atheists in a foxhole. On the flip side, both R' Akiva and R' Yossi know very well -- and agree -- that the root cause of that fear is sin. The difference may be someone who doesn't feel fear now, but knows he has sins for which he has not done t'shuva. R' Akiva would let him go to war; he doesn't feel that fear, so he will be able to concentrate on the battlefield and will not be a liability to the other troops. R' Yossi, though, feels that if one knows about his sin -- whether or not he feels fear now -- he needs to return home and not endanger the other troops. After all, on the verge of battle one is feeling many emotions and adrenal is high, this is not the time to try to make a rational choice based on feelings alone.
What about the juxtaposition of new house/vineyard/wife with fear? The famous answer that Rashi brings is that this juxtaposition saves the sinner from embarrassment. When people see him leaving, they won't know if it is because he is a sinner or a new home owner/vintner/husband. The Ramban (which I saw this morning and prompted this TftD), however, brings a Yerushalmi that says that just as one must bring witnesses to confirm his claim that he is a new home owner/vintner/husband, he would also need to bring witnesses that he is an unrepentant sinner. Pretty much the opposite of the Chazal that Rashi brings!
It may be that the two Chazals are presenting two ways for a person to deal with his trouble in extricating himself from the grip of sin. One is to realize that every sin committed by a frum Jew is, by its very definition, a chillul HaShem and therefore we need to work quietly and privately to do t'shuva. Another dimension, though, is to realize that the sin is certainly known and apparent; at least in front of the Holy One, Blessed be He. One therefore needs to feel a real urgency in doing t'shuva.
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