Israel’s War is My War

“Will your brothers go to war while you sit here?”

After our ancestors conquered the lands on the East bank of the Jordan River, the tribes of Rueben, Gad, and half of Manasseh, asked for permission to settle there. The wide-open grasslands were perfect for pasture and these tribes were shepherds. They felt the land was perfectly suited to them.

They understood it was not fair of them to petition for these lands considering all their brethren fought to conquer it. But to this, they had a ready response. “It is a land that G-d conquered.” The war was not won by the soldiers. The astounding victory was nothing but a miracle. Since these lands were G-d-given, and perfectly suitable for their needs, it was a sign that G-d delivered it for them.

Moses did not deny that a Divine miracle secured the victory; neither did he deny that the lands were perfectly suited to these tribes. Moreover, he did not deny that allocating this land to these tribes was possibly, or even probably, G-d’s intention. Moses had a different problem with their request. “Will your brothers go to war while you sit here?”

Moses was very precise with his words. He did not ask, will your brothers fight a war while you sit here? He asked, will your brothers go to war while you sit here? He agreed that the Jews would not need to fight the war. G-d would fight this war. But they would need to go to war.

Going to war is draining and exhausting. The endless drills and marches, the provision of equipment and weaponry, and the training and strategy, all take a toll. Indeed, their brethren would not be at risk since G-d would fight the war and secure the victory. But they still needed to undertake the hassle of going to war.

The tribes that sought to stay behind knew this well. They had just experienced a war in the East Bank of the Jordan River. By their own testimony, G-d fought that war. But Moses pointed out that they knew precisely how tiring and draining the effort had been. How can you allow your brothers to carry this burden while you sit back and twiddle your fingers?

You can’t let your brothers carry the load without joining the effort. It is your war every bit as much as it is theirs. Moreover, they showed up to war in the lands you seek to inherit, will you not show up to war in the lands they seek to inherit?

Accumulative Merit
This was not just a question of doing the right thing. Joining the war would tip the scales toward victory. Although we said that G-d would ensure victory, such miracles must be earned. The merits required to earn a miracle of that magnitude are immense. This could only be mustered if the nation coalesces and pools their merits. The entire nation was present for the war they had just completed; thus they merited a miraculous victory. But if you absent yourself from the next war, you might jeopardize their victory.

If your brothers go to war and you sit here, said Moses, you diminish their collective merit. Who can say whether the remaining merit will suffice to earn a miraculous victory? What will happen if your absence and the absence of your merits tip the scale away from a miracle and leave your brothers to fight the war on their own? They would need to rely on the size and quality of their army, and you will be absent. How can you abandon your brethren in a time of war?

One Nation
According to one commentary, Moses’ complaint went even further. This wasn’t just a question of collective merit. This was a matter of nationhood. The Jewish people are a single unit. If even one person steps away, the entire nation is incomplete. An incomplete nation is not a nation. It matters not that most or nearly all the nation is present. It is like pregnancy. Just as you can’t be half pregnant, so is it impossible to be a half-nation. You either are a nation, or you are not. There is no grey zone in between.

If one Jew steps away and says this is not my fight, the Jews on the front lines are not fighting as a nation. They are fighting as individuals. The merit of a nation is exceedingly greater than the sum total of its individual merits. Thus, if these two-and-a-half tribes sit it out, the others must fight on individual merit.

They did not do this to you when the war was fought on the East Bank. How can you do this to them on the West Bank? The war for the lands you seek to inherit was fought as a nation. Now that you have your lands, you want to break up the nation and let your brethren fight as individuals? How can you do this to your people? How can you break up your nation?

War Comes to You
There is one more message in Moses’ powerful statement. It was not just a question and a demand; it was also a statement of fact. You think you can sit out a war that your brothers are fighting elsewhere? You think you can separate yourself from the Jewish nation and rest in peace? You think your brothers can go to war while you sit here?

If you don’t go to war, war will come to you. You think you can sit this one out and pretend this is the fight of some Jews but not of all Jews. I belong to the Jews who don’t support this war. I am not part of that fight. Don’t hassle me, don’t scream at me, I don’t identify with those Jews. They are not my people. I belong to the smart Jews. The sophisticated Jews, who understand the real world. The kind of Jews the rest of the world can respect.

Moses tells these Jews they are delusional. You really think you can escape a war your brothers have to fight by sitting it out in another country? That will never happen. If you don’t go to war alongside your brothers, the war will come to you in one form of suffering or another. Whichever way you put it; you are part of this nation. If you don’t acknowledge it yourself, the nations will bring this reality to you. They will find you where you are and attack you there.

Israel’s War Is My War
Moses’ powerful statement rings true across history. The Jewish people belong together. We either embrace our brethren on our own or the nations will force us to. We are Jews by definition and can’t change that. Even if we disagree with some Jews, we remain members of their nation. When we forget it, the nations that surround us remind us. And their reminders are never pleasant.

Never has this been clearer than today. Hamas did not differentiate between religious and not-yet-religious Jews or between leftists and rightists. In their eyes, we are all Jews. Because we are.

The protests brought this to every city, university, and water cooler. We couldn’t escape it even if we wanted to. And why would we want to? Will your brothers go to war and you sit here? The war is ours whether we want it or not. So, stand up proudly for your people wherever you are. Speak the truth unflinchingly and make sure the world knows who you are and why your cause is ethical and noble.