민수기 31:3의 Halakhah

Two additional traditional sources about the quality of life relate to Moses. One homiletical passage states that if Moses had wanted to live many more years he could have lived, for the Holy One, blessed be He, told him, "Avenge the vengeance of the children of Israel of the Midianites; afterward thou shalt be gathered unto thy people" (Numbers 31:2), making his death dependent upon the punishment of Midian.¹³Numbers Rabbah 22: 2. Had he delayed waging war with Midian, he could have prolonged his life. But Moses decided not to delay. He thought: Shall Israel's vengeance be delayed that I may live? He immediately ordered the Israelites "Arm ye men from among you for the war" (Numbers 31:3). Why did not Moses wait? One must conclude that the desire or need to avenge Jewish honor took precedence over increasing his life span. Sanctity of life is not the supreme value in Judaism. The quality of life of his nation, which had been degraded by the Midianites, who led Jewish youth to lechery and idol worship, had to be restored in preference to a longer personal life for Moses.

Aside from these individuals, the Bible contains other examples of wars where the spiritual elite fought. Rashi (Bemidbar 31:3) asserts that the soldiers in the wars against Amaleik (Shemot 17:8-16) and Midyan (Bemidbar 31) were specifically chosen based on their religious piety. The Radak and Malbim (Shofetim 5:14) explain that, after defeating the army of Canaan, the prophetess Devorah gave special praise to the people of Machir and Zevulun precisely because their religious leaders fought in the battle. All of these sources clearly teach that no fundamental problem exists with spiritual leaders serving in an army. The advisability of their service in the Israeli army today, however, remains to be determined.