신명기 21:10의 무사르

I have found an allusion along these lines in the portion dealing with expansionary wars in Deut. 20,1-9, participation in which is restricted to certain categories of people outlined there. It is clear that the paragraph speaks about מלחמת רשות, a permissible expansionary kind of war, as distinct from מלחמת חובה, an obligatory war against the seven Canaanite nations in which no potential soldier of military age was exempt. In connection with this מלחמת חובה, the Torah writes: לא תחיה כל נשמה, "you must not allow any soul to survive" (Deut. 20,16). The sequence of the paragraphs dealing with the capture of a physically attractive woman prisoner (Deut. 21,11), followed by the paragraph of a man who has two wives and wishes to appoint the first-born of his more beloved wife as his principal heir, though the son in question is junior to another son from his first wife whom he grew to hate in the meantime (Deut. 21,15), is intriguing. The two wives which the Torah describes as האחת אהובה, והאחת שנואה, may be understood as referring to the "harlots" mentioned in the Zohar. The אהובה, refers to מחלת, the happy and beautiful one. The שנואה refers to לילית, the melancholy one. When the Torah speaks about a beautiful woman whom you see in captivity, this is a woman captured during a מלחמת רשות in one of the surrounding countries where the קליפות are permanently at home. The duty to subjugate these קליפות is part of the injunction to do good. This has to be done in one of two ways. In order to defeat and humble Lilith, harsh measures are required. Prayer "a la" Lilith, has to originate from a crushed heart, has to be accompanied by tears. Lilith can only be rehabilitated in this way. In order to be successful, the process of subjugating and rehabilitating Machalat, the happy-go-lucky one of these two harlots, needs to be handled differently. We have to demonstrate to Machalat the joyful aspects of Judaism, the Sabbath days, the holidays, the joy experienced in helping the less fortunate, etc., as well as to convey some of our knowledge about the goodness and grandeur of G–d. As long as we are exiled from our homeland all our joy on holidays is subdued due to the קליפות surrounding us on all sides. It is extremely difficult to totally defeat the קליפות of Machalat in such circumstances. When the Torah refers to the beautiful woman prisoner as: וראית בשביה אשת יפת תואר, this is to tell us that under conditions of exile, i.e. שביה, the קליפה מחלה continues to exist. We have only succeeded in eliminating the קליפה לילית. When the Talmud teaches that all gates are sometimes closed except the gates of tears, this is a hint that at least the קליפה לילית can be overcome at all times.

The Sifri has stated that Deut. 21,10 speaks about a permissible expansionary war, and that the legislation introduced by the words: וראית בשביה אשת יפת תואר applies only when such a war is fought outside the boundaries of Israel, whereas when a war is fought on the soil of Israel the command: לא תחיה כל נשמה, "you must not take any prisoners," applies. The reason is that within the boundaries of the land of Israel both harlots, i.e. Lilith as well as Machalat, can easily be eliminated. This is the mystical dimension of Joshua sending two spies in order to totally defeat these two harlots, as did indeed happen during the rule of King Solomon.

There is one commandment in particular that people consider of minor significance but which carries a very severe penalty. That is the one regarding the returning of lost objects to the owners. If a person sees a lost item belonging to his colleague and fails to retrieve it in order to return it he is compelled to undergo reincarnation in a newly conceived fetus, after which he must endure many years of affliction and suffering. For this offense it is not sufficient for him to undergo the less severe method of rectification, the “gestation” procedure in which a new soul is covered over by and concealed within his original soul. The Ari, z”l, explains in Sefer HaGilgulim that this is because he violated the verse, “And so shall you do to all the lost objects of your brother … you may not conceal your eyes” (Devarim 22:3). For the Holy One Blessed is He always judges a person “measure for measure.” Therefore whoever fears Hashem and trembles before Him should pray to be spared from reincarnation. The masses may consider it a minor punishment but the wise will contemplate the matter and realize that even if he is reincarnated in the body of an upright individual it would have been better had he already reached his resting place. For the Sages tell us that a single moment of the satisfaction one experiences in the next world is better that all the pleasures that this world has to offer (Avos 4:17). Now consider the fact that he may very well be reborn into more oppressive circumstances such as the body of an animal or a bird or even an inanimate object! For example, one who habitually engages in derogatory speech is reincarnated in a rock lying in a field where he remains in darkness with no illumination. Similarly, a person who is careless about consuming food of doubtful permissibility is reborn in the leaves of a tree so that every time the wind blows he is tossed about, causing him indescribable agony.