The righteous soldier

Among the laws of warfare in this week’s parsha is a short passage that contains three mitzvot: first, the prohibition for an impure soldier to enter the camp; second, the designation of a place outside the camp for use as a lavatory; and third, the inclusion of a shovel in the soldier’s gear so that he will be able to cover his excrement.

Ramban comments, “The soundest explanation regarding this commandment is that the scripture gives a special warning concerning that time when sin is common. For it is known about the norms of military camps that they eat all kinds of abominations for food; they rob and seize things; and are not ashamed even to commit adultery and all kinds of disgusting acts. Even someone who is one of the most upright among men by his nature will don the traits of cruelty and rage when he goes out to war against his enemies. Therefore, the scripture warned concerning [the battle camp], ‘You shall guard against anything evil.’”

Ramban notes that soldiers in battle often forget the norms of morality and human decency. They will loot, pillage, and rape even though they would never dream of acting in such a way at home. There are thousands of examples of this throughout history. Consider the war in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995. It’s estimated that between 30 000 and 50 000 women were raped during the conflict.

In contrast to the above is the behaviour of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Notwithstanding the libellous claims against it, I believe that the IDF is the most moral army in the world and possibly in all of history. It goes to great lengths to warn civilians to vacate war zones; to limit the number of civilian casualties; and to behave, in general, with morality and humanity. I have in my library two contemporary halacha books that are dedicated to the laws of warfare. They contain questions as diverse as how to make a minyan in a war zone in a way that doesn’t endanger the lives of the soldiers; handling a weapon on Shabbat; and many other topics including the permissibility of confiscating property from a terrorist.

I think one would be hard-pressed to find books of this nature in any other culture. In effect, these volumes are a response to the problem raised by Ramban: how do we maintain morality in the immoral environment of war? Since 7 October 2023, there have been hundreds of questions posed to leading rabbis from soldiers on the front. For example, a soldier whose unit was staying in a commandeered house asked if he was permitted to plug his cellphone into the house’s electric supply! This was a relatively simple matter, but there have been extremely complex questions that touch on life-and-death scenarios. We ought to be proud that we have soldiers who endeavour to maintain the highest levels of religiosity, morality, and integrity in the midst of an existential war.