Q&A: Conquering the Land in Our Time
Conquering the Land in Our Time
Question
What is the Rabbi’s view of the commandment to conquer the Land in our time?
At first glance, Nachmanides’ approach was ruled as Jewish law in the Shulchan Arukh, and if so, there is a commandment to conquer Judea and Samaria.
Answer
Today there is no body that can fulfill this commandment. The State of Israel does not represent the Jewish people (= the collective of Israel), and certainly does not constitute a body that acts according to Jewish law and takes it into account. Nor is the majority of the public committed to Jewish law. In such a situation, in my opinion there is no place for fulfilling this commandment. And that is even before we get into the question of whether conquest in our time must be carried out militarily as in the past, or whether contemporary norms dictate a different mode of conduct.
Discussion on Answer
It seems quite clear that one should act according to accepted norms.
Why?
It’s not clear to me.
Because every state is subject to international law and operates accordingly. Among other things, it also determines the laws of war. And there is no permission to start a war just because you have some commandment.
Why should I take accepted norms into account? In the simple sense, when the Holy One, blessed be He, says to conquer the Land, doesn’t He mean it literally?
That is, in a military way.
The Holy One, blessed be He, also wrote “an eye for an eye” literally, and also the law of the stubborn and rebellious son, and the laws of slaves, and more. The applications are a matter for the public to decide according to the circumstances. We’re not ISIS. By the way, He didn’t write this. Nachmanides wrote it. Most Torah-level laws that we have are interpretations by the sages of the generations. We have common sense, and it’s worth using it instead of banging our heads against the wall. Search here for the columns on “Past Nischt.”
Thanks.
Where is Nachmanides?
Supplement 4 to the positive commandments in Maimonides.
In a theoretical situation, what does the Rabbi think about the second question?