“When you go out to war against your enemies, and Hashem your G-d delivers them into your hands, and you take captives from them...”
The Torah here addresses the situation of warfare and outlines the procedure to be followed when a soldier desires a captive woman. However, many commentators explained that these pesukim also allude to the battle that each and every one of us wages, the war that rages within ourselves, every day of our lives.
The human being is comprised of two elements, which struggle bitterly against one another. We are, on the one hand, animals, with the same instincts as other mammals. This element of our being is selfish and egotistical and seeks to wantonly indulge in physical pleasures. But we also possess a sacred, pristine soul, a חלק אלוקה ממעל, a “piece” of Hashem Himself. This is the part of us that reaches higher, that seeks spirituality, and that desires meaning and purpose in life. This is the component that leads us to follow lofty ideals and serve G-d. These two elements of the human being are in a constant state of war. The precise nature of this war will change with time and assume different forms at different stages of life, but there is not a day in our lives when this war is not raging within us.
The Degel Machaneh Efrayim explains the opening pasuk of Parshas Ki Seitzei as promising that כי תצא למלחמה על אויבך – if we go out to fight this war, then ונתנו השם אלוקיך בידיך – Hashem will guarantee that we are victorious. The condition for earning Hashem’s assistance is כי תצא למלחמה, that we are willing to fight. We need to accept that spiritual achievement entails a battle, a real struggle, and we need to be prepared to wage this struggle. We must tell ourselves with firm determination that we do not accept ourselves the way we are, and we are going to take steps to make ourselves better, even though this will be difficult. If we are brave, courageous, determined, and ready to work hard and struggle, then ונתנו השם אלוקיך בידיך , Hashem assures us of the success of our efforts.
The Midrash (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 5:2) teaches that Hashem tells each and every one of us: Open a single opening of repentance like the point of a needle for Me, and I will then open openings that wagons and carriages can pass through for you. If we take the first small step and commit ourselves to wage the battle of teshuvah, Hashem will help us and grant us success.
Today, we have grown accustomed to shortcuts, to apps and AI programs that can do things for us. But there is no “app,” no shortcut, to spiritual growth. For the חלק אלוקה ממעל within us to triumph over our animal instincts, we must go out to war and be prepared to wage a valiant fight against our sinful impulses. If we do so, we are guaranteed to win this war.
