The portion of Ki Tetze opens with an eerily familiar verse [Devarim 21:10]: “When (Ki) you go out to war against your enemies, and G-d delivers him into your hand, and you take his captives…” The Torah’s language seems straightforward until one looks more closely. We are given a series of events, better, a series of “if-then”s. What is contingent on what? What is the timeline? Is the Torah promising victory or is it describing a specific set of circumstances in which the laws that follow become relevant? The question matters because the next law is that of the “beautiful captive woman (eshet yefat to’ar)”. The Talmud in Kiddushin [21b] teaches that the Torah speaks here “only against the evil inclination,” regulating rather than endorsing an ugly reality[1]. The Meshech Chochmah[2], however, focuses on the conditions under which the law applies. The eshet yefat to’ar exists only after decisive victory, only after “G-d delivers him into your hand” and only when “you take his captives.” If the enemy retains leverage, if the aftermath includes something resembling a hostage exchange, then this law is not applicable. The Torah is not speaking about a ceasefire. It is speaking about victory. It is speaking about deterrence.

This reading changes the entire episode. Before the Torah can address a soldier’s private desires, it must define the national reality in which he lives. Has the enemy been defeated or has the war merely paused? Have we achieved victory or just renamed exhaustion as peace? Above, we translated the Hebrew word “Ki” as “When”. The Talmud in Tractate Rosh Hashanah [3a] teaches that this connective word actually has four meanings. It can mean “when”, but it can also mean “rather”, “if”, or “that”. Let’s revisit the verse when “ki” is translated as “if”. If you go out to war. If G-d delivers the enemy into your hand. If you take his captives. Only then does the Torah continue. Redemption is not a mood or a slogan. Redemption requires a world in which Israel’s enemies understand that war against Israel ends in their defeat.

The Or HaChaim........

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