“Avenge the Israelite people on the Midianites…” (Numbers 31:2)

War is one of humanity’s greatest moral dilemmas.

Can war ever be just? Or is every act of war simply another expression of violence?

In an age when conflicts are reduced to slogans and hashtags, Parashat Mattot challenges us to think more deeply. It asks a timeless question that lies at the heart of every civilisation:

Why does a nation go to war?

Not All Wars Are the Same

History is filled with wars of conquest.

Empires marched across continents seeking land, wealth and power. The Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans expanded their kingdoms through force. European colonial powers built global empires. Nazi Germany sought domination. Imperial Japan invaded its neighbours. Today, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is widely viewed as an attempt to seize territory and impose political control.

These wars were fundamentally about expansion.

But Parashat Mattot presents something different.

“Take vengeance for the Israelites on the Midianites.”

Yet Moses deliberately changes the wording:

“Arm some of your men to carry out the Lord’s vengeance on Midian.”

The commentators note that Moses transforms what could be understood as Israel’s revenge into God’s justice.

This is not presented as a campaign of hatred or conquest. Midian had already waged war against Israel—not primarily with armies, but by attempting to destroy Israel morally and spiritually through seduction, idolatry and corruption at........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)