''Milḥemet mitzvah'' or in Biblical Hebrew ''milḥemeth miṣwah'' (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: מלחמת מצווה, "war by commandment") is the term for a

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

during the times of the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

Kingdom of Israel) would go to war in order to fulfill something based on, and required by, the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

without needing approval from a

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , ''synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence 'assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), ap ...

, such as war against

Amalek Amalek (; he, עֲמָלֵק, , ar, عماليق ) was a nation described in the Hebrew Bible as a staunch enemy of the Israelites. The name "Amalek" can refer to the nation's founder, a grandson of Esau; his descendants, the Amalekites; or the ...

. In contrast, a ''milkhemet reshut'' (מלחמת רשות, "authorized war") is a discretionary war, which according to

Jewish law ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws which is derived from the Torah, written and Oral Tora ...

requires the permission of a

. Unlike ''milkhemet reshut'' wars, which tended to be fought to expand territory or for economic reasons and had exemption clauses, ''milhemet mitzvah'' tended to be invoked in

defensive war A defensive war (german: Verteidigungskrieg) is one of the causes that justify war by the criteria of the Just War tradition. It means a war where at least one nation is mainly trying to defend itself from another, as opposed to a war where both s ...

s, when vital interests were at risk.

Applicability in modern times

The categories of ''milhemet mitzvah'' and ''milhemet reshut'' were applied by the later rabbis to describe wars that place in earlier times, led by or against the kings of the Kingdoms of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and Judah. The ''milhemet reshut'' has not been applied or used since then; because the Jewish people have neither a king nor universally recognized Sanhedrin, there is no religious authority to authorize a ''milhemet reshut''. Notwithstanding, there is more than one description of the terms "Milhemet Mitzvah" and "Milhemet Reshut". According to the

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

(4th-5th centuries), "Milhemet Reshut" is described as an offensive war, rather than a defensive war which is "Milhemet Mitzvah". The discussion over compulsory and permitted (or, perhaps, "optional") wars also applies to certain exemptions given to individuals within the ancient Israelite and Judean society: engaged men, those who have just completed to build their house and have not lived in it and those who have not yet plowed their field before the war. All of these exemptions are given only in the case of "Milhemet Reshut." Talmud Scholars of both the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds discussed the nature of the wars commenced by the Israelites during the biblical era (Tanakh) generally tend to describe the conquest of the Land of Israel in the

Book of Joshua The Book of Joshua ( he, סֵפֶר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ‎ ', Tiberian: ''Sēp̄er Yŏhōšūaʿ'') is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Isra ...

as Mitzvah Wars, while the wars fought by

King David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

were meant to expand his kingdom, hence regarded as discretionary wars. Modern scholars also suggested that Mitzvah Wars originally signified a religious act.אנציקלופדיה מקראית, מוסד ביאליק ירושלים (1962). עורכים: בנימין מזר, נפתלי הרץ טור-סיני, שמואל ייבין, חיים רבין. עמ' 1057-1064. ראה גם: שם, עמ' 1061-1062, 1064-1065. לדעתו של החוקר פון ראד מלחמות יהושע הינן מלחמות ה', הד קדום למלחמות קדושה בהן העם ראה את המלחמה כאקט דתי והניצחון הוא מתת האל. היה צורך להסביר כיצד שבטים נודדים הצליחו לגבור על ישויות מבוססות בערים בצורות. Questions about the

halakhic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

justification for war again arise in modern times in connection to military operations of, and service in, the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

. To the extent that such operations are perceived to be self-defense, they are viewed as examples of milhemet mitzvah. Hence, the dispute over the terms with accordance to modern times coincides with the question what is Israel's role in the "Arab-Israeli Conflict". Many Israelis perceive the continuous sparks of violence as attempts to undermine the Jewish State, most Israelis may regard the modern wars as "Milhemet Mitzvah" defensive, and therefore, obligatory. On the other hand, large portions of the Israeli society are secular and do not think about the current conflict in these religious categories or use these historical terms.

References

External links

* {{in lang, he}
"Milhemet Mitzva and Milhemet Reshut"

Shlomo Goren Shlomo Goren ( he, שלמה גורן; February 3, 1917 – October 29, 1994), was a Polish-born Israeli Orthodox Religious Zionist rabbi and Talmudic scholar who was considered a foremost authority on Jewish law (Halakha). Goren founded and serve ...

Jewish law Land of Israel Judaism and warfare Religion-based wars

Applicability in modern times

See also

References

External links