The Torah’s term for chaos is תֹּהוּ וָבֹהוּ, tohu vavohu, and to a certain extent, the entire thrust of the Torah is meant to respond to chaos—particularly the chaos created by war—by infusing the world with life and kedusha.
Parshat Pikudei highlights Judaism’s approach to war in a unique way. After the Mishkan has been erected, Moshe commands that the aron, which contains the broken luchot, be brought into its innermost chamber. The aron reflects the place of G-d’s divine presence in the Holy of Holies. In many respects the aron, along with the keruvim perched upon it, recalls the Garden of Eden—a place that G-d created to respond to chaos, a place where G-d’s presence also rested. In fact, there were keruvim in the Garden of Eden.
Given its intense holiness, one might have expected that the aron would never leave the inner sanctum. Yet in Bamidbar, we discover that the aron was carried out to battle when the Israelites were engaged in war. Rabbinic sources question whether there were two arons—one containing the broken luchot, and another holding the king’s sefer Torah—and debate which one went to war. However, a simple reading of the Torah suggests that the aron found in the Holy of Holies led the nation into battle. This is evidenced in the book of Shmuel, following the defeat of the Israelites by the Plishtim: Vayishlach ha’am Shilo vayeasu misham et aron brit Hashem tzevaot yoshev hakeruvim—“And the people sent to Shilo and brought from there the Ark of the Covenant of Hashem, lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the keruvim” to assist them in battle.
How are we to understand that the aron, the Ark of the Covenant, goes out with the Jews to fight wars? One possibility is that the aron is meant to empower. In the ancient world, the Greek philosopher and historian Plutarch tells us, Alexander the Great took a copy of Homer’s Iliad to war with him. Similarly, the aron that carries the royal Torah into battle transforms the Jewish soldier into a warrior who is mindful that he has history—and even divine protection—on his side. It is meant to empower.
But there is another way to understand why the aron, particularly with the broken tablets, goes out to war. Instead of bringing a book, we bring a shattered dream. Perhaps the Bible insists on taking the aron, specifically the broken tablets, to humble the king and the warriors. Our dreams and aspirations must always be kept in check. Because of the chaos that characterizes war, one must approach military action with humility—especially when crossing boundaries.
War is the ultimate tohu vavohu. Recall that Yehoshua describes the building of the egel hazahav, golden calf—the pinnacle of chaos in the Bible—as kol milchama bimachaneh, the sound of war in the camp. The moment of war is singular because, in Jewish tradition, it demands humility rather than arrogance. Wars are necessary and sometimes justified, but Judaism argues that they must be fought through the prism of the aron and the Holy of Holies. To do anything less is to debase the very mission of humanity, and to undermine the values that Judaism holds dear.
We can take pride in the fact that Israel’s soldiers are taught not only the tactics of war but also the value and sanctity of human life. As we continue through this difficult period in our nation’s history, we continue to pray for the release of the hostages and for a time when the sanctity of human life will be a value embraced by all nations, and there will be no more war. |