Parashat Shoftim: Midrash
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Devash: Midrash

Midrash מִדְרָשׁ

Before Benei Yisrael go into battle, the כֹּהֵן (kohen, priest) will give a speech, encouraging the people to trust in God. Then, the שֹׁטְרִים (shotrim, officers) will announce that some people can skip the fighting: anyone who just built a new house, or just planted a new vineyard, or just got engaged to get married, and....
דברים כ׳:ח׳
וְיָסְפ֣וּ הַשֹּׁטְרִים֮ לְדַבֵּ֣ר אֶל־הָעָם֒ וְאָמְר֗וּ מִי־הָאִ֤ישׁ הַיָּרֵא֙ וְרַ֣ךְ הַלֵּבָ֔ב יֵלֵ֖ךְ וְיָשֹׁ֣ב לְבֵית֑וֹ וְלֹ֥א יִמַּ֛ס אֶת־לְבַ֥ב אֶחָ֖יו כִּלְבָבֽוֹ׃
Deuteronomy 20:8
The officers go on speaking to the troops and say, “Is there anyone afraid and weak of heart? They can go back to their home, so they don’t discourage everyone else.”

War is scary! You’d think most people would be frightened. Is there something else going on with the person who is “afraid and weak of heart”?

משנה סוטה ח׳:ה׳
רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר הַיָּרֵא וְרַךְ הַלֵּבָב כְּמַשְׁמָעוֹ, שֶׁאֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לַעֲמוֹד בְּקִשְׁרֵי הַמִּלְחָמָה וְלִרְאוֹת חֶרֶב שְׁלוּפָה.
רַבִּי יוֹסֵי הַגְּלִילִי אוֹמֵר הַיָּרֵא וְרַךְ הַלֵּבָב זֶהוּ הַמִּתְיָירֵא מִן הָעֲבֵירוֹת שֶׁבְּיָדוֹ, לְפִיכָךְ תָּלְתָה לוֹ הַתּוֹרָה אֶת כׇּל אֵלּוּ שֶׁיַּחְזוֹר בִּגְלָלָן…
Mishnah Sotah 8:5
R. Akiva says: “Afraid and weak of heart” is what it sounds like—a person who is too scared to stand in the battle and see a drawn sword.
R. Yosei HaGelili says: “Afraid and weak of heart” is someone who is afraid of the sins they have done. The Torah gave all these other reasons also (new house, vineyard, etc.) so that a sinner could leave with other people, and not have to publicly embarrass themselves because of their sins.
The pasuk explains that people who are afraid should leave the battle so they don’t discourage everyone else. The mishnah presents two options about the kinds of fear that could have this impact.
  • How could one person's fears affect the other soldiers?
  • If a soldier can't have enough courage even to look at a sword, will they be useful in battle? What can we learn from this about facing our own challenges in life?
  • What do you think it means for a person to be afraid of their sins? How do you think that would affect them in war? How might their sins affect the other soldiers?