Parshas Ki Seitzei 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- Sep 5
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 9
כי יהיה ריב בין אנשים ... (כה-א)
MASHAL: The Vietnam War was a protracted conflict between the years 1964-1975. It pitted the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies in South Vietnam, known as the Viet Cong, against the government of South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. Human cost of the long conflict were harsh for all involved. Not until 1995 did Vietnam release its official estimate of war dead: as many as 2 million civilians on both sides and some 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters!
While the war was raging on in the far-away land, someone asked R’ Moshe Feinstein zt”l in New York City: Should we be davening for peace?
R’ Moshe answered unequivocally: Yes! The questioner then pressed: “But the war itself has nothing to do with us per say? Why should we pray for some far-out country?”
R’ Moshe’s answer was short and concise: “The Ribono Shel Olam wants peace in the world! All over the world!”
NIMSHAL: Rashi brings a fascinating Medrash that elicits the idea of fighting. The Torah opens the parsha of malkos, lashes, by saying, “If there will be a dispute between two men and they come to judgment so that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous and condemn the wicked. Should the wicked one deserve flogging.” We see from here that NO GOOD comes out of a fight and fighting definitely does not bring to peace! On the contrary, these two men began to quarrel over something trivial going on between them and ended up deserving lashes because of something reckless they did as a result of the fight they were in. This stands as a lesson for all of us: stay clear of anything that can potentially lead to a fight!