Rabbi Simon A. Dolgin
 
"When you go forth to battle against your enemies and the Lord your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives..." (Devarim 21.2)

The commentaries ask why it is that in our portion the Torah promises victory against Israel's enemies, whereas elsewhere (Bamidbar 10.9) the Torah states: "And when you go to war in your land against the adversary that oppresses you, you will sound the trumpets and you will be remembered before the Lord your God" and only then, "and you will be saved from your enemies."

In Bamidbar, the Torah suggests that victory does not come automatically. The Jews were to sound the trumpets in prayer before the Almighty, and only then would they be remembered and become victorious.

To understand this, we must note that our portion is written in the singular israeliform "When you (sing) go forth to battle..." while in Bamidbar, the Torah addresses the masses, "and when you (pl.) go to war in your land..." Herein lies the difference.

If you go out to battle as one person - one mind and one heart - you may be confident that the Almighty will deliver your enemy to you. But when you go out in disunity, with opposing views and strategies, you will need God's mercy and remembrance through the sounding of trumpets and prayer. Through the trumpets and prayer, you will be encouraged to unite, and then, with God's will, "you will be saved from your enemies."

Painfully, we witnessed many wars in our brief history as an independent modern state. With God's help we overcame vast and mighty enemies - and this, thanks to the unity and cohesiveness that has embraced or people. In contrast, when we are divided only God's mercy will save us. Unity means national strength. Disunity is our greatest weakness. The Midrash tells us that in the generation of Achav, the people were victorious even though they worshipped idols, and this because they were united.

If this is so, when going out to battle, how much more so when we engage in the search for peace. How can we withstand the sacrifices and compromises peace entails if there does not exist a basic consensus among us. When we battle each other how can we achieve peace with out enemies? Only by striving for unity and understanding among ourselves can we hope to achieve the peace and tranquility of which we all dream.