War and the blessing of peace

This week, we begin the last book of the Torah: Devarim (Deuteronomy). It contains the words that Moses speaks to the Israelites on the plains of Moav as they prepare to cross the River Jordan without him into the Promised Land.

It’s a mixture of history, explanation, and inspiration. Moshe Rabbeinu, Moses the master educator, is giving the Jewish people everything they need to know before he dies.

It’s striking to us, reading these words in August 2024, how the opening chapters are so filled with war. Moses reminds the children of Israel how they fought with Amalek, with kings Og and Sihon, and how Joshua will need to prepare the soldiers for war when they enter Canaan. It’s a startling reminder of how the history of the Jewish people has so often been about our need to manage the conflict between ourselves and other people – to fight, flee, avoid, and survive.

And yet, we’ve never stopped praying for a better world, for a time “when nation shall not lift up sword against nation or learn war evermore”. (Isaiah 2:4).  Every time we daven, we end our Amidah with a prayer for peace.

Is this just naïve? Look around the world today, read a newspaper – who can possibly think about peace? Be a historian, and look back at the history of the world, and you’ll see a story of conflict and conquest, wars and treaties, power against power. And yet, it’s not the whole story.

“Indeed, the eternal, your G-d, has blessed you in all your undertakings. G-d has watched over your wanderings through this great wilderness; G-d has been with you these past 40 years; you have lacked nothing.” (Deuteronomy 2:7)

What did Moses want to teach in recounting the journey of the past 40 years? Was it that the cycle of war, trauma, slavery, and rootless wandering would have to continue? Or that with the knowledge of the past, with a greater understanding of our history and a reminder of the many blessings we’re constantly showered with, we can learn to build a better future? As he looked out across the Jordan, knowing he wouldn’t be leading the Israelites any further on their journey, he used all his skills as a teacher and speaker to let his people know that they had everything they needed to live good lives, break the cycle of the past, and create communities founded on justice and peace.

We have to believe that our past doesn’t have to predict our future. We can choose to have faith in the best of humankind, created in the divine Image, and that we’ll find ways to build a more loving and respectful universe where all can find their place.

The great mystic Shimon Bar Yochai said, “Great is peace, as all blessings are included in it.” (Vayikra Rabbah 9), and the rabbis added, “Great is peace, for even in a time of war, peace is necessary.” (Bamidbar Rabbah 21:1).  May we see the blessing of peace descend for us all speedily.