[Avodah] Why is Milchemes Reshus allowed?

[Richard Wolpoe]

For evidence of my thseis that this kind of  Reshus is realy of the
necessary kind -  see Rashi Devarim 20:12

"If they do not make peace with you its end will be to make war with you."
>

Just re-interpret this to include the case that if you ignore or refuse to
confront a hostile nation then one day you will need to fight them anyway.
and this is still Reshus . And my point with Tosafos re: Arvis is that
Reshus is not always a 100% optional situation.  Just optional if you have
something better to do.

This is highly analogous to Ben Sorrer uMoreh which is a pre-emptive
execution of a "bad egg."  Simlarly Milhemet Reshus may be construed as a
preemptive war against a hostile nation that sooner or later will attack.

I neither case is stiting idly by OK , even though there is lack of IMMINENT
Danger.  That is my point.

OTOH when you are under actual attack - e.g. Pearl Harbor  - it becomes a
hova becasue of the immedicacy of the hostility.

E.G. Israel's raid on the Osiris reactor was a paradigmatic Reshus as so
construed.  OTOH responding to Iraqi scuds should have been a Hova  -except
for extenuating circumstances of the coalition.



-- 
Kesiva vaChasima Tova
Best Wishes for 5768,
RabbiRichWolpoe at Gmail.com
Please Visit:
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On 8/17/07, kennethgmiller at juno.com <kennethgmiller at juno.com> wrote:
>
> R' Richard Wolpoe suggested:
> > Maybe a milchmes mitzva is one that is required immediately
> > while a milchemes reshus is simply one that is like a
> > pre-emptive siirke - iow if you don't fight NOW sooner or
> > later you may have to anyway. ... It is a Reshus NOW becasue
> > the enemies are dormant, but it is not simply an exercise in
> > wasting human life
>
> The problem with this theory is that I see no evidence for it. On the
> contrary, a couple of posters referred to cases where a milchemes reshus was
> based purely on economic reasons, which I *would* consider to be "an
> exercise in wasting human life".
>
> Even in a case where, Rachmana Litzlan, our countrymen are dying of
> starvation, and that could be remedied by attacking another country, I can't
> see any justification in killing those foreigners unless they are actually
> responsible for our starvation. Pikuach nefesh can justify stealing their
> food, but not killing their people.
>
> Akiva Miller
>
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