[Avodah] Why is Milchemes Reshus allowed?

[Richard Wolpoe]

I am proposing a mildly radical paradigm shift  that  milchemes reshus with
a  non-hositle  nieghbor is in itself NOT KOSHER.

I am reading into the sources the concept that the Reshus is a matter of
timing that there is no imminent threat, but an inevitable one over time.

Let's use the USA, Aghanistan, Iraq, and Canada as meshholim


   1. Afghanistan:  Assuming that the Taliban were directly responsible
   for the 9/11 attacks then what Bush did was a milchmest mitzva in
   retaliating in Afghanistan.
   2. Iraq: Bush's attack in Iraq was against a hostile but "no imminest
   threat" enemy. That IMHO is the correct paradigm for a Milchmes Reshus.  And
   you can see even there this is a judgment call - consult Urim v'Tumim etc.
   There were many reason NOT to atack Iraq, but Bush perceived this an
   inevitable.
   3. Canada:   An attack on Canada however, is NOT the kind of Reshus I
   consider Kosher! Rather, it would simply be for the sake of "manifest
   destiny" or expansion. Neither case should trigger a Milchmes Reshus.  The
   loss of life is not justifiable.

The sources in general may or may not support my read, but I do see hints at
this

   -  in the aforementioned Rashi on Humash [on what mihemes reshus is
   about]
   - and Tosafos on Arvis [on what the term Reshus can mean]



Kesiva vaChasima Tova
Best Wishes for 5768,
RabbiRichWolpoe at Gmail.com
Please Visit:
http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/

On 8/29/07, kennethgmiller at juno.com <kennethgmiller at juno.com> wrote:
>
> R' Richard Wolpoe wrote:
> > 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 ...
> > Simlarly Milhemet Reshus may be construed as a preemptive war
> > against a hostile nation that sooner or later will attack.
>
> If you want to consider a preemptive war as being a Milchemes Reshus, I
> don't have a problem with that. My problem is that there are other types of
> Milchemes Reshus too, in which we seem to be attacking a nation which was
> *not* hostile to us. *Those* are the cases that bother me.
>
> Akiva Miller
>
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