[Avodah] border issues.....pikauch nefesh??

[Daniel Israel]

On May 25, 2011, at 8:45 PM, Lisa Liel wrote:
> According to the Minchat Chinuch, milchemet mitzvah, an obligatory war, which includes wars of self-defense, takes precedence over pikuach nefesh.  We talk about there being only three exceptions, but really there are five.  Murder, avodah zarah, gilui arayot, chilul Hashem, and milchemet mitzvah.  As the Minchat Chinuch points out, we don't rely on miracles, so if milchemet mitzvah didn't override pikuach nefesh, the entire mitzvah of milchemet mitzvah would be torn out of the Torah.  Because people inevitably die in wars.

Not disagreeing with your basic point, but does the M"Ch refer to three really being five, or is that your comment?  Because the case of milchemet mitzvah is not exactly parallel: one is you have to let yourself be killed rather than violate.  The other is one has to put oneself at risk of death in order to perform.

> When non-Jews demand that we surrender land, particularly borderlands, that's considered a case of milchemet mitzvah.  I don't know what the excuse is nowadays for permitting it.


Those poskim who permit turning over portions of E"Y only do so in the case when the consensus of military and political leaders is that it will make Jews safer.  Since the entire reason that defending against border harassment is a M"M is the presumption that failing to defend them would endanger Jews in the long run, if in this case it makes Jews safer, then there is no M"M.  At least AIUI.

Which is why there are, it seems, fewer poskim who support "land for peace."  Not a shift in psak, but in metzius (or at least, or information about it).  Recent history has left fewer poskim who think that there is any reason to believe "land for peace" can actually work.

--
Daniel M. Israel
daniel at kolberamah.org