In Parshat Shoftim, the Torah reminds the Jewish People not to be afraid in times of war. Before setting out for battle, the officers would make a final call, sending home anyone who had built a house but had not yet moved in, planted a vineyard but had not yet harvested it, or become engaged but had not yet married. The Torah explains that this was “lest he die in battle” (Devarim 20:5), and another man would then take his home, vineyard, or wife.
Rashi explains that the concern was the individual’s anxiety over leaving these long-awaited goals unfulfilled. This anxiety would prevent him from fully focusing on the battle, so he was sent home.
Rabbi Yitzchak Abarbanel questions this explanation. Wouldn’t a person be more attached to a home he had already lived in or a vineyard he had already enjoyed than to one he had yet to experience? Similarly, wouldn’t a married man be more distressed by leaving behind a spouse of many years than an engaged man would be over losing a future spouse?
R. Abarbanel therefore offers a deeper explanation. The Torah is not speaking about the natural desire to enjoy these physical things. If that were the case, the concern should have been greater for someone who had already experienced them. Rather, the Torah is describing a different kind of yearning, the powerful spiritual desire to fulfill the mitzvot connected to them.
Each example represents an opportunity for a mitzvah. A new home creates the obligation to build a fence around its roof. A vineyard creates the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of giving charity from its produce. Marriage and having children fulfill the very first mitzvah in the Torah.
The concern, then, was not simply the fear of losing something one had not yet enjoyed. Rather, it was the agony of having a mitzvah within reach and being unable to fulfill it. For a Jewish person, fulfilling a mitzvah is not simply something we want to do, but part of our responsibility and purpose in this world.
May we always recognize the mitzvot that G-d places before us as precious opportunities to fulfill our purpose, grow closer to G-d, and live a life of greater meaning.
