In this week's shiur, we discuss a number of the Torah's lessons about the morality of war that can be gleaned from the account of the war against Midyan, including the morality of preemptive war, taking booty, and killing women and children.
Sefer Bamidbar concludes with a verse that reads: "These are the commandments and the judgments which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moshe to Bnei Yisrael in the plains of Moav by the Jordan near Yericho." What is the significance of the location in which these commandments were given, and to which commandments does this verse refer?
Our parasha opens with the laws of vows: "If a man should make a vow to God… he shall not break his word; all that his mouth has uttered he shall do" (30:3). The obvious question is, why does the Torah introduce this law specifically here?
The term ir miklat is usually translated as "city of refuge," based on the context of these laws. In this shiur, we will examine another possible interpretation of the term, which explains the nature of Chazal's perspective on these laws, as well as the ultimate purpose of these cities.
