A Thought on Parshas Ki Taetzae

NOTE: It was drawn to my attention that I typed as a translation for "egla arufa" last week "red heifer." The only thing red was my face because the egla, while a calf or heifer, was not red. The para aduma was a red heifer. May we soon merit the latter, but never the former. "...Ki HaShem Elokecha mis'halech b'kerev machanecha..." "...for HaShem your Lord walks among your army..." (23:15) The Jewish nation at times rallied for war. They defended our homeland and pursued our enemies. Many laws and rules governed the soldiers, and there were ethics of warfare which the Torah prescribed. These were enforced and insisted upon by our leaders. The Torah here, in our verse, encourages us with the declaration that our troops can rely on the Divine Presence. HaShem travels with our soldiers. The Bechor Shor explores this: The word "mis'halech" is a difficult one. It means, literally, to walk along with, or in context, to walk among. Beyond the clear anthropomorphism depicting the Divine as if walking or traveling were an apt image, in what way does or did HaShem seem associated with our army? The Bechor Shor notes that in earlier times, the Holy Ark was carried into battle. In a sense, the Divine Presence, associated with the Torah enclosed within the kelei kodesh, could be described as "traveling" with us symbolically since we clung to His Torah. The trumpets also went into battle with our soldiers, and were used to alert them to remain righteous, focused on the Divinity of their mission and the piety of the conduct demanded of them at all times. In that sense, there was a conscious sense of the Divine during battle also. But the real meaning of "HaShem walks among you", explains the Bechor Shor, is much simpler. Notice that our verse employs the word "machane" - camp - rather than one of the more common synonyms for army or soldiers. We are the camp. We are the Jewish Nation, the Camp of Israel. Whether or not we take the Sacred Vessels, the Holy Ark or other instruments with us, HaShem rests His Divine Presence among our camp. Even when we are not doing battle, we are His camp. Our verse means that wherever we go, HaShem stays in our midst. If we conduct ourselves like members of Machane Yisroel, we are also Machane HaShem. Good Shabbos. D Fox