Alexander the Great conquered most of the known world. The Romans presided over a vast empire that included territory as far as Great Britain. The Jews, however, never really ruled anything beyond the Land of Israel, nor was that their ambition.
At the very beginning of Sefer Devarim, as our ancestors were getting ready to conquer Eretz Yisrael, G-d told them not to wage war against Moav, Amon, or Esav’s descendants in Seir. Why? Because they dwelled on their land by divine will (see Deuteronomy 2:5 [“ki yersuhah l’Esav nasati es Har Seir”], 2:9, and 2:19).
We aren’t the only game in town. “G-d’s providence rules also beyond Jewish circles and looks after the history of other nations too.” And so, G-d wished the Jewish people to “enter [the Land of Israel] and take its place amongst the nations with G-d-fearing respect for the possessions of the other nations and not look on itself as a conquering nation before whom henceforth no nation in the world could feel secure in undisturbed possession of its land.”
We may be G-d’s “firstborn,” but we aren’t His only child. He cares about all His children and has assigned each of them their own territory. And so G-d reminded us on the threshold of Eretz Yisrael that our military campaign “was to be limited to taking possession of the one land” He promised us.
As for the rest of the world? Torah should go forth from Zion, not the conquering sword.
Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) – head of the Jewish community in Frankfurt, Germany for over 35 years – was a prolific writer whose ideas, passion, and brilliance helped save German Jewry from the onslaught of modernity.
Elliot Resnick, PhD, is the host of “The Elliot Resnick Show” and the editor of an upcoming work on etymological explanations in Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch’s commentary on Chumash.
