]Sefer Al Diglo #75[
There are those
who explain that our King and Master David was admonished: "You have shed
blood abundantly, and have waged great wars. You will not build a house to My
Name, because you have shed much blood on the Land before me" (Divrei
Ha-Yamim 1 22:8).
But this
understanding is surprising, because if this were so – if King David was truly
punished on account of his wars - why didn’t Israel’s prophets instruct him to
refrain from wars for the rest of his life? Is it proper that a person
sacrifices himself for the Nation of Israel, the Land of Israel and the
Kingship of Israel, and is in the end told: "This was a mistake"?!
The prophet Avigail in fact praised King David for his wars: "For Hashem
will make my master a faithful house because my master fights the wars of Hashem
and evil has not been found in you all of your days" (Shmuel 1 25:28). And
what about the general principal that it is a Mitzvah to wage an obligatory
war? According to the Ramban, this
includes conquering the Land of Israel, according to the Rambam it includes
protecting Israel from a enemy. So how
can a person be admonished when he is fulfilling a Mitzvah, and – on account of
this – be told that he may not build the Temple? Where is it written that a
soldier may not build the Temple?
It is true that a
Cohain who murders may not recite the Bircat Cohanim, because "When you
spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you, even when you recite many
prayers, I will not hear, your hands are full of blood" (Yeshayahu
1:15). Halachic authorities, however,
have ruled that this does not apply to a Cohain who is a soldier of Tzahal and
kills in war: "And on the contrary, it is proper to say to them: 'May your
hands be strengthened and may your power increase'" (Ha-Rav Ovadiah Yosef
in Shut Yehaveh Daat 2:14). And above all, our righteous Messiah himself, as
the Rambam says, will both wage the wars of Hashem and build the Temple
(Rambam, Hilchot Melachim 11:1).
[Next Week
Part Two: Rav Aviner's Answer]
