by LEIBY BURNHAM | July 6, 2026 7:34 pm
Torah, Tefillah, and the Two Fronts of Jewish Survival
There are few topics in the Jewish world today that create as much pain, tension, and misunderstanding as the question of army service and yeshiva learning in Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel. On one side, there are families sending sons, husbands, fathers, and brothers into danger. Their sacrifice is real. Their fear is real. Their courage is real. Any Torah discussion that does not begin with gratitude and respect for those who physically defend Jewish lives is missing something basic.
At the same time, many in the Torah world feel that something very deep is being misunderstood. They are not saying that the physical battlefield is unnecessary. They are saying that Jewish history has never understood war as merely physical. A Jewish battle is fought with soldiers, weapons, strategy, and courage — but also with Torah, tefillah -prayer, teshuvah – repentance, and zechusim – spiritual merits. The question is not whether the army matters. Of course it matters. The question is whether we remember that in the Jewish people, there has always been more than one front.
This week’s parsha gives us one of the clearest windows into that idea.
In Parshas Mattos, Hashem commands Moshe to take revenge against Midian. Moshe gathers soldiers from the tribes, but the language is unusual:
Numbers 31:4–6
אֶלֶף לַמַּטֶּה אֶלֶף לַמַּטֶּה לְכֹל מַטּוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל תִּשְׁלְחוּ לַצָּבָא׃ וַיִּמָּסְרוּ מֵאַלְפֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶלֶף לַמַּטֶּה שְׁנֵים־עָשָׂר אֶלֶף חֲלוּצֵי צָבָא׃ וַיִּשְׁלַח אֹתָם מֹשֶׁה אֶלֶף לַמַּטֶּה לַצָּבָא אֹתָם וְאֶת פִּינְחָס בֶּן אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן לַצָּבָא וּכְלֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ וַחֲצֹצְרוֹת הַתְּרוּעָה בְּיָדוֹ׃
“A thousand from a tribe, a thousand from a tribe, from all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the army. So there were given over from the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for the army. Moshe sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the army — them and Pinchas son of Elazar the Kohen to the army, with the sacred vessels and the trumpets for sounding in his hand.”
The Torah first tells us twice that each tribe was supposed to send 1000 men, which would mean a total of 24,000 men, but then tells us in the next verse that only 12,000 were for the army. The tradition preserved by the Midrash (Medrash Rabba, Numbers 22:3, and Midrash Tanchuma, Matos 2) and later commentaries tells us that there were two sets of 1,000 men sent from each tribe, but they weren’t all for the army. There were those who went to fight, and there were those who went to pray. The battlefield had swords, but it also had holy vessels and trumpets. Pinchas the Kohen went with them, not as a military ornament, but because Jewish war is never only about military power.
We can look at the first Jewish war ever, which was fought not long after the Jewish people left Egypt. They went directly into the desert, a barren no-man’s land; and no one could claim that the Jews were conquering their territory. Yet, the Amalekites left their home territory, and came to attack them.
Exodus 17:8–13
וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בְּחַר לָנוּ אֲנָשִׁים וְצֵא הִלָּחֵם בַּעֲמָלֵק מָחָר אָנֹכִי נִצָּב עַל רֹאשׁ הַגִּבְעָה וּמַטֵּה הָאֱלֹהִים בְּיָדִי׃ וְהָיָה כַּאֲשֶׁר יָרִים מֹשֶׁה יָדוֹ וְגָבַר יִשְׂרָאֵל וְכַאֲשֶׁר יָנִיחַ יָדוֹ וְגָבַר עֲמָלֵק׃ וִידֵי מֹשֶׁה כְּבֵדִים וַיִּקְחוּ אֶבֶן וַיָּשִׂימוּ תַחְתָּיו וַיֵּשֶׁב עָלֶיהָ וְאַהֲרֹן וְחוּר תָּמְכוּ בְיָדָיו מִזֶּה אֶחָד וּמִזֶּה אֶחָד וַיְהִי יָדָיו אֱמוּנָה עַד בֹּא הַשָּׁמֶשׁ׃
“Moshe said to Yehoshua: Choose men for us and go out to battle Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand. And it was, when Moshe raised his hand, Israel prevailed; and when he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. Moshe’s hands became heavy, so they took a stone and placed it under him, and he sat upon it. Aharon and Chur supported his hands, one on this side and one on that side, and his hands remained faithful until sunset.”
Yehoshua is below with the fighters. Moshe is above with his hands lifted toward Heaven. Both are involved. G-d could have wiped out the Amalekites in one fell swoop, like He took the life of the Egyptian firstborns on the night of the Exodus, but He does not. Hashem could have wiped away all the Amalekites by a tornado, the same way He drowned the Egyptians in the sea after splitting it open. Hashem is clearly showing that He wants a system where there is a physical army and a spiritual booster. He has Yehoshua prepare an army and go into battle. But he also has Moshe on a mountain with his hand outstretched to heaven. And somehow, those hands determined the course of the battle, the spiritual booster is what determines how the physical army does on the field of battle.
The Mishnah explains what Moshe’s hands represented.
Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 3:8
וְהָיָה כַּאֲשֶׁר יָרִים משֶׁה יָדוֹ וְגָבַר יִשְׂרָאֵל וְכו׳. וְכִי יָדָיו שֶׁל משֶׁה עוֹשׂוֹת מִלְחָמָה אוֹ שׁוֹבְרוֹת מִלְחָמָה. אֶלָּא לוֹמַר לְךָ, כָּל זְמַן שֶׁהָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מִסְתַּכְּלִים כְּלַפֵּי מַעְלָה וּמְשַׁעְבְּדִין אֶת לִבָּם לַאֲבִיהֶם שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם הָיוּ מִתְגַּבְּרִים. וְאִם לָאו, הָיוּ נוֹפְלִין.
“‘And it was, when Moshe raised his hand, Israel prevailed…’ Did Moshe’s hands make war or break war? Rather, this teaches you that whenever Israel looked upward and subjugated their hearts to their Father in Heaven, they prevailed; and if not, they fell.”
This Mishnah is not saying that swords do not matter. Yehoshua was fighting. But it is saying that swords alone do not explain Jewish victory. The physical battle had to be joined to a spiritual turning upward. The hands of Moshe were not magic. They were a national reminder: look up. Remember Who gives victory. When you do that, you activate your spiritual booster and win the war.
The Haamek Davar, Rav Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin, known as the Netziv, states this as a broad principle of Jewish war, adding the element of prayer as a key component of the spiritual booster.
Haamek Davar on Exodus 14:15
מבואר שמשה התפלל אע״ג שידע היטב כי הקב״ה יעשה ישועה לישראל מכ״מ נדרש לתפלה לפי דעתו. דזה כלל גדול במלחמה שמתנהגת בפעולת הטבע. אע״ג שברור שיהיו המה מנצחים מכ״מ צריך תפלה כמו שהיה במלחמת עמלק שעלה משה בהר ואהרן וחור עמו ותניא במכילתא שגזר תענית ועמד בתפלה וכן במלחמת מדין שאמר ה׳ נקם נקמת וגו׳ מכ״מ אי׳ ברבה פ׳ מטות שהלכו י״ב אלף למלחמה וי״ב אלף לתפלה.
“It is explained that Moshe prayed, even though he knew well that the Holy One, blessed be He, would bring salvation to Israel. Nevertheless, prayer was required according to his understanding. This is a great principle regarding war that is conducted through natural means: even when it is clear that they will be victorious, prayer is still required. So it was in the war with Amalek, when Moshe ascended the mountain with Aharon and Chur, and it is taught in the Mechilta that they declared a fast and stood in prayer; and so too in the war with Midian, where Hashem said, ‘Avenge the vengeance,’ and nevertheless it says in the Midrash Rabbah on Parshas Mattos that twelve thousand went to war and twelve thousand went to prayer.”
This is a remarkable idea. Even when victory is promised, prayer is still necessary. Even when there are soldiers, there must be those filling the spiritual reservoir. We understand easily that a tank needs fuel, ammunition, and maintenance. But the Torah is teaching that the Jewish people also need what we might call the “miracle tank” filled — with Torah, prayer, faith, and spiritual merit.
This does not weaken the soldier. It strengthens him. It says that when a Jewish soldier goes to war, he is not alone. Behind him stands not only an army, but a people. Some serve with weapons in hand. Some serve with Gemaras open. Some serve with Tehillim – Psalms, on their lips. Some serve by strengthening the spiritual force of Klal Yisrael, the Jewish people.
Pause and Think
When we think about Jewish security, do we instinctively think only about physical strength?
Why is it hard for modern people to take spiritual protection seriously?
Can we honor the soldiers more, not less, by saying that the whole nation must spiritually stand behind them?
This is the balance the Torah insists upon. On the one hand, we do not sit back and rely on miracles. On the other hand, we never imagine that natural power is enough on its own.
Rabbeinu Bachya (R’ Bachya Ben Ashen, 1255-1340, Spain-Israel) says this with great clarity. He explains the verse in Mishlei, Proverbs: “סוס מוכן ליום מלחמה ולה׳ התשועה” — “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but salvation belongs to Hashem.” His point is that a person must prepare naturally, but know that the outcome comes from Heaven.
Rabbeinu Bachya on Numbers 13:2
סוס מוכן ליום מלחמה ולה’ התשועה (משלי כא, לא) שלמה המלך ע”ה יזהיר כל אדם בכתוב הזה שיעשה כל דבר שיצטרך לעשות ובדרך הטבע כל מה שבכחו, ושימסור השאר בידי שמים… כי כל הענינים האלה הם הכנות לעשות מה שבכח האדם לעשות בדרך המנהג והטבע, ואחר כן יפעול הנס על כל מעשה הטבע… כי התורה לא תסמוך על הנס לעולם.
“‘The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but salvation belongs to Hashem’ (Proverbs 21:31). King Shlomo warns every person through this verse that he should do everything he needs to do, and by natural means do everything in his power, and leave the rest in the hands of Heaven… for all these matters are preparations to do what is within human power according to the normal and natural order, and afterward the miracle operates upon all the natural action… for the Torah never relies on a miracle.”
This is a crucial source, because it prevents a serious misunderstanding. Torah does not say: since Hashem protects us, we do not need an army. Rabbeinu Bachya says the opposite: one must prepare horses, weapons, strategy, medicine, ambushes, and spies. The natural effort is required. But he also says the natural effort is not the source of salvation. The horse is prepared — but salvation is Hashem’s.
That means the Jewish people need both. We need soldiers who know how to fight, and we need people strengthening the spiritual life that makes us worthy of protection. We need the fuel tank, and we need the miracle tank.
Dovid HaMelech, King David, gives this same idea its most famous expression in Tehillim:
Psalms 20:8–10
אֵלֶּה בָרֶכֶב וְאֵלֶּה בַסּוּסִים וַאֲנַחְנוּ בְּשֵׁם ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ נַזְכִּיר׃
הֵמָּה כָּרְעוּ וְנָפָלוּ וַאֲנַחְנוּ קַמְנוּ וַנִּתְעוֹדָד׃
ה׳ הוֹשִׁיעָה הַמֶּלֶךְ יַעֲנֵנוּ בְיוֹם קָרְאֵנוּ׃
Some come with chariots and some with horses, but we call in the Name of Hashem our God. They collapsed and fell, but we arose and were strengthened. Hashem, save us; may the King answer us on the day we call.
This is not a rejection of chariots and horses. Dovid himself was a warrior king. He understood strategy, weapons, courage, and military responsibility. But he also understood that Jewish victory cannot be explained by those things alone. Other nations may put their ultimate trust in the vehicle and the weapon, but “אנחנו בשם ה׳ אלקינו נזכיר” — we call in the Name of Hashem our God.
David Hamelech had the experience of going into single man-to-man combat with the giant Goliath and felled him with the first of the stones from his catapult, which was as clear a miracle as possible, yet, when he goes to war later as king, he does not rely on prayers and sacrifices alone, he calls upon troops from all over Israel to join him in battle.
Chronicles I 19:16-18
וַיַּ֤רְא אֲרָם֙ כִּ֣י נִגְּפ֔וּ לִפְנֵ֖י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַיִּשְׁלְח֣וּ מַלְאָכִ֗ים וַיּוֹצִ֛יאוּ אֶת־אֲרָ֥ם אֲשֶׁר־מֵעֵֽבֶר־הַנָּהָ֖ר וְשׁוֹפַ֛ךְ שַׂר־צְבָ֥א הֲדַדְעֶ֖זֶר לִפְנֵיהֶֽם׃
When Aram saw that they had been defeated before Israel, they sent messengers and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the River, with Shofach, the commander of Hadadezer’s army, before them.
וַיֻּגַּד לְדָוִיד וַיֶּאֱסֹף אֶת־כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּעֲבֹר הַיַּרְדֵּן וַיָּבֹא אֲלֵהֶם וַיַּעֲרֹךְ אֲלֵהֶם וַיַּעֲרֹךְ דָּוִיד לִקְרַאת אֲרָם מִלְחָמָה וַיִּלָּחֲמוּ עִמּוֹ׃
It was told to David, and he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, came to them, and arrayed himself against them. David arrayed battle against Aram, and they fought with him.
וַיָּ֤נָס אֲרָם֙ מִלִּפְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַיַּהֲרֹ֧ג דָּוִ֛יד מֵאֲרָ֖ם שִׁבְעַ֣ת אֲלָפִ֑ים רֶ֚כֶב וְאַרְבָּעִ֣ים אֶ֔לֶף אִ֣ישׁ רַגְלִ֔י וְאֵ֛ת שׁוֹפַ֥ךְ שַׂר־הַצָּבָ֖א הֵמִֽית׃
Aram fled before Israel, and David killed from Aram seven thousand chariot troops and forty thousand foot soldiers; and he killed Shofach, the commander of the army.
That is the Torah’s balance. We prepare the horse, but we do not worship the horse. We build the army, but we do not imagine that the army alone is our salvation. We honor those who fight, and at the same time we remember that the Jewish people survives because Hashem answers when we call.
This duality appears again when the Torah describes the Kohen who speaks to the soldiers before battle.
Deuteronomy 20:1–4
כִּי־תֵצֵא לַמִּלְחָמָה עַל־אֹיְבֶךָ וְרָאִיתָ סוּס וָרֶכֶב עַם רַב מִמְּךָ לֹא תִירָא מֵהֶם כִּי־ה׳ אֱלֹהֶיךָ עִמָּךְ… וְאָמַר אֲלֵהֶם שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל אַתֶּם קְרֵבִים הַיּוֹם לַמִּלְחָמָה עַל־אֹיְבֵיכֶם אַל־יֵרַךְ לְבַבְכֶם… כִּי ה׳ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם הַהֹלֵךְ עִמָּכֶם לְהִלָּחֵם לָכֶם עִם־אֹיְבֵיכֶם לְהוֹשִׁיעַ אֶתְכֶם׃
“When you go out to war against your enemy and you see horse and chariot, a nation more numerous than you, do not fear them, for Hashem your God is with you… He shall say to them: Hear, Israel, you are coming near today to battle against your enemies; let your hearts not be soft… for Hashem your God goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”
The Torah places a Kohen at the front line of war, not an army general. Why? Because before a Jewish soldier fights, he must be reminded that the battle is not only mechanical. He must have courage, but his courage is rooted in faith. He must train, but his confidence is rooted in Hashem.
The Gemara sharpens this:
Talmud, Sotah 42a
הֵם בָּאִין בְּנִצְחוֹנוֹ שֶׁל בָּשָׂר וָדָם, וְאַתֶּם בָּאִים בְּנִצְחוֹנוֹ שֶׁל מָקוֹם.
“They come with the victory of flesh and blood, but you come with the victory of the Omnipresent.”
That is not a poetic slogan. It is a worldview. Other nations go to war with the victory of flesh and blood. The Jewish people must go with the victory of Hashem.
And yet, again, that does not mean there is no army. It means the army itself must be surrounded by a people who understand that victory comes from a higher source.
Dovid HaMelech, King David, the warrior king of Israel, understood both sides perfectly.
Psalms 144:1–2
בָּרוּךְ ה׳ צוּרִי הַמְלַמֵּד יָדַי לַקְרָב אֶצְבְּעוֹתַי לַמִּלְחָמָה׃ חַסְדִּי וּמְצוּדָתִי מִשְׂגַּבִּי וּמְפַלְטִי־לִי מָגִנִּי וּבוֹ חָסִיתִי.
“Blessed is Hashem, my Rock, Who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war; my kindness and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield in Whom I take refuge.”
Dovid does not say: Hashem fights, so my hands do not need training. He says Hashem trains my hands for battle. The warrior’s hands are real, but their strength is from Hashem. The fortress is real, but Hashem is the true fortress. The shield is real, but Hashem is the true shield.
This is the Torah balance.
The danger in a conversation like the one taking place in our times is that each side may hear only what the other side seems to be denying. One side hears the emphasis on Torah and tefillah and thinks: are you saying soldiers do not matter? Are you saying that mothers seeing their children go off to battle, wives whose husbands haven’t been home in months, living daily with the fear that they may have to carry on raising their children alone, are not making a worthy sacrifice?
The other side hears the constant emphasis on military service, the constant media descriptions of “parasite!” and thinks: are you saying the Torah I devote my life to does not protect? Are you saying that the tens of thousands, who give up the opportunity to chase fame and fortune, consigning themselves to lives of financial paucity, to instead show up every single day, open large volumes of Talmud and Shulchan Aruch, and study for 10-12 hours with devotion, are you saying their actions don’t cause the miraculous shield a nations surrounded by enemies needs?
Perhaps the parsha is asking us to hear something more whole.
The soldiers are necessary.
The learners are necessary.
The fighters carry one burden.
The spiritual protectors carry another.
And neither should look at the other with contempt.
There is pain when a family sends a son to the front. There is pain when a mother waits for news from a battlefield. That pain must not be minimized. It is holy sacrifice.
But there is also a Torah worldview that says that those who dedicate themselves seriously to Torah are not simply avoiding the battlefield. At their best, they are standing on another front. They are creating the spiritual conditions through which Hashem protects His people.
Of course, this idea can be abused. A person cannot simply claim the title of spiritual defender while wasting his time. If Torah is to be understood as a form of national protection, then it must be Torah learned with seriousness, responsibility, and yiras Shamayim, fear of Heaven. The twelve thousand who went to pray were not a symbolic exemption. They were part of the war effort. That kind of Torah demands seriousness.
The Sifrei says of those chosen for the war with Midian:
Sifrei Bamidbar 157
וימסרו מאלפי בני ישראל – מגיד הכתוב שהיו בני אדם צדיקים וכשרים, ומסרו נפשם על הדבר.
“‘And they were given over from the thousands of Israel’ — the verse teaches that they were righteous and proper men, and they gave themselves over for the matter.”
Those who serve physically must give themselves over. Those who serve spiritually must also give themselves over. The question is not only where a person is standing, but whether he is truly carrying responsibility for Klal Yisrael.
Pause and Think
What would it look like for Torah learning to be seen by all as a real responsibility for the safety of Klal Yisrael?
How can we speak about the importance of Torah without dismissing the sacrifice of soldiers?
How can we honor soldiers without dismissing the protective power of Torah and tefillah?
The goal of this discussion is not to solve Israeli policy in one Tuesday night learning session. It is not to decide exactly who should serve, who should learn, how laws should be written, or how exemptions should work. Those are complicated questions involving halachah, security, society, fairness, and leadership.
But we can at least ask for something more basic: understanding.
Before we argue, can we understand why a Torah Jew might believe that a beis midrash, a study hall, is not detached from national survival? Can we understand why someone might believe that a young man bent over a Gemara with real diligence and fear of Heaven, is contributing to the protection of the Jewish people?
And at the same time, can those who believe this also understand why other Jews feel pain when their children carry the physical danger while others do not? Can we understand why they need to hear gratitude, humility, and shared responsibility — not slogans?
Peace begins when each side stops caricaturing the other.
The soldier is not “unnecessary if only we would be righteous.”
The yeshiva bachur, the yeshiva student, is not “doing nothing.”
Hashem’s plan includes a righteous army.
The war effort needs a vibrant beis medrash.
We need both the sword and the raised hands of Moshe. We need the horse prepared for the day of battle, and we need to know that salvation belongs to Hashem. We need those who physically guard Jewish lives, and we need those who spiritually strengthen the people for whose lives they fight.
Questions for Discussion
Why is it so difficult for each side in this debate to feel understood by the other?
What does the war with Amalek teach us about the relationship between soldiers and spiritual support?
What does Rabbeinu Bachya add by insisting both that we prepare naturally and that salvation comes only from Hashem?
How can we speak about this topic in a way that brings more ahavas Yisrael, love of fellow Jews, instead of more division?
Takeaway
The Torah does not teach a simplistic view of war. It does not say: fight and forget Hashem. It also does not say: pray and ignore natural effort. It teaches that Jewish survival rests on two fronts. Yehoshua fights below while Moshe raises his hands above. Twelve thousand go to war while twelve thousand go to prayer. The horse is prepared for battle, but salvation belongs to Hashem.
A mature Torah conversation must make room for both truths.
We owe endless gratitude to those who risk their bodies to protect Jewish lives. And we also must remember that, in the Torah’s view, the spiritual strength of Klal Yisrael is not ornamental. It is the hands of Moses that ultimately decide the battle.
If we could speak this way — with respect for the soldier, reverence for Torah, and humility before Hashem — perhaps this painful conversation could become not another wedge between Jews, but an opportunity for deeper understanding.
Source URL: https://partnersjewishlife.org/filling-the-miracle-tank-parshas-matos-masay-5768/
Copyright ©2026 Education Hub - Partners Detroit unless otherwise noted.