In Parashat Devarim, Moshe recalls God’s commands to Benei Yisrael at various points during their sojourn through the wilderness not to initiate hostilities against other nations. God first issued such a warning as Benei Yisrael passed near the border of Edom (2:4-5), and then again later as the nation approached the lands of Moav (2:10) and Amon (2:19).
On the first occasion, when God warns Benei Yisrael not to wage war against Moav, He announces, “You are passing the border of your brethren, the descendants of Esav, who reside in Se’ir. They will fear you; you shall be cautious – do not start hostilities with them, for I shall not give you of their land…” (2:4-5). Before issuing the command not to initiate hostilities, God informs Benei Yisrael that the Edomites will naturally be afraid of them as they pass along the border. The obvious question arises as to why the Edomites would fear Benei Yisrael, and, moreover, why this fear is relevant to God’s warning that Benei Yisrael make no attempt to wage war against them.
Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch offers the following explanation:
…they fear that they may have to suffer a great deal at your hands; they imagine that you must be starved after your long wandering in the desert where you were deprived of everything, and now when for the first time again come into inhabited regions you will greedily jump on everything. Contain yourselves, and show them just the opposite of what they fear.
Edom feared Benei Yisrael because they understood the harsh conditions they had endured over the last several decades. The Edomites anticipated that as Benei Yisrael passed near inhabited territory for the first time in forty years, they would wage a desperate attack to seize Edom’s resources. God therefore warns Benei Yisrael to prove Edom’s fears wrong, to exercise discipline and restraint, and respect Edom’s divinely granted rights to its land and resources.
Difficult circumstances must never be taken as license for misconduct. There is a natural tendency to say to oneself, “I deserve this after all I’ve been through.” But the Torah teaches us otherwise. Life quite often presents us with hardships, challenges and frustrations of one kind or another, and we are expected to conduct ourselves with dignity and discipline regardless of the circumstances we endure. A “bad day” does not justify inappropriate behavior. Just as Benei Yisrael were to respect Edom’s territorial integrity despite the circumstances they have endured, similarly, we must act with civility and decency even when we are beset by understandable aggravations.
Courtesy of Yeshivat Har Etzion - www.etzion.org.il