Ki Seitzei (2): Going Out To War is Winning

כי תצא למלחמה על אויביך ונתנו ה' אלוקיך בידך

When you shall go out to war against your enemies and Hashem delivers them into your hand...

The Parsha goes on to detail the laws of taking a captive, but the Zohar explains that this is really talking a about מלחמת היצר - fighting the Yetzer HaRa.

If this is true we have an issue with the language of the Passuk: It sounds too easy! "When you shall go to war, against your evil inclination, and win..." Who said anything about it being that simple? This Pasuk is not an accurate representation of our daily fight at all. We have to go to battle many times. We often fall. How can Chazal tell us that this is a reference to our battle with our baser desires if it sounds so easy and in reality that is not the case?

Says the Yismach Yisrael (see here or here) of Alexander that the victory is not in the end of the fight, but in going out to fight in the first place.

The Kever of R' Yerachmiel Yisrael
Yitzchak of Alexander

We see many examples through out Torah that simply accepting to do a Mitzvah creates a reality in which the deed is already done. One example: The see split "to the right and to the left" of the Jews. The Midrash explains that the right and left mentioned in the Passuk is in the merit of Tefilin of the left hand and Mezuzah of the right doorpost. Two Mitzvos that Am Yisrael were still not given the command to do! Rather because they were willing to accept, the merit was already there. (See the Shem MiShmuel on Bishalach) The list of examples in Chazal of this idea is endless.

This is the key to answering our difficulty. We have in our minds that we only garner the pride of Hashem once we have totally vanquished our Yetzer HaRa. Only when the fight is over and we are Tzadikim with long white beards are we considered victorious.

But this is not true. In Hashem's eyes, just by going out to fight the Yetzer HaRa - even though the job is not complete - we are seen as already having won the war. By earnestly trying to do the right thing, the battle is already won.

If we honestly attempt כי תצא למלחמה על אויביך, then Hashem will consider it as if  ונתנו ה' אלוקיך בידך already now.