by Yehuda HaKohen

"You shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you; and you shall destroy all their prostration stones; all their molten images shall you destroy; and all their high places shall you demolish. You shall possess the land and you shall settle it, for to you have I given the land to possess it... But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those of them whom you leave shall be pins in your eyes and a surrounding barrier of thorns in your sides, and they will harass you upon the land in which you dwell." (BAMIDBAR 33:52-55)

While many take for granted the eternality and universality of this mitzvah, some have argued that it was a one time precept referring only to the initial campaign against the seven Canaanite nations that inhabited our homeland.

This debate is significant as it has serious ramifications to the way in which the Torah relates to current national challenges confronting the Jewish people.

In order to arrive at a clear and comprehensive understanding of exactly what this commandment is, who it pertains to and when it is relevant, we must examine the above verses through the assessments of history's great Torah luminaries.

On verses 52-53, Rashi teaches "`Vehorashtem': Drive them out. `Vehorashtem et ha'aretz': If you first `clear out the land of its inhabitants,' then – `viyeshavtem bah' – you will be able to survive in it. Otherwise, you will not be able to survive in it."

On verse 55, Rashi further explains that "pins in your eyes" means "liteidot ham'nakrot eineichem" – that sticks will be driven into your eyes (it is important to note that after the Moment Café suicide attack in Jerusalem, nails were found in the eyes of some victims).

Rashi's explanation has also been understood to mean that the wisdom and understanding of Israel's leadership will be neutralized, such that they will be unable to see or understand what a child can clearly see and understand.

There will be a situation in which Jews protect themselves behind fences and walls which "enclose and imprison them such that none can come in or leave."

Sforno provides a more controversial explanation than Rashi. He shows "`Vehorashtem': When you burn out the land's inhabitants, you will merit to bestow upon your children the land as an inheritance. If you do not burn them out, then even if you conquer the land, you will not merit to allocate it to your children as an inheritance."

The holy Ohr HaChaim disagrees with Sforno's approach and teaches "`You must drive out': Although the verse (DEVARIM 20:16) says of the seven nations `You shall not allow any person to live', here (BAMIDBAR 33:52), the Torah is referring to other nations found besides the seven. It was therefore careful to say `all the inhabitants of the land', meaning even those not of the seven."

The Ohr HaChaim clarifies that although Israel was commanded to eradicate the seven Canaanite nations, this mitzvah has nothing to do with the above verses.

Rather, these particular verses relate to other foreign nations who must merely be expelled from the Land of Israel.

He continues on verse 55: "`They shall cause you troubles in the land': Not only will they hold on to the part of the land that you have not taken, but the part which you have taken and settled as well. `They shall cause you trouble' regarding the part that you live in, saying `Get up and leave it.'"

Although the Ohr HaChaim shows that this mitzvah applies beyond the seven Canaanite nations, it still remains unclear whether this particular commandment was a one time mitzvah or if it applies eternally for any generation that liberates the Land of Israel from foreign hands.

The Ramban, in his supplement to the Rambam's Sefer HaMitzvot (Positive Commandment #4), explains:

"This (a war over the mitzvah of living in and conquering Eretz Yisrael) is what our Sages call milchemet mitzvah (obligatory war).

In the Talmud (Sotah 44b) Rava said,

`Yehoshua's war of liberation was an obligatory duty according to all opinions.' One should not make the mistake of saying that this mitzvah only applies to the seven nations we were commanded to destroy… That is not so. We were commanded to destroy those nations when they fought against us and had they wished to make peace we could have done so under specific conditions. Yet we cannot leave the land in their control or in the control of any other nation in any generation … Behold, we are commanded with conquest in every generation… This is a positive commandment which applies for all time."

In Even HaEzer (segment of the Shulchan Aruch code of Jewish Law), the Pitchei Tshuva (6) states clearly that all of the Rishonim (early opinions) and Achronim (later opinions) rule like the Ramban on this mitzvah's relevancy to every generation.

But taking all of this into consideration, the question remains how the Jewish Nation today should behave towards the foreign peoples that currently reside within the Land of Israel.

Although there are many individual Arabs within our country who desire peace with Israel and reject the notion of a "Palestinian" state, when examining the situation from a purely legal perspective it is necessary to treat all Arabs as a single collective entity which is lamentably represented by what has become known as the "Palestinian" national movement.

The Gaon of Vilna explains in his commentary to CHABAKUK the uniqueness of Peleshet's function in this world. The Gaon points out that the verse in BEREISHIT 10:14, which introduces the Philistines to the stage of history, does not describe their birth as the Torah describes the birth of other peoples.

"And Mitzraim begot Ludim, Anamim, Lehavim, Naphtuhim, Patrusim, and Casluhim, whence the Pelishtim (Philistines) came forth, and Caphtorim." (BEREISHIT 10:13-14)

THE VILNA GAON TEACHES THAT EVEN THE BIRTH OF THE PHILISTINES WAS COMPLETELY UNNATURAL AND THAT THEY ARE ENTIRELY ABSENT FROM THE STAGE OF WORLD HISTORY EXCEPT FOR WHEN IT IS TIME FOR THEM TO SERVE THEIR SOLE FUNCTION IN CREATION.

When the Nation of Israel enters our homeland in order to build G-D's holy Kingdom – the Kingdom that will bless and uplift all of humanity to unimaginable levels of Divine goodness – the Philistines appear on the scene to try and prevent this Hebrew Kingdom from being established.

This was true when our patriarch Avraham first entered the land (there was a "land-for-peace" deal proposed by Avimelech of Grar), it occurred when his son Yitzhak was faced with Philistine aggression meant to frighten him away and it was true throughout the period of the Judges up until the secure establishment of the Davidic dynasty when Israel finally achieved full Hebrew sovereignty.

THE PHILISTINES THEN INEXPLICABLY DISAPPEAR FROM HISTORY UNTIL MODERN TIMES WHERE THEY (OR THEIR IDEOLOGICAL DESCENDENTS) ONCE AGAIN ATTEMPT TO HOLD UP THE CONSTRUCTION OF G-D'S KINGDOM ON EARTH.

The Gaon explains that without the force of Peleshet, Israel would be unable to rise up to our essential mission and realize the true significance of Jewish statehood in Eretz Yisrael.

The truth in the Gaon's words is evident today.

Because of the difficult struggle with the "Palestinians" – a non-existent nation that materialized only upon our return home – Israel has failed to simply exist as a normal nation but has instead been confronted with difficult questions of identity.

The brutal Arab-Israeli conflict that has raged for nearly a century has forced Israel to examine who and what we truly are, as well as the inner reason for returning home and establishing a Hebrew state.

Israel's troubles with the "Palestinians" force us to question our very connection to our soil and to question our national function in Creation.

By forcing out the bigger answers to the difficult questions they create, the modern day Philistines cause Israel to understand what it is that we are truly fighting for.

And by the time we are psychologically prepared to deal with our enemies appropriately, we will have already grasped the true purpose of establishing a Jewish state and blessing the world with HaShem's Divine light.