A large part of Parshat Matot is taken up with the war against the Midianites and its aftermath. It is interesting to note the uniqueness of this war in contradistinction to the other battles recorded in the Torah, and the Bible in general. Firstly, this war has spoils. In most of the other wars recorded in our sacred literature, the taking of booty was prohibited. This is not only true of the wars of conquest of the Land, under Joshua, but also of the war against the Aradites, earlier on in Numbers; and, indeed, of the fighting in the story of Purim. This war, also seemed to have uniquely caused unease among the people. This can be seen not only in the need for purification of men and equipment, but also in the unsolicited donation by the army of gold to the Tabernacle: ‘in order to atone for our souls’. What is the reason for the seemingly unique character of this war? It can be argued that all the other wars engaged in by the Jewish people, from Joshua to Esther, were wars of self defence or at least self interest. These were battles fought for the Land or to protect the Jewish people from aggression. The war against the Midianites was, uniquely, an ideological war, fought with the sole purpose of punishing the Midianites for their complicity in the plot if Bilaam. The Midianites, themselves, were no actual threat, but their unprovoked hatred of Israel needed to be avenged. This can explain the differences between this war and other battles in the Bible. In wars of national self interest, or self defence, it is necessary to concentrate on the morality of the task at hand, and not to be distracted by thoughts of personal gain. The taking of spoil in such cases is therefore prohibited. In an ideological conflict, however, the opposite is true. The great moral crusade can turn into uncontrolled fanaticism. Therefore, the taking of spoil is permitted, in order to dampen somewhat the pure ideological zeal with material considerations. For this reason, also, a sense of unease seems to permeate the actions of the fighters following the conflict. Ideological conflict, especially in the name of G-d, can unleash forces that stray far beyond the bounds of normal morality. It is necessary to purify oneself of these negative emotions. Holy war may rarely be necessary, but it is always dangerous.

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