Three Unique Commandments: What They Teach Us About the Timelessness of Torah

In the portion of Ki Teitzei, there are about fifty commandments. Among these, three stand out: it begins with the case of the beautiful captive, in the middle, there's the prohibition of erecting a standing stone, and at the end, the commandment to obliterate Amalek.

What makes these commandments special?

The commandment regarding the beautiful captive, despite being stated in the Torah, is explained by our Sages as something that doesn't align with Hashem's will; it was given only to counteract the evil inclination.

The prohibition of the standing stone, which the Torah strictly forbids, was once a method for serving Hashem. Abraham erected stones for Hashem, and even Moses set one up. However, our Sages explained that the standing stone became "loathed" by Hashem because idol worshippers adopted this practice.

The obliteration of Amalek is a commandment that we cannot fulfill, as Sennacherib mixed up the nations. Yet, we are commanded to remember it forever; every year, we commemorate it, a commandment we cannot physically fulfill.

Seemingly, these commandments that indicate a shift in situation challenge the concept of the Torah's eternality. If the Torah is eternal, why do we see change?

Eternity is a remarkable trait considered beyond human capacity. Humans do not typically engage in eternal acts; everything for them is temporary. However, when we look at nature, we see that lifeless objects can easily attain "eternal life": the Foundation Stone was formed atop Mount Moriah and simply stands there. The sea has existed since the world's creation, showing no intention of going anywhere. But there's no wisdom in that; to be a stone forever is not a unique quality. The special virtue of eternity is its ability to triumph over impossible conditions.

Inanimate objects usually face no resistance. At most, a storm can move a stone or break it into pieces, and even that happens once in a millennium.

Life inherently faces resistance. It's not just the life dependent on the incredible function of millions of tiny parts in the body, but every single action we take. Every idea we generate, every physical creation we make—events occur at any moment that can destroy, erase, change, or consume what is linked to humans and their creations. If an idea or a human creation endures for several generations, it is a significant achievement.

Thus, the sort of eternity akin to that of a stone is meaningless. The stone doesn't conquer anything, for it does nothing; it creates nothing; it simply exists. If the Torah were eternal in this manner, it wouldn't possess divine virtue. A petrified Torah, which decrees one monolithic rule, cannot act and transform the world.

The Torah's role is to teach precisely this, and the portion is called "Ki Teitzei"—"when you go out"—as opposed to the previous portion, for example, "judges and officers shalt thou make"—a definitive command. Here, the portion discusses "should you find yourself," as in: when you go out to war.

When one reads the Torah without the Oral Torah, it can indeed be interpreted in a petrified manner, which was the downfall of the Samaritans, Sadducees, Karaites, and others who did not recognize the living spirit of the Torah, which passes through tradition from generation to generation. They might see the taking of a beautiful captive as a positive commandment applicable to every person, just as they understood many other commandments in a rigid manner. For instance, the Karaites interpreted "no one may leave his place" literally and did not leave their homes on Shabbat. "You shall kindle no fire"—so they sit in darkness and eat cold food.

The Oral Torah teaches us that this commandment is an "if you find yourself"—when you go out to war, and the evil inclination might overcome you, this is how you should act following the rules described in the portion. Yet this is not the ultimate goal.

Similarly, regarding the commandment of the standing stone: the Torah itself describes the patriarchs and Moses setting up stones, hence it emphasizes "which Hashem hates". The Torah is not petrified like a stone monument; it is connected to spiritual life and is oppositional to idolatry. Since idol worshippers erected stones and degraded this practice, one cannot simply say: "I know the teaching, I will do what Abraham our father, of blessed memory, did no matter what." The Torah teaches us to observe our surroundings. What was fit in Abraham's time may change.

It's clear that such determinations can only rely on the Written Torah or Oral Torah, and a person cannot change the Torah from personal conviction. Conversely, the Torah aims to teach us how to derive these rules from the Torah itself. Our Sages already explained the Torah's laws, demonstrating how they are not petrified but address the ever-changing circumstances of the world.

The lesson from the commandment to obliterate Amalek is another very important aspect and a fundamental condition for the Torah's eternity. One might think, if the Torah discussed an action no longer feasible, the law must be irrelevant. This commandment, however, flips the scenario: though Amalek no longer exists, forgotten, its essence obliterated, the commandment is more than just its execution. The eternal lesson the Torah conveys is that there is absolute evil in the world, evil earmarked for destruction, and it is forbidden to have mercy upon it. While we lack a Sanhedrin to decide concrete law, this perspective is essential for understanding creation's narrative.

Thus, these three commandments are the modes of warfare the Torah instructs us in: the battle against the evil inclination, against idolatrous practices, and against the malefactors of the world declaring war on faith in Hashem. And precisely due to their complexity, expressed in the Written Torah and further elucidated in the Oral Torah, they remain eternal. They guide us here and now, in the year 5784.

In the days of Abraham our forefather, there was a great and powerful king in Babylon named Hammurabi, who wrote a famous code of laws with hundreds of ordinances. Today, not a single person in humanity finds a word in Hammurabi's laws relevant to his life. Those laws were engraved in stone but fossilized, permanently etched on the stones, and there they remain. The laws of the Torah are etched in our hearts, and each of us lives the concepts taught in the portion of Ki Teitzei, understanding the need of "counteracting the evil inclination", the recognition that "something detestable, due to being done by heathens", and the obligation to know and remember there exists absolute evil in the world that has no remedy and must not be shown mercy.