משנה: וְהָיָה כְּכַלּוֹת הַשּׁוֹטְרִים לְדַבֵּר אֶל הָעָם וּפָֽקְדוּ שָׂרֵי צְבָאוֹת בְּרֹאשׁ הָעָם. בַּעֲקֵיבוֹ שֶׁלָּעָם מַעֲמִידִין זְקִיפִים לִפְנֵיהֶם וַאֲחֵרִים מֵאֲחוֹרֵיהֶם וְכַשִּׁילִים שֶׁלְּבַרְזֶל בִּידֵיהֶן וְכָל־הַמְבַקֵּשׁ לַחֲזוֹר הָרְשׁוּת בִּידֵיהֶן לְקַפֵּחַ אֶת שׁוֹקָיו שֶׁתְּחִילַּת נְפִילָה נִיסָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר נָס יִשְׂרָאֵל לִפְנֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים וְגַם מַגֵּיפָה גְדוֹלָה הָֽיְתָה בָעָם. וּלְהַלָּן הוּא אוֹמֵר וַיָּנוּסוּ אַנְשֵׁי יִשְׂרָאֵל לִפְנֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים וַיִפְּלוּ חֲלָּלִים בְּהַר הַגִּלְבּוֹעַ. בַּמֶּה דְבָרִים אֲמוּרִים בְּמִלְחֶמֶת הָרָשׁוּת אֲבָל בְּמִלְחֶמֶת מִצְוָה הַכֹּל יוֹצְאִין אֲפִילוּ חָתָן מֵחֶדְרוֹ וְכַלָּה מֵחוּפָּתָהּ. אָמַר רִבִּי יְהוּדָה בַּמֶּה דְבָרִים אֲמוּרִים בְּמִלְחֶמֶת מִצְוָה אֲבָל בְּמִלְחֶמֶת חוֹבָה הַכֹּל יוֹצְאִין אֲפִילוּ חָתָן מֵחֶדְרוֹ וְכַלָּה מֵחוּפָּתָהּ. MISHNAH: “When the policemen finish to speak to the people, the officers will have taken up position at the head of the people.223Deuteronomy.20.9">Deut. 20:9.” Behind the people one puts up people with backups armed with iron axes and they have permission to break the legs of anyone who desires to abandon his post since flight is the start of falling, as it is said2241S. 4:17.: “Israel fled from before the Philistines and a great plague was among the people.” Further on it says2251S. 31:1., “the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and slain fell on Mount Gilboa.” About what have these things be said226The preceding Mishnaiot which gave permission to a number of people to be excused from military service.? About a war of choice, but in a war of obligation227The definitions are a matter of discussion in the Halakhah. everybody goes out, even a groom from his room and a bride from her bridal chamber228One might assume that the groom’s room is the bride’s bridal chamber. The expression is from Joel.2.16">Joel2:16.. Rebbi Jehudah said, about what have these things been said? About a war of obligation, but in a war of duty everybody goes out, even a groom from his room and a bride from her bridal chamber.
הלכה: כְּתִיב וְהָיָה כְּכַלּוֹת הַשּׁוֹטְרִים לְדַבֵּר אֶל הָעָם וּפָֽקְדוּ שָׂרֵי צְבָאוֹת בְּרֹאשׁ הָעָם. אֵין לִי אֶלָּא בְרֹאשׁ הָעָם. בְּסוֹף הָעָם מְנַיִין. תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר פָּקְדוּ וּפָֽקְדוּ. עַד כְּדוֹן כְּרִבִּי עֲקִיבָה. כְּרִבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל. רִבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל כְּרִבִּי מֵאִיר. דְּרִבִי מֵאִיר צְװַח לְסוֹפֵיהּ דְחֶבְלָא רֵישֵׁיהּ. HALAKHAH: It is written: “When the policemen finish to speak to the people, the officers will have taken up position at the head of the people.” Not only in front of the people, from where also behind the people? The verse says, “take up position”, “and take up position”229R. Aqiba considers every vaw at the beginning of a word as indication of an addition, even in a case of a vaw conversive when an imperative would need the same number of letters.. That follows Rebbi Aqiba. Following Rebbi Ismael? Rebbi Ismael follows Rebbi Meïr, since Rebbi Meïr used to call the end of a rope its head.
אָמַר רִבִּי מֵאִיר. כְּתִיב הֶחָכָם עֵינָיו בְּרֹאשׁוֹ. הַכְּסִיל בְּמַה. בְּרַגְלָיו. אָמַר רִבִּי אַבָּא מָרִי. הֶחָכָם עַד שֶׁהוּא בְּרֹאשׁוֹ שֶׁלְּדָבָר הוּא יוֹדֵעַ מַה בְּסוֹפוֹ. גַד גְּדוּד יְגוּדֶּנּוּ. גַייְסָא אָתִי מְגַייְסַתֵּיהּ וְהוּא מְגַייֵס לֵיהּ. Rebbi Meïr said: It is written230Ecclesiastes.2.14">Eccl. 2:14., “the wise man’s eyes are in his head.” The stupid one’s are where? In his legs231This parallels the German saying that one must have in one’s legs what he does not have in his head.. Rebbi Abba Mari said, the wise man knows what will be the final outcome when he starts something. “Gad, a troop will gang up on him232Genesis.49.19">Gen. 49:19. The reference naturally is to the entire verse, “Gad, a troop will gang up on him but he will catch their heel.”.” A troop comes to rob him, and he robs them.
כֵּינִי מַתְנִיתָה. שֶׁתְּחִילַּת נְפִילָה נִיסָה. So is the Mishnah: “Since flight is the start of falling233This is the text of the Mishnah in the Leiden ms., but not in the Rome ms. nor in the Babli or the overwhelming majority of Mishnah mss. The original text reads שֶׁתְּחִילַּת נִיסָה נְפִילָה “since falling is the start of flight.” In the Sotah.44b">Babli, 44b, the text is corrected as it is here.”.
אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן מַשְׁמָעוּת בֵּינֵיהֶן. רִבִּי יְהוּדָה הָיָה קוֹרֵא לְמִלְחֶמֶת הָֽרְשׁוּת מִלְחֶמֶת מִצְוָה. אֲבָל בְּמִלְחֶמֶת חוֹבָה הַכֹּל יוֹצֵא אֲפִילוּ חָתָן מֵחֶדְרוֹ וְכַלָּה מֵחוּפָּתָהּ. אָמַר רַב חִסְדָּא. מַחֲלוֹקֶת בֵּינֵיהוֹן. רַבָּנִין אָֽמְרִין. מִלְחֶמֶת מִצְוָה זוֹ מִלְחֶמֶת דָּוִד. מִלְחֶמֶת חוֹבָה זוֹ מִלְחֶמֶת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ. רִבִּי יְהוּדָה הָיָה קוֹרֵא מִלְחֶמֶת [מִצְוָה] כְּגוֹן אֲנָן דְּאָֽזְלִין עֲלֵיהוֹן. מִלְחֶמֶת חוֹבָה כְּגוֹן דְּאַתְייָן אִינּוּן עֲלֵינָן. כְּתִיב וְהַמֶּלֶךְ אָסָא הִשְׁמִיעַ אֶת כָּל־יְהוּדָה אֵין נָקִי. מָהוּ אֵין נָקִי. רִבִּי סִימוֹן וְרַבָּנִין. רִבִּי סִימוֹן אָמַר. אֵין נָקִי לְבֵיתוֹ שָׁעָה אַחַת. וְרַבָּנִין אָֽמְרִין. לֵית רְבִי בֵּרִיבִּי. Rebbi Joḥanan said, usage is between them; Rebbi Jehudah called a war of choice a war of obligation. “But in a war of duty everybody goes out, even a groom from his room and a bride from her bridal chamber.” Rav Ḥisda said235In the Sotah.44b">Babli, 44b, this is the opinion of Rav Ḥisda’s son-in-law Rava., they disagree. The rabbis say, a war of obligation was the war of David. A war of duty was the war of Joshua. Rebbi Jehudah called it a war of obligation if we went out against them236In the Babli, this is restricted to a preventive attack.; a war of duty if they attacked us. It is written: “King Asa proclaimed in all of Jehudah, nobody is free2371K. 15:22.”. What means “nobody is free”? Rebbi Simon and the rabbis. Rebbi Simon said, nobody is free to return home even for one hour238He abolished the exemption of the newlywed, Deuteronomy.24.5">Deut. 24:5.. But the rabbis say, there is no exemption for a scholar, son of a scholar239Who claim a general exemption from public works. In the opinion of the Sotah.10a">Babli, 10a, he abolished the exemptions both of the newlywed and of the scholar..