According to one interpretation, offered by R. Yehiel Michel Epstein, any war initiated because there is some concern of being attacked may be deemed a mitzvah. Such a definition draws from a medieval ruling allowing violation of Shabbat restrictions in preparation for an anticipated (but not yet actualized) attack.

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Others, in contrast, seem to assert that an attack against a nation that is not clearly and imminently threatening a Jewish community would be deemed as “discretionary.” Only when the enemy is clearly on the move may one rise up and attack first.

By either definition, the Six Day War was certainly justified.

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Beyond the problem of defining these categories, it remains difficult to assess, in practice, what type of threat is imminent and what is less pressing. Yet getting these decisions correct can be the difference between triumph and travail, life and death. Israel learned this both from the triumph of the Six Day War and the tragic opening period of the Yom Kippur War.

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In this respect, a sliding scale might emerge in which the more distant the threat appears, the greater amount of consultation must be taken, as was done in the Talmudic Sanhedrin.

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Launching a discretionary war must not be a capricious decision. While consultation is no guarantee of making the right choice, it does provide an important check on the country’s leaders not to cavalierly enter into warfare.

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The writer is co-dean of the Tikvah Online Academy and a postdoctoral fellow at Bar-Ilan University Law School.

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Is preemptive warfare allowed in Jewish law?

Getting these decisions right can be the difference between triumph and travail.

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