MAKING PEACE VS. WAGING WAR
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In Parshat Vayishlach, Yaakov embraces diplomacy eith Esav while Shimon and Levi choose confrontation with Shechem. What determines the difference? Rabbi Dunner explores the Torah’s two models for responding to danger, and how these ancient principles illuminate Israel’s dilemmas today — from the Abraham Accords to October 7th. When do we make peace, and when must we wage war?
There is a particular kind of self-destructive confidence that exists only at the very top of a brutal regime. It isn’t courage, and it certainly isn’t principle. It’s raw hubris,... Read More