Divine Wisdom Reveals How Mercy Balances Harsh Commands

In Parshat Re’eh (a section of the Torah, the Five Books of Moses), the text describes the case of an ir hanidachas – a city whose inhabitants abandoned the faith and turned to idol worship. The commandment is chilling: the entire city, including men, women, children, animals, and possessions, must be obliterated and burned to the ground.

This mitzvah (divine commandment) raises a disturbing question. Should carrying out God’s will leave a person hardened and cruel? Shouldn’t fulfilling a mitzvah elevate one’s character, not erode it?

The 18th-century Torah commentator, the Ohr Hachaim (Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar), addresses this tension through the verse: “And Hashem will give you compassion and will have mercy on you” (Deuteronomy 13:18). He explains that the act of destroying an entire city could naturally desensitize a person, inclining him toward cruelty. To prevent this permanent impact, God grants those who perform this mitzvah an added measure of compassion – a divine gift to restore their humanity.

Notably, God could have miraculously prevented their hearts from being affected. Yet, He allowed nature to take its course, because the Torah insists on teaching a principle: actions have consequences, even in the service of a mitzvah.

King David, Israel’s greatest poet-warrior and author of many Psalms, exemplifies this principle. Although his wars were milchemet mitzvah (battles fought by divine command, such as defensive wars for Israel’s survival), his bloodstained hands disqualified him from building the Beit Hamikdash (the Holy Temple in Jerusalem). Despite his heartbreak, this was the natural consequence of a life of war.

So too with the ir hanidachas. Since cruelty was an inevitable outcome of the destruction, God’s compassion became the only way to counterbalance it.

The lesson reaches us as well. When pursuing mitzvot, we must be vigilant not to justify bad character traits along the way. One may earn a mitzvah but at the cost of acquiring a flaw. The Torah warns us: weigh the consequences, because every action shapes who you are.