DEUT40 In another Torah narrative, we may be able to infer that Moses himself was sensitive to the needless killing of innocents, even in order to capture the land of Israel. After numerous wars in the desert against various nations, the Torah records that the Jewish people offered peace to the nation of Sichon if the Sichonites would simply let the Jewish people pass through their land unharmed. When they refused, the Jews battled with them and defeated them. But nowhere did God ever command Moses to first offer them peace (Numbers 21:21-23 with Rashi commentary). Elsewhere the Torah itself says that it was Moses' own idea to offer peace as an alternative to war (this and next verse with Rashi commentary). Why did Moses do it? The Midrash alludes to one possible reason. It says Moses believed there were among Sichon those innocents who had not sinned, and it was apparently for this reason that Moses decided to offer the specific nation the possibility of peace (which they refused) Midrash Tanchuma 96:3). Thus, in order to avoid killing non-sinners, Moses preferred a peaceful alternative. The Midrash goes on to say that Moses "taught" God this concept, to always first offer peace to the enemy before going to war (Deuteronomy 20:10-16). It is possible that the reason behind this tactic is to avoid killing innocent people during warfare. There is one more allusion to Jewish sensitivity to collateral damage in the Bible. In the last book of narrative, Chronicles, which reviews Jewish history up until that point, King David writes that the reason that he was not allowed to build the Holy Temple is that he shed blood in wars. The Radak explains that this specifically refers to acts of collateral damage, the innocent lives that had to be taken by King David in the course of war (Chronicles I 22:8 with Rashi commentary). Thus, according to a modern Rabbi explaining this verse and commentary, while this action of killing citizens was sometimes necessary as part of waging war, Judaism did not attach enough guilt to this deed to actively punish King David for this necessary action, but rather denied him the merit of building the Holy Temple, which is the symbol of peace and atonement (Rabbi Asher Weiss, Michat Asher on Deuteronomy 32:6).

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DEUT67 A Jew need not take part in a sports competition for the purpose of winning (See chapter, "Competition") in order to be active in sports. Sports can also be used as a means to exercise the body. Improving the health of the body is actually a religious act, one of the 613 Torah commandments, to protect one's body from harm [this verse, Deuteronomy 4:15]. One commentary quotes Maharsha, who asks why at the end of verse about protecting the safety of the body it also mentions that Jews should not have any idols or physical representations of God. What is the connection between these two diverse ideas in the same verse? He answers that just as converting a totally spiritual God into a physical being violates a religious Torah principle, so too, by ignoring and not protecting the physical representation that God gave them, Jews also violate a religious principle of the Torah (Orot HaChumash, Parshat Ve'etchanan 4:15). Thus, exercise of the body as a means to keep it healthy seems to be a religious act. Isaiah also taught that just as God guides souls to make them better and maximize them, so too God guides bodies to maximize them as well (Isaiah 58:11).

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DEUT69 Self-protection and survival are basic instincts and needs for every species. It is certainly part of human nature as well. But this idea is also one of the 613 commandments in the Torah. The Torah commands a Jew to protect himself or herself [this verse] and repeats this warning a few verses later [Deuteronomy 4:16]. Specifically, when it comes to saving oneself from danger, the Talmud is very sensitive to this requirement, as it states that the possibility of danger sometimes supersedes observing Jewish law (Chulin 10a).

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DEUT70 Unlike other sports, in wrestling and especially in boxing, the chances of inflicting damage and bodily harm on the opponent are very high, since essentially that is the goal of the activity in defeating an opponent. The same verse[s] used above to encourage exercise and keep the body healthy [are] also the same verse[s] that may prohibit boxing and wrestling, because these activities almost always result in some bodily damage, which may violate the commandment[s] of keeping the body healthy [this verse and Deuteronomy 4:15]. The Talmud clearly states that causing someone else bodily harm is forbidden (Bava Kama 91b). If harming another human being intentionally is forbidden, then all wrestling and certainly all boxing should be forbidden for a Jew. And yet we see that the sports are permitted in certain circumstances. How can this be? Maimonides helps to provide an answer to this question. Although he rules it is forbidden to harm one's own body and certainly someone else's body, the prohibition is only if it is done between two people so angry at each other that they come to blows (Maimonides, Hilchot Chovel U'Mazik 5:1). ... Rabbi Asher (Responsa Rosh 201:6) [states] that normally a person is liable even if the blow was not intentional. In this case, however, because both opponents entered the ring willingly and knowing that damage might occur in the course of the bout, and because the blow was not intended to inflict permanent damage, then both opponents accept the risk when they enter the ring, and a participant in the sport is not liable. ... This view of wrestling and boxing and the liability for damage it may cause was codified by the son of Rabbeinu Asher in his book, the Tur (Tur, Choshen Mishpat 421:5). Based on these rulings, Shulchan Aruch, the Code of Jewish Law, also rules that wrestling and boxing are indeed permitted and that any damage as a result of the match does not an individual liable for damages (Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 421:5).

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DEUT103 See [[DEUT69]] Deuteronomy 4:9 care AMJV 117

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DEUT104 See [[DEUT67]] Deuteronomy 4:9 careful AMJV 328

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DEUT105 See [[DEUT70]] Deuteronomy 4:9 careful AMJV 331-2

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DEUT107 See [[EXOD568]] Exodus 21:19 cure AMJV 17

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DEUT117 There is another reason that Jews have developed a special sensitivity to be good. The experience of suffering in Egypt acted like a spiritual refinery, says God, as explained by Rashi (commentary on this verse). As Jews suffered so much for so long due to the evil of their oppressors, they developed a loathing towards doing evil to others, and especially help underdogs who suffer as they did. This idea is also reflected in the words of Isaiah when he describes that this process is also part of the reason God chose to Jewish people to be His nation (Isaiah 48:10).

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DEUT118 … if a statement can be understood in two possible ways, and the listener understands it in the "wrong" manner (in a situation that it is permitted to lie), then that kind of statement is preferable to an out-and-out lie (Aruch Lenair commentary on Yevamot 65b). He gives the example of Abraham declaring that Sara was his sister. This too was not an outright lie as we know that Sara was Abraham's niece (Genesis 11:29 with Rashi commentary). In many languages, including Hebrew, the word for niece or nephew is a form of the word for brother or sister (after all, a niece or nephew is the child of a sibling). Thus, when Abraham said Sarah was his sister, it was not an absolute lie. In the passage above that says that Jews are permitted or obligated to tell all brides that they are beautiful (Ketubot 16b), the beauty may refer to inner beauty or, as mentioned above, the intended meaning can be that for that groom on the wedding night, she really is beautiful. Thus, "a beautiful bride" is also not a complete lie. The Talmud recalls the story of Rabbi Eliezer who was arrested for heresy, i.e., practicing Judaism. When the non-Jewish court asked Rabbi Eliezer how he could believe in such a foolish thing called Judaism, Rabbi Eliezer answered, "The judge is correct." Rabbi Eliezer was referring to God, the Judge who is always correct. But the judge in the court (mistakenly) believed that Rabbi Eliezer was referring to him, and on that basis pardoned him (Avodah Zara 16b). Thus, a statement that can be interpreted two ways with some truth to it is the preferred type of lie. Rava said that a Torah scholar was permitted to say, "I am a worshiper of fire, and therefore, will not pay the poll tax." Apparently, this tax was levied upon Jews, but not upon Persians who worshipped fire, and thus the Torah scholar who said this was excused from the tax. But this scholar was actually referring to God, who is also referred to as fire, unbeknownst to the Persian tax collector (Nedarim 62b, this verse]. This type of lie is then permitted. The double meaning does not allow a lie to be spoken in the first place, but when it is allowed anyway, a lie with one possible true meaning is always preferred. Thus, a modern Rabbi rules that if the only way to achieve peace (for past events that will not harm anyone) is by lying, one should nevertheless try to lie in a way that can be interpreted in two manners, with one way being the truth. Furthermore, even a Jew who is permitted to lie in a specific circumstance should always try to limit the words of untruth as much as possible (Niv Sefatayim, Hilchot Issurei Sheker 2:9-10).

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