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How can the Torah (תורה) permit a soldier to take a beautiful captive woman seemingly because of yetzer hara? The shiur develops that the Torah permits it for war strategy, but addresses the spiritual self-harm through required procedures. This connects to tzaraas laws - lashon hara doesn't just harm others but corrupts the speaker's soul by legitimizing bodily urges through speech.
Rabbi Zweig addresses a fundamental question about the mitzvah (מצוה) of Yefas Toar (beautiful captive woman): how can the Torah (תורה) permit what appears to be surrendering to the yetzer hara, when our purpose is to overcome it? He begins by questioning why Chazal specifically connect this law to yetzer hara rather than viewing it as one of the general wartime permissions (like eating non-kosher food). The analysis extends to the laws of tzaraas in the same parsha, where the Torah commands to guard against tzaraas and remember what happened to Miriam. Rabbi Zweig questions why the Torah frames the prohibition of lashon hara in terms of avoiding tzaraas rather than avoiding the sin itself - this seems to appeal to the lowest level of motivation (avoiding punishment).
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Parshas Ki Seitzei - Yefas Toar and Tzaraas laws
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What is the primary purpose of the cities of refuge - protecting the accidental killer or something else? The shiur argues that creating respect for law takes precedence over providing sanctuary. True deterrence comes from recognizing the gravity of murder itself, not fear of punishment.
