Parashat Ki-Tetzeh begins with a certain law that applies during times of war, and it introduces the topic by stating, כי תצא למלחמה על אויביך – “When you go out to battle over your enemies…”
A number of commentators noted that the Torah here uses the plural form – אויביך, “your enemies.” It speaks of the people fighting not against one enemy, but about multiple enemies.
One explanation for this nuance is that whenever we confront a battle of any sort, we are, in truth, fighting on two fronts – externally, and internally. Whenever we face an external enemy, we are also threatened by an internal enemy.
On the one hand, of course, we are fighting the actual enemy, whoever or whatever it is that threatens us. But in addition, we need to wage an internal struggle within ourselves – against our own weaknesses. During times of challenge, we can get lazy and feel helpless. We can lose our confidence and our determination. We might decide to give up, to surrender, to not even bother trying. And so we need to struggle against the problem that we face, and also against our internal instinct to be lazy.
Terry Fox was a young Canadian athlete who developed a type of cancer called osteosarcoma, which required the amputation of his right leg. After the amputation, Terry needed to undergo 16 months of intensive chemotherapy – and even all this gave him just a 50 percent chance of survival.
In 1980, at the age of 21, with a prosthetic leg, Terry embarked on what he called the “Marathon of Hope,” jogging from one end of Canada to the other, in order to raise money for cancer research. His run began on April 12, and he was forced to stop on September 1, when he fell ill, as his cancer had returned and spread to his lungs. He died the next year, in June. By the time he ended his run, Terry had raised $1.7 million for cancer research.
Terry Fox unfortunately lost his external battle, but he scored a resounding victory in his internal struggle. He remained determined and driven despite the obstacles that stood in his way. He continued running in brutal weather, and while suffering intense pain, undeterred. This is how one wins the internal struggle.
For the last year and a half, we have been waging a difficult struggle against the covid-19 pandemic, which has posed great challenges for each and every one of us. But alongside the pragmatic challenges, we have also been forced to waged an internal struggle – to muster the strength, determination and resolve to continue growing and achieving despite these challenges. It is tempting to just surrender, to say, “It’s too hard” and compromise our standards because of the new realities that have set in. But we have to be better than that. We should follow the example set by Terry Fox, the example of persevering, of making the effort, of not taking the easy way out, of pushing ourselves to our furthest limits so we can achieve greatness even under challenging circumstances.
We have very little control over this external enemy. We need to do our best to follow the guidelines of medical experts, but ultimately, the future is in Hashem’s hands. However, the battle against our internal enemy is entirely up to us. Let us wage this war with confidence and determination, and work our hardest to continue growing as people, as spouses, as parents, as community members, and as servants of Hashem.