The Torah in Parashat Shoftim (Debarim 20:16-18) commands regarding the seven ancient nations that populated Eretz Yisrael, “Lo Tehayeh Kol Neshama” – none of them may be left alive. This verse introduces a prohibition against allowing any member of these nations – the Kena’ani, Perizi, Hivi, Yebusi, Hitti, Girgashi and Emori – to live.
The Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that although King David eliminated the vast majority of these peoples, some remained alive, and now live among the other nations of the world. It appears from the Sefer Ha’hinuch’s comment that in his view, this Misva is still, in principle, applicable, even nowadays. Of course, we cannot fulfill this Misva in practice, because we do not know who among today’s gentiles descend from these nations, but in theory, we are bound by this Misva.
If, indeed, this is the Sefer Ha’hinuch’s intent, then we must conclude that he understood that this Misva commands not waging war against these seven nations, but rather an obligation to kill all members of these peoples. If this were an obligation to wage war, then it would apply only when Beneh Yisrael live in their land and are involved in capturing Eretz Yisrael.
Indeed, the Sefer Ha’hinuch also writes that one is obligated to kill the members of these nations only if this would not pose any danger to his life. If this were an obligation to wage war, then, quite obviously, it would apply despite the risk to life, because obligatory wars must be fought irrespective of the danger entailed. Thus, this remark, too, seems to prove that the Sefer Ha’hinuch understood this Misva as an obligation to eliminate these nations, and not an obligation to wage war against them. Accordingly, in the Sefer Ha’hinuch’s view, this obligation is assigned to every individual who is in a position to eliminate a member of the seven nations. If this were an obligation to wage war, it would be assigned to the king or leaders who have the authority and ability to mobilize an army and go out to war. According to the Sefer Ha’hinuch, however, this is an obligation that rests upon every member of Am Yisrael with the ability to eliminate members of the seven nations of Canaan.
This marks a rare instance where the Sefer Ha’hinuch diverges from the view of the Rambam. Normally, the Sefer Ha’hinuch follows the Rambam’s understanding of the Misvot, but in this case, he takes a different approach. The Rambam writes that this Misva applies only when the laws of warfare apply, when Beneh Yisrael live in their land. In his view, this Misva is assigned not to every individual, but to the nation collectively, and thus the leaders bear the responsibility to wage war against these seven enemy nations. This is in contrast to the view of the Sefer Ha’hinuch, that this Misva is assigned to every individual.