Capturing Captives

When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that the Israelites were traveling along the Atarim Highway, he attacked them and took some captives.                                                Numbers 21:1

            Rabbi Yehonatan Eybschutz notes that the wording of the verse seems redundant, since the literal translation is: and he captured some captives. Rabbi Yehonatan quotes our Sages’ teaching [Avot 6:2] that none is free, save he who occupies himself with Torah, and understands the teaching to mean that one who occupies himself with Torah is free from the influence of the evil inclination (yetzer hara). Thus, it follows that one who does not occupy himself with Torah in essence is a captive of the evil inclination. Amalek was able to fight only against those who were not engaged in Torah, as our Sages [Midrash Tanḥuma, Yitro 50] explained the name Refidim, the site of Amalek’s attack “the hands of Israel were slackened (rafu yedeihem) from mitzvot.” Thus, says Rabbi Yehonatan, the wording of the verse is exact: Amalek captured captives, those who were already captives of the evil inclination.