In Search of Peace

The pursuit of peace must be a constant concern of humankind, and even more so in these times when hatred and violence are multiplying.

One of the most precious values ​​that the Bible proposes to humanity is to strive diligently to achieve peace in life. The text with which the priests had to bless the people referred to a blessing from God to the people to take care of them and protect them, to enlighten them with God´s presence and grace. The blessing culminates with the phrase: “May God return His face towards you and give you peace” [1]. The ultimate goal of all the actions by which God will bless Israel is that there be peace in each of its members. The end of days is envisioned by Isaiah (2:1-4) and Micah (4:1-4) as the moment of God's revelation, wherein the Holy One judges the nations and a reality is formed in which war is no more.   

But what is peace in its essence?

The first necessary condition for peace is the absence of open conflict. However, this alone is not sufficient; a mere lack of conflict creates a fragile, circumstantial quiet that can easily become a breeding ground for future wars. Therefore, the second necessary condition for achieving lasting peace is to address and transform the feelings of hatred that individuals or nations harbor toward one another.

The biblical text views the retention of hatred—both individually and collectively—as a serious transgression. In Leviticus 19:17, the people of Israel is commanded, "Do not hate your brother in your heart," while in Amos 1:11, the prophet fiercely rebukes the Edomites for perpetually maintaining animosity toward their brothers, the people of Israel [2]; from which it follows that the precept is also part of universal ethics in the biblical vision.

The reasons that generate a hatred that leads to the destruction of the other may have originated from some cause that irritates each of the parties, or from mere antipathy between them, or from a scarcity of resources, or from some destructive component found in the human constitution. Moses, the greatest teacher the people of Israel had delivered before his death a short lesson to his people that encompasses the essence of all his teachings. In Deuteronomy 30:19-20 we read:

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

It is interesting to note the parallelism between these verses and the arguments that Sigmund Freud gave to Albert Einstein in an exchange of letters in 1932 about the causes of wars and how to overcome them [3]. Freud concludes his analysis through the paradigm of drives toward life and death that are found in the constitution of the human being. When Thanatos overcomes the Eros of life, destruction is unleashed. The only way to overcome the drive to destroy, Freud says, is through culture, through civilization. In the English edition of Freud's works there is a footnote at the end of the response to Einstein in Why War? [4], where other writings in which Freud speaks about this topic are cited.

In Freud´s perception, as in the biblical, the individual must exercise his mind in order to achieve the condition of pacifism. He must fight with his drives, to use Freud’s  psychoanalytic language, or, in rabbinic parlance, the Yetzer Ha-Tov (the drive for good) must overcome the Yetzer Ha-Ra (drive toward evil and dominance) [5]. For the Bible, this struggle must lead to choosing compliance with divine precepts; for Freud it is the building up of civilization.  

When Cain was dismayed that God had not received his offering but accepted Abel's, a feeling of hatred towards his brother arose in him. It is in this circumstance that God warns Cain [6]:

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?   If you do what is right, you will stand up (be upright?) [7]. But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

God's warning to Cain resembles the one Moses gives to the people of Israel, quoted above, as explained by the exegete Rabbi David Kimchi [8]. 

It should be added that, in the rabbis’ understanding, the Yetzer Ha-Ra was created by God to fulfill a necessary function in the life of human beings. In the Midrash Bereshit Raba, chapter 9, the teaching of Rabbi Naḥman bar Shmuel bar Naḥman in the name of Rav Shmuel bar Naḥman is cited. The sage analyzed the expression that appears in Genesis 1:31 about God's appreciation when observing creation once it was finished: And behold it was very good. What is the function of “And” in the verse?

The sage said following the midrashic reasoning: “‘Behold it was very good’ refers to the Yetzer Ha-Tov; the additional word ‘and’ refers to the Yetzer Ha-Ra.” The midrash continues: “Is the evil inclination, then, very good? Rather, were it not for the evil inclination, a man would never build a house, would never marry a wife, would never beget children, and would never engage in commerce. As King Solomon said: ‘[And I have seen all toil and all excelling in work,] that it is each man's envy of his neighbor’” (Ecclesiastes 4:4).

In his response to Einstein in Why War?, Freud also mentions the function that the drive of destruction and death functions as a complement to the function of life. The challenge of Homo Culturalis is to sublimate the evil drive, transforming it into a tool for the development of the individual and society. In the Freudian scheme, religion is nothing more than an illusion that helps people transform into Homo Culturalis, quoting André Luiz Geske [9]:

When frustrations, distresses and the feeling of powerlessness attack man’s life, he searches for consolation. He has a fear of the toughness of reality; he is feeble as a child, he searches for his father’s protection. Then, man as a child before the nature makes gods just like the image of his father to protect him, to console him from the toughness of nature. This dynamic is the result of man as the creator of culture. Religion as an illusion helps man to carry on his cultural and civilizing task and, then, at this moment, he becomes Homo Culturalis, because the instincts are channeled in order to promote societal development.  

Unlike Freud's vision, the biblical challenge is to become Homo Culturalis as a consequence of being Homo Religiosus. Culture, understood as the knowledge acquired, the arts developed and the norms that allow coexistence, results, in the biblical point of view, from a requirement, a mandate, from God to human beings [10]. 

We find in the Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 11:6) that Rabbi Hoshayiah maintained that 'everything that was created during the six days of Creation requires some action [to bring it to its perfected state], e.g., mustard requires sweetening, lupines require sweetening, wheat requires grinding. And even man needs to be perfected.’ It is the work that each individual must do on himself to reach the status of Homo Culturalis. In the Midrash Tanchuma (Parshat Shemini 7) it is explained that the precepts were given by God to refine the people. In this, Freud, in whose creative work his Jewish background played a great role [11], agrees with the rabbinic vision: that people must be tough on themselves to ensure that their instincts always defeat the impulses of death and destruction.

History teaches us that there is a continuous process of conflict within humanity from its dawn to the present. Conflicts gradually move from less violent states to situations of great violence. Should we conclude that as long as human beings have the genetic-psychic constitution that characterizes them, wars and aggression will never be overcome?

This is a Jewish answer to this question:

The path for Peace (from the Prophets to Rabbis) [12]

In the second chapter of the book of Isaiah (1-5), there is one of the most significant scriptural texts regarding universal peace. It is difficult to find a parallel to it in the universal literature of antiquity that reveals the concept of universal peace in such a comprehensive, clear, and forceful way. The prophecy includes all peoples. The achievement of peace will occur when God dispenses justice [13] and, as a consequence, destructive weapons are transformed into tools of work and production.

According to the introductory verses of his book and those of Isaiah, Micah was younger than Isaiah [14]. In chapter four, Micah repeats the prophecy, but with some differences from Isaiah's version that we consider to be the prior one. He adds a verse that extends the message of Isaiah's prophecy. In Micah 4:4, we read:

Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken. 

The verse describes a reality of absolute peace that is interrupted by no one and by nothing. According to Isaiah 11, nature will still accompany humanity at that time, eliminating all predatory actions among animals. It is worth mentioning that this concept is also found in Leviticus 26:6, but referring to the blessing that the people of Israel will only have if they abide by the precepts revealed by God on Mount Sinai. The verse says:

I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country.

The expression “no one will make you afraid” –ve'ein macharid- is the same as in Micah's text.

The first nine verses of Isaiah 11 describe a world without violence in which the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie with the goat, the bear will graze with the cow, and with them the calf, the lion and the ox, while a child will lead them, while reigning at that time will be a king who will dispense justice, righteousness and equity by virtue of his spiritual depth (righteousness?). 

How should these verses be interpreted? Should they be taken literally or metaphorically? The answers to these questions reflect a fundamental attitude towards humanity's essence. If taken literally, it implies that achieving peace is only possible through a change in nature. Just as animals' aggressiveness can only be overcome through a change in their genetic makeup, so it is the same with unbridled human passions.

On the other hand, if we interpret the verses metaphorically, we see the images of non-aggressiveness among animals as symbols of the 'wolves' and 'lambs' of human society. In this case, the prophet's words would reveal faith in the possible transcendence and sublimation of destructive instincts, leading to a reality of peace and spiritual harmony.

These two interpretative possibilities were already exposed by Rabbi Yehudah bar Ela'ay and Rabbi Shimo'n bar Iohay, Tanaites of the fourth generation, from the 2nd century CE, when analyzing the aforementioned verse 26:6 of Leviticus [15]. 

According to Rabbi Yehudah, “I will remove wild beasts from the land”, means that God will eliminate them from the world. Rabbi Shim’on explains that God will remove their aggressiveness so that they do no harm anyone. Rabbi Yehudah interprets the verse literally, while Rabbi Shim'on supports his position by relating this verse to Isaiah 11. He interprets it literally to mean that the aggressiveness of animals will be eliminated by God, but not the animals themselves.

We find the same discrepancy in the literature of the Amorites. Rabbi Yohanan (second generation of Amorites in Israel, second half of the 3rd century C.E.) did not agree with Shmuel (first generation in Babylon, first half of the 3rd century C.E.) regarding messianic times. Rabbi Yohanan said: “All the prophets did not prophesy except for the messianic days” implying that there will be significant changes in the natural order and humans during that time. On the other hand, Shmuel interpreted that there would be no differences between the present world and the messianic days, except that Israel would not be subjugated by any empire [16].

Talmudic literature, which includes the teachings of the Tannaites and Amorites, was canonized during the period of the Geonim [17]. It is considered the authoritative interpretive source of the Bible. The rabbis, as teachers, played a crucial role in forming the historical continuity of the Jewish people through their guidance based on the Talmud and Geonic Literature. Therefore, studying the thoughts of Jewish scholars from the Middle Ages involves exploring their interpretations of the Talmudic, Midrashic, and Geonic sources.

Maimonides' interpretation

Maimonides was undoubtedly one of the most significant and influential figures in the development of the history of Judaism. During his lifetime, he was an authority for most Jewish communities. From Yemen to the Jewish quarters of Western and Central Europe, his responses and the Mishneh Torah Code were considered central sources of reference and guidance for the practice and study of Judaism [18]. In this work, he presents the norms of rabbinic jurisprudence following criteria found in the Talmud, Geonic literature, the codification of Rabbi Itzhak Alfasi [19], the teachings of Yosef ben Meir Ha-Levi Ibn Migash [20], and in certain cases his criteria, clearly and concisely [21].   

To analyze any topic from a rabbinic perspective, the opinions and codification of Maimonides, born in Córdoba, Andalucía in the 12th century, are mandatory subject matter for consultation and a good basis for further research. In this work, Maimonides also unveils the basis of the Jewish faith, addressing the topic of messianic times in chapter 12 of Hilkhot Melakhim, where we read:

1.- It should not be thought that in the times of the Messiah, something of what is customary like the world has to be annulled, or that there is any renewal in the primordial creation. The world will continue to act according to its custom [22], and what Isaiah says “the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie with the goat,” are metaphors and riddles, which refer to Israel that must dwell safely with the wicked among the idolatrous people who dominate like a wolf and a panther, as it is said: “the wolf of the desert will attack them and the leopard stalks their cities” (Jeremiah 5: 6)

They must all return to the standard of truth, they will not steal or destroy, but they will eat what is permitted in peace with Israel, as it is said: “They will graze the bear with the cow.”

In the same way, everything referred to in similar verses that allude to the Messiah is a metaphor, and, in the times of the anointed king (Messiah), it will be revealed to each one what the metaphor alluded to and what was implied by them.

2.- The Sage (in the Talmud) said: there is nothing between this world and messianic times but only being subjugated to empires. . .

In Hilkhot Teshuvah 9 we read: 

2.- . . . the Messianic age will be [life within the context of] this world, with the world following its natural pattern except that sovereignty will return to Israel.The Sages of the previous generations have already declared: "There is no difference between the present age and the Messianic era except [the emancipation] from our subjugation to the [gentile] kingdoms."

Criticisms of Maimonides

Rabbi Abraham ben David of Posquières (1125-1198) was an influential figure in Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) who disagreed with Maimonides' views. He added glosses with critical commentaries to the Mishneh Torah. In Hilkhot Melakhim 12:1, he did not accept Maimonides' statement. Instead, he interpreted Leviticus 26:6 literally and believed that transforming the order of existence was necessary to overcome aggressiveness.

Nahmanides, who lived in Gerona in the 13th century, is credited with introducing Kabbalah to Spain. In his interpretation of Leviticus 26:6, he suggested that nature would return to its original state on earth in messianic times before man went astray. Nahmanides also explained that based on Genesis 1:30, animals, like the first man (1:29), were originally vegetarians, and it was only after the flood that Noah's children were permitted to eat meat, resulting in the ferocity of certain species. According to Nahmanides, Isaiah's vision should be understood as a time when nature will return to its original state with no predation in the animal kingdom.

Beyond the specific quotes from Maimonides about the conditions for achieving peace presented above, a careful study of the Mishneh Torah reveals a broader vision of the great Teacher about the possibilities of human beings to achieve peace, which will be developed below. 

The human being in the worldview of the Mishneh Torah

In chapter five of Hilkhot Teshuvah, Maimonides discusses the concept of free will granted to humans. He emphasizes there that without free will, the divine expectations outlined in the Bible for humans to achieve justice and righteousness would be meaningless. Maimonides explains that it is up to humanity, with its unique qualities as a species, to transcend destructive instincts to reach prophetic ideals. He argues that no biological upgrade restructuring is necessary for this achievement. Following this conception, Maimonides further explains in Hilkhot Melakhim 11:3 that the Messiah neither requires performing supernatural feats such as miracles, re-creating the world, or raising the dead. He supports this by citing the example of Rabbi Akiva, the greatest Sage of his generation, who considered  Ben Koziva to be the Messiah until he was killed for his sins. When he died, the Sages knew he wasn't. 

In Maimonides's own words: 

And the wise men did not require any sign or miracle from him. And the essence of things is like this: . . . If there is to be established a king of the house of David, who meditates on the Torah, and takes care of the fulfillment of the precepts, just like David his father, according to the written and oral Torah. And he imposes on all Israel to correct their errors, fight the Lord's disputes, he is presumed to be the Messiah. If he realizes his intentions and erects the Temple (of Jerusalem) in its place, gathers the dispersed of Israel, this is surely the Messiah. And he will correct the whole world so that they may all serve the Lord together, as it is said (Zephaniah 3:9): “Then I will give the people a pure language, so that they may all call on the name of the Lord and serve him shoulder to shoulder. 

As it was mentioned above, Rabbi Abraham ben David of Posquières disagreed with such statements.

The consistent Maimonidean worldview considers that all the spiritual challenges that the Torah places before the individual are an immediate realization, since the possibility of their materialization is found in the decisions of men and women.

The call for peace before a conflict 

In Hilkhot Melakhim chapter 6, Maimonides describes the regulations that must be applied in the event of having to declare war on another people. Following the biblical precept (Deuteronomy 20: 10): “When you approach a city to fight against it, you will address to it a call for peace”, developed in Talmudic literature, Maimonides presents the form of its applicability. The exposition leads him to the necessary interpretation of the biblical precepts of exterminating the seven Canaanite peoples [23] and Amalek [24]. Maimonides bases his interpretation on the Midrash [25], but makes explicit and expands the terms that appear in it. If those peoples, who were characterized by their absolute lack of scruples, accept the fulfillment of the seven Noahide precepts [26], and put aside their aggressive habits, wanting to agree on a peace pact, the imperative to war with them to the end is repealed. The idea that a people with ignominious habits can change them and become a partner in the generation of a reality of peace leads to the assumption that the acceptance of a universal ethic - summarized by the sages of the Talmud in the Noahide principles - should lead to a reality in which all conflicts are resolved through mediation and arbitration, completely leaving aside the option of war.

Respect and recognition of others in the construction of peace 

Peace is built on a foundation of mutual respect and recognition of others. In Hilkhot Melakhim U-Milhamoteihem 11: 7, Maimonides explains the virtues and truth of the creed of Israel. He addresses the question of the great expansion of Christianity and Islam in the face of the limited number of Jewish communities. His explanation is that the paths of the Lord are inscrutable, and that these both creeds have the virtue of distancing their followers from paganism, thus paving the way that leads to redemption. As long as the religious experience of one's neighbor is consistent with the spiritual understanding of what is merciful and pious, it deserves respect and consideration, since it contributes to the spiritual elevation of humanity.

His position is expressed even more emphatically in the codification of the laws referring to the sabbatical year and the jubilee (Hilkhot Shemita VeYovel, chapter 13, halakhah 13), where he explains “that every one who seeks with sincerity approaches his Creator, and abandons the material desires that the majority pursue with zeal, will be consecrated, and God will be their inheritance for eternity.”

In Maimonides' worldview, the spirituality of each individual, who knows how to tend to the common good and honor the Creator, will be consecrated by Him. In this way, it generates a vision in which respect for the others who know how to act to dignify humanity must be considered with the highest qualifications with which those who profess their own religion are esteemed. This assertion by Maimonides must be weighed in light of the historical time in which he expressed it, in which theological disputes and clerical fanaticism were common and current [27]. 

The sages of the Talmud coined the expression 'mipnei darkei shalom' to refer to those regulations whose compliance was mandated by them, despite not having a biblical legal basis or oral tradition, with the purpose of establishing 'paths of peace' among people. Maimonides, of course, lists them in the different books of his work, but his repetition of some of them in the development of different themes is significant. Those who deeply analyze the Mishneh Torah know the care that its author took, even in the smallest details, in the composition of the work. Therefore, it is very significant that the law (halakhah) of feeding the needy Gentiles along with those of Israel [28] was mentioned on three occasions [29] , and that of burying the dead of the Gentiles just like those of Israel [30] on two occasions [31]. Surely he saw in full respect, recognition and love for the 'other', the basis on which a reality of peace must be built that will lead to messianic times.

In 1914, at the outbreak of the First World War, the British journalist and writer Herbert George Wells (Bromley, Kent, 1866 – London, 1946) published The War That Will End War (F. & C. Palmer). In 1973, amidst the din of battle on the Egyptian front during the Yom Kippur War, the Israeli poet Chaim Hefer (Sosnowiec, Poland, 1925 – Tel Aviv, Israel, 2012) wrote a poem he titled "The Last War," in which the poet tells his little girl: "I promise you that this will be the last war."

Both Wells and Hefer expressed wishful thinking in moments of pain and death. It is the same feeling I had after the Six-Day War, the War of Attrition, and the Yom Kippur War. The tragedies in Ukraine and what occurred and continued after October 7, 2023, led me to question whether the hope of achieving peace is merely a utopia.

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Foot Notes

1-Numbers 6:26 

2-The Edomites descended from Esau (Genesis 36:43), the brother of Jacob, the Patriarch of the people of Israel.

3- A. Einstein, S. Freud, Warum Krieg?, Internationales Institut für Geistige Zusammenarbeit, Völkerbund, Paris, 1933.

4- The standard edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Translated from German under the General Editorship of James Strachey in collaboration with Anna Freud, Assisted by Alix Strachey and Alan Tyson, Volume XXII, The Hogarth Press, London, 1964, pp. 197-215. 

5- b. Berachot 5a; 60b.

6- Genesis 4:6-7.

7- Translated according Eben Ezra on Genesis 4:7.

8- According to RaDak's interpretation of Genesis 4:74.

9- André Luiz Geske, Revista Brasileira de Filosofia Da Religião, Brasília, V. 3 N.2, p. 125-149, DEZ. 2016, ISSN 2352-8284, p. 128.

10- Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, 19:18; Sefer Ha-Chinukh, Mitzvah 545 (in the paragraph which begins with the word VeHaRamban)

11- Moshe Gresser, Sigmund Freud's Jewish Identity: Evidence from His Correspondence,  Modern Judaism, Vol. 11, No. 2 (May, 1991), pp. 225-240 (16 pages)

12- Delivered at the International scientific conference “Ask for peace for Jerusalem” organized by the Heschel  Center of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, November 7, 2024.

13- The image of God dispensing justice to all people is also mentioned in Psalms 96:13; 98:9.

14- In Isaiah 1:1 we read: ‘The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah’, and in Miqueah 1:1, ‘The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.’ From which we learn that Isaiah began to prophesy in the times of Uzziah, while Micah in the times of Jotham, the son of Uzziah.

15- Sifra BeHukotai, Parashah Alef, D”H: Perek Bet. (D”H (Dibur HaMathil) Refers to the initial words of a paragraph, providing a reference for relating comments to the corresponding text.)

16- b. Berakhot 34b; b. Shabbat 63a; b. Sanhedrin 99a.

17- The Geonim (589–1038 C.E.) were the heads of the prestigious Sura and Pumbedita academies in Babylonia during the Abbasid Caliphate. Recognized as the supreme spiritual leaders of the global Jewish community, their written responses to questions sent by far-flung diaspora communities formed a vast and vital body of literature. This responsa literature played a central role in shaping and developing Halakhah (Rabbinic Law).

18- See in this regard: Introduction to the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides, Isadore Twersky, Yale University Press, 1980; Toledoth Ha-Poskim, I, págs. 193-306, Chaim Tchernowitz, The jubilee Committee, New York, 1946.

19-  Rabbi Itzhak Alfasi (1013, Qal’at Bani Hammad – 1103, Lucena, Spain) was the first major codifier of Jewish law during the Middle Ages.. 

20-  Yosef ben Meir Ha-Levi Ibn Migash (1077 Seville-1141, Lucena, Al-Andalus) was born in Seville, though some sources suggest Granada. He was appointed by Rabbi Itzhak Alfasi as his successor to lead the Lucena Yeshiva. Recognized as one of the most authoritative rabbinic figures of the 12^th centuty, his many disciples included Maimun, the father of Maimonides.

21-  Maimonides, Introduction to the Mishnah, Chap. 17

22-  An expression (Olam Ke-Minhago Noheg) that refers to the absence of modifications in the natural order, such as in b. Avodah Zarah 54b.

23-  Deuteronomy 20; 16-18

24-  Deuteronomy 25: 17-19

25-  Midrash Tanaim LiDevarim, Cap. 20, Ed. Rabi David Zvi Hoffman, Tel Aviv 5723.

26-  According to the Talmud, any non-Jewish man who has not made the pact with God to follow the 613 precepts must follow seven precepts to be considered righteous according to Hebrew regulations (b. Sanhedrin 56, a – 60, a; Tosefta Avodah Zarah 8:4. In the Midrashim: Bereshit Rabbah caps. 16, 26, 34; Shemot Rabbah cap. 30; Bemidbar Rabbah cap. 14; Devarim Rabbah caps. 1, 2; Shir HaShirim Rabbah cap. 1; Kohelet Rabbah cap. 2; Tanchuma, Yitro, etc. Although the seven Noahide precepts are not mentioned exhaustively in the Jerusalem Talmud, they are referred to on several occasions, for example: Yevamot cap. 11, p. 14, column 1; Kiddushin chap.1, page 58, column 3, etc.). These laws are encoded by Maimonides in Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melakhim uMilchamot 8:11-10. The Talmudic Sages have deduced these laws from the covenant established by God with Noah and his sons as it is described in Genesis 9:1-17

27-  Fanaticism was a pervasive force in Maimonides’ 12th-century world. He lived under the brutal, forced-conversion policies of the Almohad dynasty in Spain and North Africa, and later faced intense theological zealotry—including the burning of his own books—from within the Jewish community.

28-  Its Talmudic source is found in Tosefta Guitin (Liberman) 3:13.

29-  Hilkhot ‘Avodat Kokhavim 10: 5; Hilkhot Matnot ‘Aniim 1: 9, 7: 7; Hilkhot Melakhim 10: 12.

30-  Its Talmudic source is found in Tosefta Guitin (Liberman) 3:14.

31- Hilkhot Avel 14: 12; Hilkhot Melakhim 10: 12.