Operation Northern Arrows, Elisha the Prophet and Absolute Victory

The story goes like this: King Jehoash comes to visit Elisha on his sickbed "He cried before him and said, 'Father! Father! Israel's chariot and horsemen!'. Elisha told him to get a bow and arrows and aim them Eastward to the direction of Aram. "He then said, 'Open the window towards the East', and he opened [it]; Elisha said, 'Shoot!' and he shot, [Elisha] said, '[it is] an arrow of salvation unto Hashem, and an arrow of salvation against Aram; You shall strike Aram at Aphek to utter destruction! Then he said, 'Take the arrows', and he took [them]; he said to the King of Israel, 'Strike [them] to the ground!' and he struck three times and stopped" (Kings II 13:17-18).

The Tanach tells us that Elisha criticized Jehoash severely: "The man of G-d became angry with him and said, '[Were you] to strike five or six times, you would have smitten Aram to utter destruction! But now you will strike Aram [only] three times" (ibid 19).

Why was Elisha so angry with Jehoash? What difference does it make how many times he hit with the arrows?

The answer is that there was a basic mistake in the attitude of Jehoash. He believed that it is sufficient to conduct a defensive war against Aram. He thought that it is enough to strike them with a hard blow in order to deter them. In Jehoash's mind there was no option for absolute victory. Therefore, it is said "And he struck three times and stopped". He stopped in the middle, and did not continue to defeat the enemy totally.

Elisha taught him that his conduct must be entirely different – it is mandatory to continue fighting until absolute victory, to make sure that Aram would never be a threat to the nation of Israel again (see: Rabbi Moshe David Valle, in his unique Kabbalistic commentary on Kings II).

Furthermore, Elisha said "You shall strike Aram at Aphek to utter destruction!", Why mention Aphek?

Rabbi David Kimhi (1160–1235) reminds us that there had been a war in Aphek in the past. The King of Aram waged war against the nation of Israel three times at the time of King Ahab. Prophet Micaiahu warned Ahab not to have mercy on the King of Aram when he falls in to his hands (Midrash Yalkut Shimoni Kings I 220). However, Ahab was merciful towards the enemy and set him free. After that, there was another war with the King of Aram, and there, Ahab himself was killed (Kings I chapter 23).

Therefore, the war of Aphek was the testing point – do we fight until absolute victory? Or do we stop in the middle and allow our enemy to recover his strength and attack us again and again?

Elisha's legacy to King Jehoash was that the point of failure at the time of Aphek must not be repeated. It is not enough just giving the enemy a hard blow, rather it is necessary to continue until absolute victory.

In Operation Northern Arrows, we must learn from history and not repeat the mistake of Ahab and Jehoash. Instead we must listen to Prophet Elisha's legacy: Not to stop until absolute victory. Israel National News - Arutz Sheva