שופטים, פרק כ׳, פסוק כ׳

The Israelites march into battle against the tribe of Benjamin, expecting a standard military engagement. Instead, they suffer a severe defeat that leaves them deeply confused. As the soldiers take their positions and fight, they cannot make sense of their sudden and devastating losses.

The shock of the defeat is so profound that the Israelites begin to question the very nature of their enemy. They wonder if the members of the tribe of Benjamin are somehow viewed by God as immortal beings who simply cannot be killed [אלשיך].

Amidst their confusion, the soldiers also struggle to understand a specific divine command. They try to figure out why God instructed the tribe of Judah to lead the charge and absorb the brutal first strike. They ultimately realize that this tragic outcome represents a historical closing of a circle. Generations earlier, the patriarch Judah willingly risked his own life to save his younger brother, Benjamin. Now, when the descendants of Judah march forward with the intent to kill the descendants of Benjamin, it is Judah who must fall first [אלשיך].