The Torah commands in Parashat Va’et’hanan (7:2), “Haharem Taharimem” – that Beneh Yisrael must eradicate the seven nations that populated the Land of Israel at the time Beneh Yisrael entered the land: the Kena’ani, the Emori, the Hitti, the Girgashi, the Perizi, the Hivi, and the Yebusi. These nations were responsible for entrenching idol worship in the Land of Israel, and so G-d commanded Beneh Yisrael to annihilate them in order to prevent the proliferation of idolatry, and so that there would be no one in the land from whom to learn pagan beliefs and practices. Additionally, the Sefer Ha’hinuch explains, Beneh Yisrael were commanded to eradicate these nations in order to learn the severity of foreign worship, so that they would be deterred from serving false deities. The Sefer Ha’hinuch proceeds to pose the philosophical question of why G-d created these seven nations if He would then command that they be eradicated. For what purpose were they created, only to be annihilated? The Sefer Ha’hinuch offers five answers to this question. First, he writes, every person has the free will to choose whether to act righteously or sinfully. The seven nations were not destined to be sinful; they had the free will to act properly, but they chose not to. G-d does not interfere with the human being’s free will, and so He created the seven nations despite knowing that they would choose the path of sin. Secondly, it is entirely possible that at some point, these nations performed some goodness, and it was thus worth creating them for that benefit which they provided to the world. Additionally, there were members of these nations who converted and joined the Jewish Nation, and thus these peoples were created for the sake of those converts. Yet another answer is that these seven nations planted fields and constructed buildings which Beneh Yisrael were able to use after vanquishing the Canaanite peoples. Finally, the fate of these nations showed other peoples that they should refrain from worshipping idols and serve the one, true G-d. The war to eradicate the seven Canaanites nations has the status of a “Milhemet Misva” – a mandatory war. As such, the Jewish king can initiate this military campaign without permission from the Sanhedrin, whereas non-mandatory wars may not be fought without the Sanhedrin’s authorization. This Misva is binding upon both men and women, and it applies in all places. In principle, it applies in all time periods, as well. The Rambam explains that in our times, we do not, practically speaking, have the ability to fulfill this Misva, because we are unable to identify the members of these seven nations. Fundamentally, though, the command applies even nowadays; in theory, if we would know for certain that somebody belongs to one of these nations, it would be a Misva to kill that person. One who was in a position to kill a member of one of these nations and failed to do so has transgressed this affirmative command. Additionally, he violates a separate prohibition – “Lo Tehayeh” – which forbids allowing these nations to live.