Toward the end of parshas Shoftim the Torah discusses the proper way of acting during war and that is followed by the parsha of עגלה ערופה. Then our parsha opens again with laws of war. What is the parsha of עגלה ערופה doing stuck in the middle (see Even Ezra. Abarbanel)? The Chofetz Chayim says that the lesson is even if there are wars raging around a person and many people are dying, if an individual is found dead it still is a tremendous tragedy. Even if there are big things happening around, one must not loose sight of the individual.
There is a famous quote attributed to Stalin (although he might not have said it see here,) "A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic." That is the attitude the Torah is warning against, every life is precious and must be appreciated.
From the Or Hachayim and onward this parsha has been expounded upon as lessons regarding the war against the yetzer harah. This lesson of the Chofetz Chayim can be used in such context as well. If one is engaged in major battles against the yetzer it doesn't exempt one from the small battles as well. At the end of the Keser Rosh, it brings a story where the Gra told a אפיקורס that he gets punished even for drinking without a beracha. Doing big averos is no exemption from the small ones. On the flip side, sometimes it is by putting a focus on the small battles, on the skirmishes with the yetzer, that lead one to win the war(as in the end of the story with the Gra where the person did complete teshuva.)
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