Four Soldiers

By: Larry Gordon

The painting “Four Soldiers” by the artist Chava Roth has been on the front page of the 5TJT issue prior to Rosh Hashanah last year as well as this year.

As you may recall, it depicts two IDF soldiers wearing kippahs walking through the Old City alongside two Chassidic men wearing taleisim and shtreimels, and I always imagined it was Rosh Hashanah and that the four men were walking to pray at the Kotel.

In my estimation, the painting is a poignant depiction of the achdus or togetherness that can be possible in Israel between Jews of different backgrounds and outlooks.

Yet, for the first time, as I opened my email after Rosh Hashanah, I found two letters taking issue with me for having the audacity to use a painting with this theme since, according to the opinions of the letter writers, it does not accurately portray the reality of life in Israel as it exists today.

In my opinion, Ms. Roth’s painting (also depicted here) is not an expression of today’s reality as much as it is an expression of hope for what the future can look like. And that is, more than anything else, an expression of the artist’s vision and thought process.

I don’t believe, as the writers suggest, that the intention of the painting was to compare or equate the soldiers with guns slung over their shoulders with the Chassidic men in full religious garb. I can understand someone drawing a conclusion like that and that indeed might be the case when you take a step back and try to analyze what is going on in Israel these days.

But then again, in the artist’s and my defense, I have to say that when I look at the painting (and I haven’t discussed this with Ms. Roth), I see an expression of hope for a reconciliation that can someday transpire.

One of the letter writers rightfully feels that there’s a terrible imbalance in Israeli society between how the kollel members and yeshiva students are handled and everyone else. Of course, it doesn’t help the positions of the yeshivas and kollels when their students take to the streets to protest their IDF draft notices and the detainment of students who fail to comply with their recruitment orders.

At the same time, the writers neglected to note that the increase in Chareidi enlistment in the IDF is presently higher than ever before. It’s also important to note that the Chiloni or secular Israeli population has a small percentage of young people who also neglect these draft notices, and the numbers might even be higher than the Chareidi youth who do not report.

There’s little doubt that this is one of those issues, like many others, that are out of control in the Jewish state. The yeshiva community and its leaders, along with Chareidi Knesset Members, blow this entire matter out of proportion and at the end of the day, it reflects poorly on all of us both here and in Israel.

The longer letter writer makes several distinct points. “First,” she writes, “the soldiers in the painting might be away from their families for months. They might miss family simchas. That does not happen to the men on the right. They can enjoy Shabbos and yom tov with homemade food and are surrounded by family and sleep in the same household as their parents or their wife and children.”

Then she adds another point which demonstrates some angst: “Soldiers going to battle sometimes leave letters behind to their loved ones in case they, G-d forbid, don’t return. Will you tell me that when the Chassid in the picture leaves to the beis midrash every day that he has the same fear?”

Now this is beginning to get a bit out of hand. Hopefully you have the patience to read the entire letter and give some deep thought as to what seems to be a valid argument. It’s certainly easier to go learn in yeshiva than to be stationed and sleeping in sand in Gaza or Lebanon. I assume the letter-writer will not agree that there is a defense of Israel that is created by the genuine and real study of Torah.

It is Hashem who created, manages, and controls the world, and we just reiterated that precise theme over the recently observed Rosh Hashanah. King David studied Torah and was also a warrior. The real-life images of young soldiers studying Daf Yomi by flashlight in their tanks in Gaza were deeply inspiring. At the same time, there is something majestic about a full beis midrash with hundreds or thousands deeply immersed in Torah study, creating what has come to be known as Kol Torah.

At the end of the day, it wasn’t the roles that the various factions of Israeli society play in protecting the country. If you read both letters carefully, it becomes clear that while they have many objections to the painting, the main one is that it is called “Four Soldiers.”

The objection being that if you’re carrying a gun and wearing a green uniform, then you’re a soldier. If you’re wearing a shtreimel and a tallis and even though you live in Israel and always pray for Hashem’s protection and peace then you might be allowed to be many things, but a soldier is not one of them.

As stated above, the number of Chareidi units in the IDF has multiplied over the last few years. Sure, the leadership in the Knesset will fight to protect yeshiva students from the army for an array of reasons. For one, they are concerned that the Chareidi boys will be exposed to a lifestyle that vastly differs from the one they grew up in and can, on some level, change them in some dramatic way.

Chareidi families want their children to live in protected cocoons. But more and more of these young men are stepping out with a desire to remain frum while also serving in the IDF in some capacity. And it’s been proven that it’s definitely possible. But at the same time, the leadership in the Knesset needs to attract votes and there’s an important election coming up at the end of October.

Our letter writers mean well and I understand them. If you have a better name for that painting than Four Soldiers send it in. We might be using it again next year, G-d Willing. 

Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.