Charedim And The Draft
BANNER: Letters
Dear Editor,
Over the past years, even during peacetime, I have been dismayed at the unwillingness of most chareidiyeshiva students to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces. During the past 22 months of war, my dismay has become much more palpable. With this in mind, I express my horror at a poster that was hung in shuls and yeshivosrecently. The poster contained pictures of a recent Lakewood gathering in protest of the conscription of chareidiyeshiva bachurim. The poster also bore messages conveyed by rabbanim at this gathering, messages that are chilling.
The most egregious quote came from one Rav Menachem Shapiro, of the Slobodka yeshiva. Rav Shapiro, who was sent to the gathering as an emissary from gedolim in Israel, stated that during World War II, Rav Michoel Ber Weissmandl said that “for a few dollars he can save nefashos from the Holocaust. That was from a holocaust of physical life. This is a holocaust of eternal life.” In other words, according to Rav Shapiro, the drafting of yeshiva students in defense of the Jewish state constitutes a greater evil than the Nazi Holocaust!
Such an outrageous sentiment should not merit a response. Nonetheless, I wrote up a message and attached it to the poster in a local yeshiva. I wrote that my son, who is in the IDF reserves, makes a kiddush Hashem every day as he (in his rabbinic role) tends to the needs of our heroes, the soldiers who are risking their lives for the Jewish homeland. Obviously, Rav Shapiro’s declaration is an insult to those, like my son, who serve in the IDF and maintain their Yiddishkeit intact. (I added that if someone were to take my sign down, the poster would also be removed. Needless to say, the poster is now in my house!)
It is high time that the rabbinic leaders of “black-hat” Orthodox Judaism recognize that learning Torah, essential as it is, is not tantamount to risking one’s life in a war zone. It is high time they concede that the shirking of military duty by an entire subsection (with exceptions) of Israel’s population constitutes a violation of “kol Yisrael areivim zeh lazeh”—that all Jews have a communal obligation to support one another. And it is high time they realized that at least for those not learning full time in yeshiva, there is no excuse at all for ducking the draft, with the result that exhausted soldiers are thrown into battle time and again, due to a lack of recruits.
The Gemara (Sh’vuos 35b) relates that in King Solomon’s day, for every 1,000 soldiers, 200 men sat and studied Torah. This seems to me to be a reasonable compromise. Yes, we want and need Torah learning. Torah is the lifeblood of our people. But just as Yehoshua, second only to Moshe Rabbeinu, led the battle against the Amaleikim, and just as Pinchas led the battle against the Midyanim, we need some of today’s yeshiva men to step up and enlist. The argument has been made that it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to guarantee that chareidireligious standards will be fully upheld in the army. This is likely true in some circumstances, despite ongoing efforts to make military life more palatable to chareidim. But at the end of the day, life is about challenges. We confront these challenges at work and in other situations. This is not an excuse to avoid army service.
Do I believe that the IDF should simply draft all chareidi young men and use threats of arrest and economic consequences to force their hand? Absolutely not. I believe, rather, that as laid out by writer Doron Lazarus on the Times of Israel website, there must be a sincere attempt at engagement with the chareidim. First, the value of Torah learning must be emphasized: not “yes, but,” but an emphatic “Yes!” to how vital Torah study is to our nation’s survival. Second, IDF elites must consult with chareidi rabbanim (those who are willing to listen) to navigate a road that respects the values that potential recruits hold so dear (values that most Orthodox Jews and many non-Orthodox ones share). And third, realizing that chareidim have so much to share, there should be a conduit to impart Judaism’s ethos to soldiers who heretofore have lacked exposure.
The Lakewood gathering was an attempt to raise money to help students who are at threat of being drafted. An earlier campaign raised money to replace funds that the Israeli government was withholding from yeshivos because of their refusal to allow students to enlist. I cannot understand how these yeshivos will not allow their boys to join the army. yet expect the public to continue to provide endless funding. And while everyone has the right to donate to campaigns of their choosing, I, for one, will not enable this brazen shrinking from national duty.
Avi Goldstein
Far Rockaway, NY
Mamdani
Dear Editor,
The absolute only way to defeat Mamdani is for the three senior citizens to decide amongst themselves who has the best shot, as it seems that would be Cuomo. Therefore, the others must unite if they care about NYC and not just their four years of fame. Mamdani has lots going for him, politics aside. He’s relatively youthful, charismatic, articulate, and has a perpetual smile that can buy his worst enemy. In essence the guy is dangerous, as he probably will be the next mayor unless these three or even four get over themselves and begin caring about the city they claim to care about.
Reuven Guttman
Lawrence, NY
Charedim And The Draft
Dear Editor,
Over the past years, even during peacetime, I have been dismayed at the unwillingness of most chareidiyeshiva students to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces. During the past 22 months of war, my dismay has become much more palpable. With this in mind, I express my horror at a poster that was hung in shuls and yeshivosrecently. The poster contained pictures of a recent Lakewood gathering in protest of the conscription of chareidiyeshiva bachurim. The poster also bore messages conveyed by rabbanim at this gathering, messages that are chilling.
The most egregious quote came from one Rav Menachem Shapiro, of the Slobodka yeshiva. Rav Shapiro, who was sent to the gathering as an emissary from gedolim in Israel, stated that during World War II, Rav Michoel Ber Weissmandl said that “for a few dollars he can save nefashos from the Holocaust. That was from a holocaust of physical life. This is a holocaust of eternal life.” In other words, according to Rav Shapiro, the drafting of yeshiva students in defense of the Jewish state constitutes a greater evil than the Nazi Holocaust!
Such an outrageous sentiment should not merit a response. Nonetheless, I wrote up a message and attached it to the poster in a local yeshiva. I wrote that my son, who is in the IDF reserves, makes a kiddush Hashem every day as he (in his rabbinic role) tends to the needs of our heroes, the soldiers who are risking their lives for the Jewish homeland. Obviously, Rav Shapiro’s declaration is an insult to those, like my son, who serve in the IDF and maintain their Yiddishkeit intact. (I added that if someone were to take my sign down, the poster would also be removed. Needless to say, the poster is now in my house!)
It is high time that the rabbinic leaders of “black-hat” Orthodox Judaism recognize that learning Torah, essential as it is, is not tantamount to risking one’s life in a war zone. It is high time they concede that the shirking of military duty by an entire subsection (with exceptions) of Israel’s population constitutes a violation of “kol Yisrael areivim zeh lazeh”—that all Jews have a communal obligation to support one another. And it is high time they realized that at least for those not learning full time in yeshiva, there is no excuse at all for ducking the draft, with the result that exhausted soldiers are thrown into battle time and again, due to a lack of recruits.
The Gemara (Sh’vuos 35b) relates that in King Solomon’s day, for every 1,000 soldiers, 200 men sat and studied Torah. This seems to me to be a reasonable compromise. Yes, we want and need Torah learning. Torah is the lifeblood of our people. But just as Yehoshua, second only to Moshe Rabbeinu, led the battle against the Amaleikim, and just as Pinchas led the battle against the Midyanim, we need some of today’s yeshiva men to step up and enlist. The argument has been made that it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to guarantee that chareidireligious standards will be fully upheld in the army. This is likely true in some circumstances, despite ongoing efforts to make military life more palatable to chareidim. But at the end of the day, life is about challenges. We confront these challenges at work and in other situations. This is not an excuse to avoid army service.
Do I believe that the IDF should simply draft all chareidi young men and use threats of arrest and economic consequences to force their hand? Absolutely not. I believe, rather, that as laid out by writer Doron Lazarus on the Times of Israel website, there must be a sincere attempt at engagement with the chareidim. First, the value of Torah learning must be emphasized: not “yes, but,” but an emphatic “Yes!” to how vital Torah study is to our nation’s survival. Second, IDF elites must consult with chareidi rabbanim (those who are willing to listen) to navigate a road that respects the values that potential recruits hold so dear (values that most Orthodox Jews and many non-Orthodox ones share). And third, realizing that chareidim have so much to share, there should be a conduit to impart Judaism’s ethos to soldiers who heretofore have lacked exposure.
The Lakewood gathering was an attempt to raise money to help students who are at threat of being drafted. An earlier campaign raised money to replace funds that the Israeli government was withholding from yeshivos because of their refusal to allow students to enlist. I cannot understand how these yeshivos will not allow their boys to join the army. yet expect the public to continue to provide endless funding. And while everyone has the right to donate to campaigns of their choosing, I, for one, will not enable this brazen shrinking from national duty.
Avi Goldstein
Far Rockaway, NY
Mamdani
Dear Editor,
The absolute only way to defeat Mamdani is for the three senior citizens to decide amongst themselves who has the best shot, as it seems that would be Cuomo. Therefore, the others must unite if they care about NYC and not just their four years of fame. Mamdani has lots going for him, politics aside. He’s relatively youthful, charismatic, articulate, and has a perpetual smile that can buy his worst enemy. In essence the guy is dangerous, as he probably will be the next mayor unless these three or even four get over themselves and begin caring about the city they claim to care about.
Reuven Guttman
Lawrence, NY
