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| Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch (YWN) |
Those who say that they contribute nothing could not be more wrong. There is high value in Torah study. That is what they do. Without Torah, there is no such thing as Judaism. And no subgroup of Orthodox Jewry does more towards knowing what Judaism is all about than people who study Torah all day long. Whether they should all be doing that is another question. But certainly those with the desire, the mental capacity, and the determination to succeed - should.
As I often say, they are the wave of the future. At least the moderate mainstream portion of them are. Which I believe is the majority of them. They are also the fastest growing segment of the Jewish people.
Not only do I respect the community as a whole, I respect their leadership. I wanted to make that abundantly clear before I state my profound disagreement with one of them Again. A disagreement based on the teachings of my own Rebbeim who were Gedolim in their own right.
Respecting a leader is not the same as agreeing with him. And the latest message from Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, (an elder Rosh Yeshiva in Israel who seems to now be considered one of the 2 the Gedolei HaDor) troubles me greatly. Not that it surprises me, however. YWN reports the following:
In the wake of the decisions of Attorney-General Gali Biharav-Miara and the Supreme Court to revoke the budgets of yeshivos with talmidim who are eligible for the draft, yeshivos are facing an unprecedented financial crisis, which is growing worse and worse. Meanwhile, the Attorney-General is currently holding talks on canceling all subsidies for yeshivah bochurim, avreichim, and even at-risk Chareid youth.
A number of baalei tzedaka suggested an outline to HaGaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch for the establishment of a special fund that will raise huge sums and cover the funds being revoked by the government.
After weeks of discussions, HaRav Hirsch agreed to the establishment of the fund and will serve as its Nasi.
B’Ezras Hashem, the Rosh Yeshivah will travel to the US immediately after Shavuos, Chag Matan Torah, on a historic trip, that will begin with HaRav Hirsch delivering the main speech at the Lakewood Yeshivah’s Adirei HaTorah event.
The fact that Rav Hirsch will not consider the most obvious and sensible solution and instead turn to wealthy American Charedi philanthropists gives me great pause. First because of the apparent ‘take no prisoners’ approach to the draft. He will not allow a single young Charedi student to be drafted. Even if it means most young Charedi families who are already struggling financially - descending into unprecedented poverty.
To pre-empt that eventuality he is willing to travel to the US, hat in hand to collect private funds from Charedi multi millionaires who cannot refuse a Gadol’s request for funds. Even as at least some of them might disagree with him privately. Especially when his pitch is an existential one. Whether he will succeed in replacing the lost Israeli government revenue is an open question. What this shows, however, is his dedication to his principles. He is willing to travel great distances at his advanced age so that his community won’t starve by refusing to be drafted.
I have to ask. Is relying on charity the best way to provide for your family? Is this how God intends His people to live? Somehow, I doubt that. But I digress.
Then there is this question: Why? Why is Rav Hirsch so opposed to even a single Charedi serving in the IDF? He apparently dismisses the value of the military with respect to protecting the Jewish people. His view seems to be that only Torah study does that. And that every soul lost to the army means one less person protecting the Jewish people.
He is surely entitled to that view. But his strident ‘take no prisoners’ approach implies that serving in the IDF is tantamount to Kefira – denial of God’s truth.
I’m pretty sure (or at least I hope) that most Charedim would privately not agree with that. Certainly not the ones that volunteered to serve in the aftermath of the October 7th massacre. And certainly not those who - before that - chose to serve in Nachal Charedi IDF units..
Then there is the fact that a lot of Charedi Rabbonim don’t agree with him either. Including Agudat Israel party chairman, MK Yitzchok Goldknopf,. He actually admitted to that in an interview a while back.
I wonder as well whether Rav Hirsch considers all the Hesder boys guilty of Kefira? They learn the same Torah with the same Hasmada (determination) as do Charedi students. But they alternate it with army service - often volunteering for the riskiest assignments! And what about all the other religious young Israels that are serving? What would he say about them?
I don’t see Rav Hirsch answering any of these questions. He will surely ignore them as - at best - ignorant concerns of the unlearned. He will focus his time on raising those funds from wealthy donors.
As I said he may very well be successful. There are a lot of wealthy Charedim that will donate large sums of money that privately disagree with him. On the other hand there are a lot of wealthy Charedim that agree with him as the following comment at YWN indicates.
Hashem does not need their filthy money, just a shame that the general population will be deprived of the zchus of supporting Torah. When will these reshoim arurim realise the country is only safe through the torah? Has the Simchas Torah massacre, the failed Gaza war and the ongoing terror in the north not taught them a lesson yet?
The question is, which segment is bigger? And will it make any difference?