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| BMG students that came to hear the words of Israel's elder sages (Mishpacha) |
One might surmise from that statement that I am anti Charedi and their way of life. That is the furthest thing from the truth. I fully support the concept of Ameilus BaTorah - the hard work it takes to master the sources of rabbinic law recorded in the Talmud and interpreted by the sages throughout Jewish history - to this very day. The body of work that one must master in order to legislate novel law based on current circumstances is so huge, it requires the kind of time and effort that is even beyond what is typical in a Yeshiva or Kollel.
So why am I upset? Supporting a system that facilitates full time Torah study does not mean that every single young person in the Charedi world must do it regardless of their capabilities. I would suggest that very few of them are on that level. That said, I would not discourage any of them from trying.
But at some point in their Yeshiva career, anyone who is honest with themselves will realize whether they have that capability or not. And realize early on that Torah study as a full time ‘profession’ is not the most constructive use of their time. This is the pool form which Charedim should be subjected to the draft.
There is no way that they should be encouraged to continue their full time Torah study. Let them be Kove’ah Itim (set aside regular times for Torah study), learn a profession or trade, serve their country and then support their families. They can and should study Torah as much as they can. But not full time and thereby dodge the draft. They need to share the burden. Same as everyone else in Israel.
What angers me is that in the entire Mishpacha article there was not a word about why the the Charedi Yeshivos lost funding. To the cheers of tens of thousands of mostly Lakewood Yeshiva and Kollel students their entire approach was about saving Torah from the clutches of the anti Torah forces that are determined to destroy it. Not a word about their refusal to allow any of their students to be drafted. Not once.The narraittve was along the lines of the following:
“What’s going on in Eretz Yisrael,” Rabbi Moshe Hillel told the benefactors, a message he echoed in his address to the Adirei HaTorah audience, “is a defensive battle against the encroachment of the left, which fights against Judaism on every issue. They’ve always been against the chareidim and the Torah world, but today they’ve gone to war against yeshivos, against the Chinuch Atzmai education system, against everything holy. They’re not content with words alone but are actively working to harm Judaism and the Torah world with deeds.”
It may be true that the extreme left is anti Torah. But that is not what this is all about. Because it is not only the secular left that is upset by the fact that Charedim don’t serve in the name of Torah study. The non Charedi religious world is just as upset. Many of whom who are as devout as the Charedi world. Many are just as dedicated to Torah study – as anyone familar with the Hesder Yeshiva movement can tell you.
But they also understand the importance of serving in the IDF. I would argue that the Hesder students are more dedicated to the mission of the IDF than the typical secular IDF soldier. They tend to volunteer in greater proportion for the most dangerous assignments. And yet when they aren’t fighting, they are learning.
Does the religious non Charedi Jew hate the Torah?
There is not a shred of doubt in my mind that if the Charedi world would allow those among them who are not cut out for full time learning to be drafted, none of this would be happening. They would not need to raise $100,000,000 to cover the shortfall caused by the Supreme Court ruling. All they had to do is allow for something that many in their own community have quietly supported, which is to allow those among them that are not cut out for full time Torah study to be subject to the draft. I’m sure a compromise along those lines could have been reached.
They could then have their cake and eaten it too. They would be able to maintain their system of full time Torah study for those truly capable and motivated to do so and allow the rest to serve in the IDF if called upon to do so. Their funding would have never been taken away had they done that.
But none of that was mentioned last week. As far as they are concerned this is a war by the left against the Torah – and Judaism itself. This is how they are characterizing their plea for funds.
Another thing. 100 million dollars is a lot of money even for wealthy American Charedim. And this is on top of money they are already giving which is probably also in the multi millions of dollars. Even if they succeed in raising the money to cover this year’s budget shortfall, what are they going to do next year? I do not see that kind of money being available in perpetuity.
And finally there is the money itself. Can anyone imagine what in infusion of $100 million dollars would do for Jewish education in this country? Religious elementary and high schools, Yeshivas and Kollelim are not subsidized by the government here - like they are (were) in Israel. They are supported by tuitions that are breaking the backs of most parents and private donations. and many of these institutions operate on yearly deficits. That $100 million would sure help relieve that unbearable burden.
So yes. I am angry. And frustrated at why these elderly rabbinic leaders are so tone deaf to legitimate complaints of mothers worried whether their sons serving in Gaza will make it out alive or in one piece. And that these leaders do more than just claim that their students studying Torah are doing more than than the soldiers risking their lives in Gaza.
Why they can’t they recognize that the court’s ruling is in that light of that reality is beyond disturbing. And the fact that Mishpacha’ s editors seem to endorse the perspective of these rabbinic elders influences its reader to ignore as anti Torah anything that is not in lockstep with what these elders are preaching.
Which by inference makes the entire religious world outside of Charedim (inadvertently they might say - if they want to be kind about it) anti Torah as well.