Israel Matzav

Some comments on the 'Haredi draft' controversy

I've written about this extensively.

Torah sustained the Jews for 2,000 years of galus (exile) - not the State of Israel, which is a recent creation.

In a perfect world, there would be a volunteer army. In a less perfect world, those who don't belong in yeshiva would go to the army in a manner that accommodates their religious needs, and those who belong in yeshiva would be able to stay there and be supported. We don't live in a perfect world. We don't even live in a near perfect world. 

The army does not need all or even most of the Haredim. But they're afraid to say it. The real goal is not to get the Haredim into the army as a fighting force - that already exists. The goal is to remove as many as possible from the yeshivos and 'endow' them with 'Israeliness.' The goal is to use the army as a melting pot. 

All the threat of this law has done is to reduce the number of Haredim enlisting in the army to virtually zero. 

As for the prayer rally, you can find many comments about it by searching "prayer rally" in my blog. 

I actually agree with him about the tefilla for the army, but it will never happen unless the Haredi Gedolim (great rabbis) come out and say it should happen, and in the current atmosphere, that's less likely than ever. 

I also agree with him about earning a living, and I suspect that more Haredim who are not top scholars would leave the yeshivos and go to work, if only they weren't legally prohibited from doing so without serving in the army. The government has to decide what's more important - raising Haredi participation in the work force or trying to make the Haredim 'Israelis.' The government made that decision this week, and it has likely made both goals unattainable. 

By the way, it's ironic that Rabbi Pruzansky (who was a college classmate of mine, and whose blog I have occasionally linked) cites Rav Dessler. It's Rav Dessler who is the basis for the current Haredi education system in Israel. The letter is in Michtav Me'Eliyahu Volume 3, Page 355. And while some have attempted to reinterpret it as being only for Rav Dessler's time, the letter itself gives no indication that was the intention. You might want to point that out to him if you have contact with him.

Freilichen (Happy) Purim!

Labels: draft, God, Haredim, IDF, Nachal Charedi, Torah

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:38 AM