IDF’s New Haredi Division

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November 27, 2024 4:47 pm at 4:47 pm #2335591

SQUARE_ROOT
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Channel 14 on Thursday revealed new details about the first
Haredi brigade in the IDF since the establishment of the Jewish State in 5708.

The Haredi soldiers of the Hasmonean Brigade must pledge
to observe the commandments, wear Shabbat clothes during prayers
and meals on the Day of Rest, and participate in daily Torah lessons.

The kashrut standards will be the most “Mehadrin,” and the soldiers
will be obligated to pray three prayers a day – four on Shabbat, and five on Yom Kippur.

THESE ARE THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF THE HASMONEAN BRIGADE:

[1] The Hasmonean Brigade will strictly observe the commandments according to Halacha.

[2] The Hasmonean Brigade will be run according to a Haredi lifestyle
to allow those who serve there to maintain their identity.

[3] Service in the brigade is not a melting pot; moreover,
the brigade will make every effort not to disconnect
those who serve there from his community.

[4] The brigade will maintain a full gender service of men only without compromise,
throughout the entire period of service and in every place and/or framework
in which it operates (except for operational activity during war,
and this too out of the necessity to protect life only).

[5] The brigade will provide food under “Mehadrin”
kosher supervision of Badatz and/or Rabbi Landau only.

[6] The brigade obliges all those who serve there to pray in a minyan three times a day.

[7] The brigade obliges all those who serve there to participate in Torah classes every day
(except for operational activity during a war, and this too out of the necessity to protect life only).

[8] The IDF is committed to maintaining a Haredi rabbinical body,
comprised of rabbis from a variety of communities within Haredi society
who support serving in the brigade.

This rabbinical body will accompany the brigade and deal with every aspect
of the Haredi spiritual and Torah-related needs of those who serve there,
and supervise the maintenance of the Haredi identity of the Haredi soldier.

[9] The brigade will make sure that the rabbis come and
will continue to come in the future from within the Haredi public.

[10] All the commanders and support staff must be
God-fearing and observers of Torah and Mitzvot.

Finally: the soldiers will be required to wear a black kippah
throughout their service, dress in Shabbat clothes on non-operational Shabbat days,
and maintain a Haredi lifestyle throughout their service,
even while at home. And they will be prohibited from using unfiltered cell phones.

It looks like the Division’s rules may be stricter than some Haredi Yeshivas.

SOURCE: article titled: “The Ten Commandments of the IDF’s New Haredi Division”
by David Israel, 2024 November 22 www (dot) JewishPress (dot) com

November 28, 2024 5:16 pm at 5:16 pm #2336255

akuperma
Participant

Due those rules apply to all the officers, or is it similar to European colonial units or the American “colored” units in which the group deemed inferior are the “grunts” commanded by their better.

November 28, 2024 5:17 pm at 5:17 pm #2336369

SQUARE_ROOT
Participant

This recent article is from Matzav dot com quoting JNS (dot) org:

The Israel Defense Forces plans to form the first company of the new Hasmonean Brigade, to be made up of ultra-Orthodox soldiers, by Chanukah, which this year starts on December 25.

The IDF wants to capitalize on the symbolism. The Hasmonean Dynasty began after the Jews threw off the yoke of Hellenistic rule in the Maccabean Revolt (167 to 141 BCE) against the Seleucid Empire, liberation that the holiday commemorates.

Thirty young men have already passed the first screenings and dozens of others have expressed interest in serving in the brigade, Ynet reported.

The army is also looking to make charedi soldiers currently serving in noncombat roles into combat soldiers for the brigade. A company is made up 60 to 80 soldiers.

The IDF is taking a gradual approach, hoping that the charedi community will take note that the brigade is responsive to the religious needs of the ultra-Orthodox, creating trust between the community and the army.

The new brigade requires recruits to follow a strict halachic lifestyle, that is, one in keeping with religious law. Observant Jews will serve as commanders in the brigade.

Brigade enlistees will sign a document accepting its rules. One clause states that recruits will at all times maintain an ultra-Orthodox way of life, be careful to use clean speech, keep beards and sidelocks throughout their service if they entered the army with them, and wear Sabbath clothes during Sabbath prayers and meals “as is customary in ultra-Orthodox society (and even a suit and a hat).”

All the courses and training for soldiers in the brigade will be conducted internally to avoid mixing with non-Orthodox units, a nod to a concern of many ultra-Orthodox, who view it as a violation of the IDF’s obligation to preserve their strict lifestyle.

Brigade commander Col. Avinoam Emunah said: “I am privileged to be the commander of the ultra-Orthodox brigade and to be part of this special project that can bring about a change in Israeli society and the entire people of Israel.

“We established a brigade, which for the first time since the establishment of the IDF and the establishment of the state, will allow the ultra-Orthodox public to enlist and serve in combat according to their lifestyle and preserve their identity,” he said.

SOURCE: article titled: “IDF Picks Chanukah for
Charedi Recruitment to Chashmonaim Brigade”
2024 November 28 www (dot) Matzav (dot) com quoting JNS (dot) org
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