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Obviously we need both people learning and people fighting to have military success. But let’s be honest, if someone random had a choice between going to the army, living in really harsh conditions, leaving his family and literally putting his life in danger vs. sitting in an air conditioned Beis Medrash, living in relatively normal conditions (though this may not be true in all cases), and basically physically protected, what would the average person choose? Especially if he is told that these are both equal ways to protect the country, especially if he is told they are doing the Jewish People a bigger service by learning than fighting? How do we know who is learning because he’s supposed to be, or who is just taking the easy way out? Who would choose to go to the army? What incentive exists to fight on the front lines? The Kollel is less risk and more reward!
Talmud Torah Kneged Kulum.
It isn’t an equal choice. Talmud Torah is a much much higher level and a much higher form of protection than being armed with guns and bombs.
hr chodesh-you obvioulsy have forgotten (or never learned) the mishne about milchemes mitzvah and the halocho of it!
If an Arab Terorist stormed into the Beis Medrash ready to blow himself up
Do you pull out the sefer torah from the aron and wrap yourself in it to protect yourself, or do you pull out your Uzi and shoot him?
eile varechev v’eile vasusim, va’anachnu bshem Hashem nazkir. simcha613, i believe these two ways are not equal at all. of course torah is better! that’s all we would need to win. its just that because of the low levels in kedusha and emunah and bitachon that we have stooped to, we need the hishtadlus of fighting physically. but they are in no way equal. halivai we should just be able to use our tfillos and torah!
One is not permitted to rely on miracles to save one self
Army.
Unfortunately, we made aliyah when I was already too old, but we have one child in the IDF now and one other leaning towards going in as well. (I also have one in sheerut leumi.)
Yummy Cupcake: Even the Dor Hamidbar and David Hamelech needed armies with them. We believe that T’fillos and Torah are the Ikar, but even our highest-level generations had armies as well.
Berlin: These zionistic wars are very very far away from being a milchemes mitzvah. (And that is even if the concept would have been applicable today.)
you wrote: “Especially if he is told that these are both equal ways to protect the country” WHY WOULD HE BE TOLD THAT IF THEY ARE IN FACT NOT EQUAL?
sam2 and simcha- i see what ur saying but something still bothers me about that. we don’t even come close to those generations.
Even the Dor Hamidbar and David Hamelech needed armies with them. We believe that T’fillos and Torah are the Ikar, but even our highest-level generations had armies as well.
And Avraham threw sand at the four kings. Sancherev’s army was wiped out by Hashem directly.
The problem is not that we have an army, but that those who learn Torah for the protection of other Yidden don’t learn with enough Hasmadah to merit that sort of protection. The reason why we need an army is not because of the Arabs, but due to our own Chesronos. Just look at everone taking Bain HaZmanim! Bain Hazmanim is not to vacation, but to learn a different Limud then your normal Sedarim (famous quote from Rav Gifter), but to keep the Hasmada up. Time is wasting, and there is much work to be done!
As per the hypothetical terrorist, if Yidden would learn with enough Hasmadah, the Arab with the gun would never make it to the Beis Medrash. Hashem is perfectly capable of protecting us without an army. Furthermeore, no one would look up for their sefer when he started shooting (like it was in Kelm), but the bullets would never make it (if we deserved that level of protection).
No reason to choose one or the other. Do both. That is the Hesder model, and it works.
I’m too old for this to have an affect on me now, but I’d try to find a way to do both. The Jewish people need both learning and being adequately armed and trained to stay safe, and staying adequately armed and trained is not a contradiction to learning. It’s another area of learning. Jews need to learn Torah and to constantly enforce our connection to Hashem by doing that. But we also can’t be claiming, in the name of our learning, that we can’t give up a town here, a religiouly significant site there — and being fully prepared to defend that down to the last Chiloni.
“If an Arab Terorist stormed into the Beis Medrash ready to blow himself up
Do you pull out the sefer torah from the aron and wrap yourself in it to protect yourself, or do you pull out your Uzi and shoot him?”
i think people need to read this post twice and think about it…
If I wanted to be a soldier, I would join an army. Otherwise it is quite illegal to go around shooting people, no matter how justified you are. Of course there are practical problems for frum Jews – Shabbos, kashrus, whether specific acts violate halacha since its very clear that the “superior orders” defense doesn’t apply under Torah law since HaShem is always superior to your comanding officer, and issues about whether an individual soldier is responsible for averios done by other soldiers just because he’s part of the army (if an army lets you be frum, but coerces other soldiers to do things contrary to halacha, are you guilty as an accomplice).
If I wanted to learn Torah full time, I’ld join a kollel. The problem is that kollels (unlike armies) pay poorly and I wish to be middle class. While I know that learning Torah is the ikar for our survival, but being a bit hasidische I’ld say there’s room for a baal ha-bayis now and them.
If you think Torah will protect you from a Terrorist
In 1970 The Palestinians Hijacked an Airplane with Rav Hutner in it
Yummy: Correct. We’re not even close. So Kal V’chomer we need more Hishtadlus to save ourselves.
Interesting question.
Interesting answers.
Seems to me similar to the question those of us not privileged to live in E”Y ask ourselves. To chutznik posters who struggle with the question of army or kollel in theory only-
Do you choose work to earn a living or kollel? And do you feel there are any parallels between your decision and the decision of those who choose between army or kollel? Or are they totally unrelated?
zahavasdad
Member
If you think Torah will protect you from a Terrorist
In 1970 The Palestinians Hijacked an Airplane with Rav Hutner in it
POSTED 26 MINUTES AGO #
And Rav Hutner was saved!
The correct answer is that the Frum Yidden should protect Klal Yisroel by learning Torah while Chilonim should do so by joining the Army.
Klal Yisroel needs a strong amount of Limud Torah. The Chilonim are completely neglecting that. So the responsibility of Limud Torah is falling fully on the shoulders of the Frum Yidden. Therefore the Frum should learn Torah while the frei go to the Army.
I wonder if those who are so interested in the “integration” of the chareidim into frei culture are going to be surprised when the opposite occurs, and the secular godless masses in Israel end up being exposed to these newly inducted IDF Torah scholars, who in turn will inspire T’shuvah, thereby increasing the madrega of the average Israeli.
Hashem has a plan for all, and if in the end Hashem’s decision is that yeshiva bochurim should take time out of their Torah studies to join the IDF and learn how to kill Arabs, then that’s what for the best. And it’s time to start thinking about all the kiruv opportunities there will be in the IDF and how much Israel stands to benefit.
Honestly if i were to PAY secular students to sit in the beis midrash for 9 hours a day would they do it? would you do it?
what if its for 5 years? what if you get paid only $200 a month?
lets face realty these teens are looking for action and fun.
Simcha 613, is it really true that in the army you are “doing less of a service for Klal Yisroel”?
If we agree that earning parnassa can be done bederech hateva, then can we perhaps agree that in the IDF we might be contributing our hishtadlus to saving lives bederech hateva? (Of course we are in agreement that our hishtadlus in both areas is only our human effort, and the direct benefit or yeshua is not in our hands.)
And if we are contributing to saving even one life, isn’t that worth at least as much, I’d like to say far more, than the salary we get for working?
to “choppy’ -rav hutner was saved- by the army!!!!
to ohr chodesh; look in the rambam- any war to save jews is a michemes mitzvah!!
to all: the mishne is clear; in a milcheme mitzvah (or chovah, according to the rambam) everyone has to go defend e jewish people!!- no exceptions- not even a chosson!
If all we needed to win was the Torah, then Hashem would NEVER have sent Am Yisrael into ANY battle. But he did. Time and time again.
It is naive and foolish to say that we don’t need soldiers to fight, all we need is Torah. Of course we need both. That is part of our hishtadlus. Yes, we need Torah learners, but those same Torah learners need to know how to defend themselves properly. The point that was made about if an Arab stormed a Yeshivah, would you arm yourself with a Torah or pull out an Uzi to shoot him, was an excellent one. Moshe Rabbeinu was at the forefront of every battle.
And how was the Piasetzener Rebbe saved from the Warsaw Ghetto
Nope, Rav Hutner’s release was negotiated. No Israeli army.
And no milchemes mitzvah’s today.
I would do anything in my power to make sure that someone with the caliber of hasmadah that gavra describes never has to leave the beis medrash. And for all the two bit bench warmers to lose the ability to use “learning” to cop out of service. And those categories are not hard to identify, either.
Rav Hutner was saved “by the army!!!!” ( exclamation marks yours, rabbiofberlin) ????
The planes were blown up in Jordan and the hostages eventually released.
Please explain: what exactly was the involvement of the IDF?
Just curious, but can anyone give me an actual Makor that the person learning is doing more to save lives than the soldier?
The Hijackers of TWA Flight 741 (The Plane with Rav Hutner and his son-in-law) did not give in willingly, They were attacked with force and the prisoners (including Rav Hutner and his son-in-law.
It was not the IDF who freed them, it was the Jordanians under King Hussein who wanted to eliminate Black September
Sam2. “Hakol kol Yaakov vehayadayim yedai Eisav.” See what various mefarshim say on that passuk in Bereishis.
The point is Rav Hutner was freed by Military Might
There is an important fact which is getting brushed under over here. Forget about which is better protection Army or Torah.
Even if you say the Army and we need soldiers but what TYPE of army are you joining?
The Israli army is notorious for being VERY prust and making LAWS how the men need to stay and listen to women sing ect.
The name Neturei Karta literally means “Guardians of the City” in Aramaic and comes from the gemara of the Jerusalem Talmud, Hagigah, 76c. There it is related that Rabbi Judah haNasi sent two rabbis on a tour of inspection:
In one town they asked to see the “guardians of the city” and the city guard was paraded before them. They said that these were not the guardians of the city but its destroyers, which prompted the citizens to ask who, then, could be considered the guardians. The rabbis answered, “The scribes and the scholars,” referring them to Tehillim (Psalms) Chapter 127.[6]
Wikipedia article on “Neturei Karta”
Ironic that you should mention tehilim, Gavra, as it is full of references to Dovid Hamelech overcoming his enemies physically with HKBH’s help.
Ok, zahahvasdad, i think i got your point. Rav Hutner was freed by military might. Or, as you prefer, Military Might. But which military exactly? Jordanian? So how does that explain the need for the IDF? Au contraire. I think it supports the opposite position. The Istraelis stood by unable to help as the hostages were deep in Jordan. “Harbei Sh’luchim laMakom B”H”. And in this particular case the Israeli army was not chosen to be the shaliach.
simcha -“Would you choose army or kollel?”
This question has no basis in reality. It’s just a question to get e/o goats here in the CR due to the political fight in Israel.
The zionists here are going to be pro-army and the Charedim aren’t.
E/o in Israel does how they were raised. Charedim aren’t raised with this option. While MO and Chilonim are. So most MO and Chilonim do go and most Charedim won’t go.
I want to point out the hypocrisy of some of the posters here. Most of the Zionists scream that all Israelis have to serve, but most of these posters are Americans. So every country needs an army including the US and Israel, esp. in times of war. The US is at war and Israel even though technically they aren’t but it’s just like they are. So why don’t these American Zionist Posters join the US Armed forces? If it’s the right thing to do then it shouldn’t matter if they draft or not. The only ones that I know in the US armed forces are Charedim. At least two from Lakewood alone. How many MO have joined up? How come you haven’t?
The only way to make the army more “pure” is for pure people to join it en masse and lead by example. And I thought a milchemes mitzvah today was a milchama fought against sonim who want to eradicate Klal Yisroel. Would you not say that describes the Arab agenda pretty accurately?
I think the chilonim justifiably do not “get” why any Jew should be exempt from defending E”Y, simply because he is learning. My cousins who are ALL frum, served their time in the army in NACHAL, and the girls did sherut leumi. I would only concur that girls should not be forced into army service when they could be doing something to help their country that does not require military training.
Learning unfortunately did not save the boys who were slaughtered a few years ago in their Yeshivah. Had those bochurim all been trained militarily, perhaps the story would have had a happier outcome. At the very least, they would not have been sitting ducks. There is no dishonor in knowing how (and being prepared) to defend oneself and one’s country. Quite the contrary. And yes, the learning is also crucial for that.
sam ?????? ???? ???? ????
Getzel: That Mishnah is about S’char in Olam Hazeh and Olam Habah. It’s not talking about physical protection. I’m not downplaying learning at all. I’m just curious if anyone has an actual Makor for this fairly common claim.
The Gemora in Sotah (21a) tells us that the Torah protects us from pain and affliction.
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??????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ???????????? ????????? ?????? ??????????? ????????? ??? ???????? ??????, ????????? ???: ???????? ??? ?????, ??????????? ????????, ????????????? ????? ??????????? ????????? ??????????, ??????????? ?????????, ????????? ???????, ??????????? ???????, ????????? ??????, ???????? ?????????, ????????? ??????? ????? ????? ????????? ?????? ????? ???????????,
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is referring to that learning is more valuable than all other mitzvahs.
Getzel: You’re right. I mashed those two together. It’s a long Z’man and I’m not quite on top of everything anymore. I need to catch up on sleep and relax for a bit. I can probably make it until Tishah B’av though. And I never disagreed about that or said that it was less valuable. My simple question was where is the source that it grants more physical protection than actual physical defense does.
I believe the source that is used to say that those learning in Yeshivah don’t need the army is Bava Basra 7a (or somewhere around there), “Rabannan Lo Tzrichi N’tirusa”. But if I recall correctly, if you look at the Rishonim there it shouldn’t really apply to this case.
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