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Where is the evidence that Rav Moshe Feinstein told his talmidim not to go to the army?
I am not sure that these gedolim would have said the same in the current war, when many hundreds of soldiers, letza’areinu, have been killed protecting their Jewish brothers, and the war is still ongoing, by far the longest war in the history of the country.
Let us be strong enough to admit at least one painful truth. I know of a hesder rosh yeshiva, who has five sons all of whom have been in the army over the past year. The minimum number of days any one of them did was 240 days. For forty year old men (including many talmidei chachomim) to be taken away from their families, while SOME (by no means all), dodge the draft and do not learn many hours, is criminal. (Rav Goldberg who was killed in action was a father of ten.) Rav Shach zt”l said that anyone who dodges the draft but doesn’t learn is a rodef and endangers those who learn as they should. People are quick to quote the gedolim’s anti-state lines. However, let us remember how Rav Shach cried upon hearing about two helicoptors of soldiers being shot down (he did not know of the soldiers in them). Similar stories are known about other gedolim. Do we aspire to cry as they do and genuinely feel the pain of אחינו בני ישראל, or do we spend more time bashing those with whom we disagree (as this is far easier to do)? Let us remember that those we disagree with have often risked their lives for us.
One thing I hope and pray we increase our achdus, genuinely understand the suffering and frustration of the Dati Leumi and cry out to Hashem during this war as we would over a relative whose health is in danger. Too often, we see a laid back attitude during Tehillim at the end of davening, when in truth, tefilla at a time of tzora is a mitzva de’oraisa, while we pasken that ma’ariv is not even derabanan. Chas veshalom, i do not intend to downplay the value of maariv or any tefilla. I only mean to say that we need to be honest about our individual, communal and national areas for obvious improvement.
This is not true. It is known that the one who said “Kook Shnook” was not the Chofetz Chaim, and unfortunately, a false version of this story has become widespread. It is well known that Rav Chaim Ozer, Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer, the Netziv, Rav Shlomo Zalman, Rav Elyashiv and many other gedolim respected Rav Kook immensely. While one can question his approach to secular zionism, and follow gedolim who disagreed with him, there is often a Yetzer Hara (seemingly worse today than a hundred years ago) to bash anyone who one does not see eye to eye with. Please see the Netziv in his Hakdama to Bereishis about suspicion of others being tzidokim, apikorsim etc., and the damage such thoughts can cause.
Regardless of his view of the state, the Chazon Ish sent a shaila to Rav Kook a week after his arrival in EY, which provides clear proof that he valued Rav Kook as a talmid chochom. (There is also a verified story about the Chazon Ish standing throughout an address by Rav Kook at the opening of a yeshiva in Bnei Brak.) Let us learn the lessons of Yoma 9b.
I am from England and happen to personally know many people close to Rabbi Mirvis and have personally met him a few times. On every shaila in halocha, such as this one, he refers to the London Beis Din, all of whom are outstanding talmidei chachomim, each of whom i have spoken to on several occasions. In response to one of the above points about entering a beis avoda zara, the proof from Chana and her seven sons is not followed lehalacha, except in a שעת השמד, see Y.D. 157:3. The current reality in the uk is not a שעת השמד. It seems that this was also the psak of Botei din in London in the past
The Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 369) quotes verbatim from the Rambam that one is obligated to pay taxes both in Eretz Yisroel as well as in other countries. Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l undoubtedly knew this and can’t have said as is reported above.