MK Menachem Eliezer Moses addressed the controversy in the IDF surrounding beards and the new Manpower Branch regulation prohibiting it. Moses stated that today it is clear the gedolei hador throughout the generations were correct, and one should not enter the IDF, which he views as a “melting pot for Israeli society which makes it easier for one to become more secular”.
Moses added that three months ago, during a session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee, he spoke to Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on this very matter. He explains that Ya’alon promised him that anyone with a beard for religious reasons will be permitted to continue sporting a beard, stating that he relies on Ya’alon to keep his word for he has always done so in the past.
Moses adds that while the new regulation will impact dati leumi soldiers more than chareidi soldiers, he nevertheless decries the decision to place responsibility for the beards in the hands of the adjutancy instead of the IDF Rabbinate as it has been.
There is confusion surrounding the regulation. Some reports indicate the implementation, which was to have been on Tuesday, 21 Adar-I (March 1st) is being pushed off for three months. Other reports state the implementation moves ahead as scheduled but those soldiers who have yet to request permission or have requested and not received a response, they may continue sporting a beard until the matter is clarified. There is no explanation regarding those soldiers who have a beard for religious reasons and whose requests were turned down.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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7 Responses
moses is right it is assur to enter the IDF it is yaharug val yavor.
if he was sincerece hed resign and bring down this anti-frum government.
Complete confusion, wouldn’t u say??!?!
What Dati Leumi slowly learning about the trejfene Medineh our Gedolim realised already in 1912!
i reiterate the words of hakatan who is the voice of the gedolei hadoros on this matter. the medinah is avodah zarah and anyone who supports it tzorech livdok acharov, choshud al retzichah.
dlkanoi, lbj, There were Rabbonim, the Gerrer Rebbe, Belze Rebbe, and others, who were just as great as anti-Zionist Rebbes and they were not against the medinah.
I am against Chareidim in the IDF because of its secularism and immorality. I am against a draft. But I also support Jews defending themselves against those who want to kill us and hope for the safety of the Israeli army and that Israelis in general, and consequentialy the Israeli army and gov, return to their lost heritage.
I am amused that you would say I am tzorach lidvak acharov, choshud al retzichah because I support Israel. I am sure you would want your brothers and sisters in the “medinah” to live under Hamas, or better yet ISIS, no?
this website, these politicians, and the above comments are ridiculous. the IDF has served as the #1 source Torah education for Israeli chilonim. i saw it in my unit with my own eyes. it protects the Jewish nation in Israel and abroad. THIS WEBSITE itself posted a few days ago to daven for an inured soldier. and then there’s ONE instance of ONE general THREATENING (IT WAS NOT CARRIED OUT AND IT WON’T BE) something anti-Torah and this article and so many comments go off on how treif the IDF is. kafui tov, hypocritical, unprioritized.
is the IDF perfect? no. but it protects the lives of am yisrael- even the chareidim which call them pigs. the way to improve it is to enlist, and match the numbers of chilonim. thats how it became kosher. thats how it became illegal to make someone work on shabbat. the way to improve it isnt to run away and call it treif.