In response to recent protests by members of the Peleg in Jerusalem, some of the rabbonim affiliated with the Peleg and Eida Chareidis have been asked to comment on sitting in prison and if doing so presents a threat to one’s ruchniyus, no less so than entering the IDF.
The questioners inquired if perhaps one should refrain from participating in protests or should make due expressing opposition to the system without protesting.
During a weekly shiur, Eida Chareidis Ravaad HaGaon HaRav Moshe Sternbuch spoke about sitting in prison as a result of being arrested at a Peleg protest. The Posek explained “A number of bochrim have approached me of late, those who sat in jail, explaining authorities did not break their spirit. I told them prison is a dangerous place, one posing spiritual dangers and direct contact with ‘those who are totally free’ and this presents a serious sakona [danger] to one’s ruchniyus.
The rav spoke of the Rambam, and how one who wishes to ‘earn a title’ mustn’t lose a single night to sleeping or eating, but only immersed in Torah. The Rav added HaGaon HaRav Aharon Kotler ZT”L added this must be done regularly, night after night towards attaining a title for oneself. One who is interrupted must begin again, working and toiling to reach this level.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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7 Responses
Can’t be, since going to demonstrate is a bigger Mitzvah than Mitzvas Tefillin therefore Shluchei Mitzvah Einon Nizakin
of course the chilul hashem involved in these demonstrations is not a problem at all
R’ Moshe Shternbuch did not came out publicly at a gathering in Tamir hall against going to the deferment office and signs letters that call to protest against the giyus nonetheless he told the bochurim that there is a danger being in prison with reshaim the quote in ywn is not an exact quote.
Hard to tell from the quote which direction he means. Is he saying that protesting and getting arrested is not better than enlisting in IDF, and therefore don’t do it? If so, he needed to spell that out. Did he mean to mourn the spiritual deficit the arrestees are experiencing, feeling bad for them, wishing they could have protested, created all the havoc and chaos for everyone else, without the negative consequences? Where I come from, we learn from negative consequences. I am not enlightened or proud of those arrested for committing crimes, blaming this on the arresting cop. If there were brains in the picture, one would realize that the arrest happened because of the crime, not the cop. This is more than narrowmindedness. It is plain stupid.
I wonder.
Rav Shternbuch is NOT part of the Peleg fraction – he is from the Eida HaCharedis and not involved in post political things
He is an Ish Halacha
Pls don’t right lightly about him – he is a massive Tsadik and Talmid Chacham (lives in Har Nof) and hsi knowledge of Torah is way abovr anyone who wrote here
How dare anyone say what “he needs” to say
The Rav may be stating the obvious: If you are locked away in prison, you may be denied the opportunity to put on tallis/teffilin, daven with a minyan, have access to food that conforms with your standards, may not have seforim from which to learn, could be exposed to issues of tzinius/negiah etc. with women prison guards etc. All of this in addition to the basic absence of a spiritual environment spending 24×7 with criminals etc. Seems rather obvious and presumably that’s the reason why many believe the police and IDF need to jail MORE of these Peleg anarchists as a deterrent.
So what, we must never fight for our rights, because they may put us in prison without tfillin?
Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.
Axiomatic, no?