HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Zilberstein was asked a shaila by a Bnei Brak avreich who wrote that he is is scared to go to shul on Shabbos with his children as no one in the shul carries a gun.
“I checked out the possibility of obtaining a gun from the police for Shabatos and Yamim Tovim and they told me that they have a condition that I volunteer in the Bnei Brak civil guard for 45 hours a month,” the avreich wrote. “That would mean patrolling the streets in a car in certain areas and then I could receive a gun license. It would be at night so it wouldn’t be on the cheshbon of my learning in kollel. Is it appropriate for me to do this?” the avreich asked.
HaRav Zilberstein responded: “It’s chaval that even within the tzibur of Bnei Torah, there are those who aren’t sufficiently aware of the chashivus of their limmud and don’t sufficiently believe in themselves, how much Torah protects Am Yisrael.”
“Today, there’s the Iron Dome system, one of the most sophisticated systems that Hakadosh Baruch Hu has given to the intelligent, a system that is capable of identifying rocket launches and detonating them while they’re still in the air – we have to thank Hakadosh Baruch Hu for this wonderful wisdom.”
“Imagine if someone would say to the operators of the Iron Dome: ‘Chaval on this wonderful system – I’ll go with a weapon and if I see someone about to launch a missile, I’ll take care of him with my weapon.’ They would say to him: ‘You’re a complete fool. This system protects the entire country from every area where they launch missiles. You, with your weapon, can perhaps protect one area, and even that, you probably can’t do.”
“A person who learns Torah knows that when he learns Torah, he spreads the perfect protection of the Torah over himself and his entire city which protects from all harm, like it says in the Gemara in Sotah, that the Torah protects and saves.”
“When they asked my brother-in-law, HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky, z’tl during the Gulf War whether to leave Bnei Brak, he said that it says in the Navi (מלכים ב, ו טו) that the king Aram sent an entire army in order to capture Elisha, and it’s written: ‘And the servant of the Ish Elokim got up early and went out, and behold an army with horses and chariots was surrounding the city. And his attendant said to him: ‘Adoni, what will we do?’ And he said to him: ‘Don’t fear for those who are with us are more numerous than those who are with them.’ And Elisha davened and said: ‘Hashem, open his eyes and let him see. And Hashem opened his eyes and he saw, and behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha.'”
“Who were these who were protecting Elisha? It was the Torah he learned, that’s what protected him. And also today, a million pages of Gemara are protecting the city but we don’t have the Navi to open our eyes to see it.”
“Additionally, we must be aware of what the Ohr Somayach said at the time of World War I, that every bullet has an address – and there’s no chance of someone being injured if the bullet wasn’t intended for him. And nothing will help the person the bullet is intended for, even if he is in a protected place he’ll still be injured there. And even if there was a police station right next to a place where it was decreed that there will be a terror attack, all the armed police officers won’t be there and will only arrive after the terrorist completes what was decreed from Shamayim.”
“But we have a mitzva to do hishtadulus and there’s an issur to go to a makom sakanah because the Satan prosecutes at a time of sakanah. And therefore when the issues are relevant to our actions, we must consider the crux of the matter – is this hishtadlus that Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants from us, that we close our Gemaros so we can go out with weapons? Surely not, this isn’t the desired hishtadlus. On the contrary, when there are terror attacks, Hakadosh Baruch Hu is hinting to us to be mechazeik in Torah and yiras Shamayim. Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn’t bring terror attacks in order to hint to us to arm ourselves.”
“The second thing is to consider whether a shul where there are no weapons can be called a makom sakanah. And the answer is no, every normal place has a certain amount of sakanah, whether there are weapons there or not. But it’s not such a danger that we’re afraid to go there, and on the contrary, a makom tefillah is an especially protected place where we daven to Hashem to save us from all harsh and cruel decrees. And when there’s an attack in a shul or near a shul, it’s a siman that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is asking us to be mechazeik ourselves even more in Torah and tefillah. These are the true weapons of Am Yisrael,” HaRav Zilberstein emphasized.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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25 Responses
Where will he be running his buy-back program?
Very misleading headline… He’s saying you shouldn’t be mevatel Torah to carry a gun, not that you shouldn’t carry a gun.
Waiting for rightwriter to comment
Those are fine words from the rabbi, but is he aware of all the Bnei Torah being killed recently? The Torah learning didn’t protect them. Perhaps an armed shul-goer, etc might have helped. Comparing a terrorist shooting the front of a shul to rockets being launched from Gaza is apples to oranges. Didn’t see how that was relevant. Yea, israel has rockets to shoot down rockets. But the iron dome doesn’t protect against bad guys shooting in shuls or ramming bus stops.
I have great respect for Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein and all true Torah scholars.
I wish Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein and his entire family happiness and good health.
Someone please remind Rabbi Zilberstein about these two teachings of Chazal:
Babylonian Talmud, tractate Sanhedrin, page 72A:
If you see someone coming to kill you, then arise and kill him first.
Babylonian Talmud, tractate Pesachim, page 64B:
It is forbidden to rely on miracles.
In year 1929 of Common Era, the righteous students of the Chevron Yeshivah (HYD) were brutally murdered by wicked bloodthirsty Muslims. If those students would have had guns, they might have lived.
Before the Nazis threw millions of innocent Jews [and non-Jews] into the death camps, they first made gun ownership illegal, and took-away the guns of all German citizens. Then they were able to kill innocent people by the millions.
To Square Root:
The Rav agrees that you should carry a gun, however, he was not happy about 45 hours a month patrolling the streets as a condition in order to get a license to carry a gun.
Please do not try to explain the Holocaust to us. Hashem himself or the real true honest legitimate Mashiach when he will come, he will gladly explain to you the bigger picture of the Holocaust.
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The Rav mentioned the extreme importance of learning Torah. I would like to add that the Chafetz Chaim may his memory be blessed said that if a person is Mekabel Lashon HaRah then his learning will not protect him. The best course of action is when you hear something negative, you are suppose to think that maybe it is true and maybe it is not true. Do not assume 100% that the negative statement is true. We are not sure. Be on the look out that maybe someone is trying to harm you, but then again maybe no one is trying to harm you. Simply watch out and be careful. Do not ignore the warning and also do not believe in your mind 100% that the person is trying to harm you. Now if you learn Torah, it will protect you and a good portion of your city.
Fake news, he’s talking only to that avreich
Some beuty so much faith in God the old wine of the orh sameach that did not want to animalize himself all this is great except he is making one mistake the animal only fears a human being when he lookes like one but once that human is the same as the animal then he has no more fear the orh sameach was a human and anybody that study from him was but today the human is same as the animal you can learn and study but that beuty is with the Zionist they are people that you are with in the end and they are the animal believe you me it’s a stupendous miracle every day that they don’t to terrorism at the shul it is mind boggling almost as what the rabbi said that torah will protect them and family but they do not realize that the Torah they are learning is not that of the purity that it is supposed to be it is absolutely a miracle that nothing happened till now and like what he is saying the future nothing like it such a beauty
SQUARE_ROOT :
you say that you have great respect for the rabbi and then you suggest that the rabbi forgot commonly known word of chazal suggesting that he didnt check all the sides before he paskened
most disrespectful
like in the movies when the guy says nothing personal and then shoots the other guy – the is nothing more personal
Pathetic comments
.qouting gemaras that you know nothing about and questioning a rav who is talking about hishtadlus and emunah.
In 1929 they could’ve had the army there surrounding them and each one of them could have been in armor and had machine guns but if hashem decrees that they will die then they will die…that’s his point…to say otherwise is apikorses
What the Rav is saying is that even if you had a gun it wouldn’t protect you if it was decreed.
He also isn’t saying no one should carry a gun.
He is speaking to an avreich who spends his time learning. There are those who do not sit and learn, who would be better suited to using their time for such things. Both are means of protection: the Torah learning and the gun. Presumably, if there’s enough kedushah and learning in the world, that alone would be sufficient to protect. The call to increase learning is to increase the protection.
@SQUARE ROOT
the myth that the nazis, ym”sh, needed to take away guns is pure gun lobby propaganda. civilians will never be able to resist a modern army, because this isn’t 1776. and if guns were some kind of guarantee of freedom, afghanistan would be a free country and britain would be a complete tyranny. in the case of protecting shuls from terrorists, amateurs with little or no training are not much help, and may even shoot bystanders. what’s really needed is police or properly trained guards.
The Rav is right – carrying a gun is not good. You should carry a gun AND brass knuckles, or an Uzi.
I am not a Rav, and certainly no Posek, however, if you have gun, bring it to shul, even if there is NO eruv.
Sofek Pekuach Nefesh Doche Shabbos.
For every a 22-inch salami.
The story of the Ohr Sameach actually is very similar to one involving the Rogachover and Rav Meir Simcha in Dvinsk during WWI. Rav Meir Simcha ordered the townspeople to stay in their houses due to the danger as the front lines went right through the town – but then saw the Rogachover walking through the streets as if there were nothing going on. Rav Meir Simcha quickly sent his Shamash to call the Rogachover in to ask why he was endangering himself. The Rogachover gave the response above about each bullet having an address – the which Rav Meir Simcha responded, “Yes – but I’m worried about the one addressed ‘To Whom it May Concern!'”
an Israeli Yod
To Mr No Way jose:
If you were not happy or did not fully understand the Rav or maybe your Rav (if you have one) said something differently, that is fine.
The problem here is that if you disagree, you need to do it with respect. I read your comment very carefully and you could have chosen nicer words.
Maybe if you would have chosen nicer words, maybe in that merit Hashem will prevent a tragedy that the arabs at the present moment are planning.
shloime: tell that to the Taliban
Anyway, it’s interesting to note that Rav sees “not going to makom sacana” as encompassing hishtadulus, and not an example.
For every JEW, a 22-cm salami. There, much butter.
An Arab attack you Chas Vashalom. One person holding a Sefer Torah the other person a gun, Who stands the best chance of surviving?. Don’t thank me for this free service announcement. BUT Keep on learning it doesn’t hurt.
@huju:
One is not allowed to eat salami and butter together. Basar bichalav. Unless you want to say that the butter is organic pareve.
The Rav is saying that one shouldn’t be mevatel torah to be able to carry a gun. If one could carry a gun without the bittul torah of volunteering for 45 hours of community service the Ruv has no problem with him carrying a gun to shul. He then addressed the avreichs fear of going to shul without an armed presence there, and he assuages those fears by stating proper kovod hatorah will protect the kehilla and therefore a shul without armed security is not a makom sakana. No where did the Ruv say what the headline describes. Please correct it.
shloimeboruch, you have no idea what you’re talking about.
1. Afghanistan is the best proof that an army is no match for an armed populace. When the Japanese were considering an invasion of the USA General Yamamoto warned them that there would be a rifle behind every blade of grass. The women in Afghanistan have no arms; if they did it would be a very different place.
2. Police are far more likely than armed citizens to shoot bystanders. In the USA armed citizens prevent over a million crimes a year; when’s the last time one of them has hit a bystander? Policemen are notorious for being poor shots; the average policeman spends no time at the range until he has to requalify, and then puts in just barely enough to pass.
5T resident:
Regardless of what a macho zionist with a gun might accomplish, any such suggestion shows a true, deep, NON BELIEF in the koach of Torah, relegating the words of Chazal- which i LIVE BY AS A REALITY, to a nice little cute anecdote.
After the Har Nof massacre, Rav Asher Weiss said that anyone who has a gun license should bring it to shul.