A dramatic letter by Hagaon HaRav Dov Landau was published on Thursday morning in the Yated Ne’eman instructing talmidei yeshivos not to respond at all to draft orders and not to report to conscription centers.
The Rosh HaYeshivah wrote in the letter: “For years of government here in Israel, there was an understanding with the military authorities that bnei yeshivos and kollelim would not be recruited, and therefore per the instructions of the Gedolei HaDor, z’tl, to conduct themselves as a decent and disciplined public, they cooperated with the military authorities to legally regulate the exemptions, which included reporting to the conscription offices to receive the status of a ben yeshivah.”
“Currently, the situation is that the courts have declared war against the Olam HaTorah and they are the ones who opened a front and are aiming to change the arrangement that existed all these years and ordered the IDF to begin the actual recruitment process of bnei yeshivos. And since the IDF is obligated to the courts, this necessity has arisen because we cannot rely on agreements and understandings with the heads of the army since their hands are bound in iron chains by the judges, and all compliance with the rulings of the courts constitutes a surrender to their war against Hashem and His Torah.”
“And therefore, the instructions to bnei yeshivos are to not report at all to the conscription centers and not to respond to any summons whatsoever, not even to the first summons.”
“And Hashem Yisbarach should save us from their hands and we’ll be zocheh to see a multitude of lomdei Torah who are immersed in its study, meditating on it day and night from the peace of quiet. The Torah is our life and the length of our days and any tool against you will not succeed, b’Siyata Dishmaya.”
HaRav Landau said in a meeting on Wednesday evening that a state that drafts bnei yeshivos has no zechus to exist. “At a time of war, they want to take away the zechus of lomdei Torah – it’s complete suicide,” the Rosh HaYeshivah said.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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16 Responses
I would like to see those who condemn others to jail to go along with them to demonstrate their commitment.
They’re releasing Hammas terrorists with blood on their hand because they need more jail space. Now you know why.
The airheads saying that this proves that the peleg faction has been right all along are self servingly deluded. To the contrary, this proves that our Gedolim have all along been very aware of the possibility of needing to take this step but decided that up till now there was no point in needlessly antagonizing and fighting. Rav Shteinman and Rav Gershon Edelstein ZTL successfully delayed any changes happening to the status quo by kicking the can down the road for another ten years.
The problem is that the Gedolim have taken the position that not only bnei yeshiva and kollelim shouldnt serve but also anyone who is “chareidi” shouldnt serve. This is problematic for so many reasons not the least of which is that it is impossible to define who is a “chareidi.”
The eitzniks always claimed that Degel would not put their foot down on the time came and would do anything for money, All the demonstrations and road closings over The last 15 years was for specific boys who were caught not registering for the army not on policy at all, Since the policy was to exempt all those who are registered in yeshiva.
Hapeles Bad mouthed degel for years that they have no backbone and would do anything for money and now they’ve been proven wrong.
All the wildness and violence which eitz Has perpetrated throughout the years was useless and needless.
All the Gedolei Yisroel today are taking the Peleg Yerushalmi position that it is forbidden to cooperate or even respond to any military draft notices.
@DrYidd and I would like to see you call for gedolei Yisroel to be arrested and jailed without hiding behind a silly pseudonym. If that’s really what you want, have the guts to say so under your own name.
@Besalel
What the Gedolei Yisroel are saying is NOT problematic. It is ALWAYS constructive. They are the eynei haeidah. YOU may not understand what they are doing or saying. But that does NOT make it problematic. It is ultimately YOU who needs to check YOUR spiritual compass.
When the accursed army stops being an erev rav army that has nothing to do with security but everything to do with cantonist shmad and starts bring a Jewish Army that places it’s soldiers lives before any other consideration and generally takes its marching orders from talmidei chachomim, then there is what to talk about.
Until then, your stinking accursed medina, your problem.
Knock yourselves out.
How anybody, even non chareidim can even contemplate serving in an army that has contempt for it’s solders lives and punishes anyone who actually saves Jewish lived while protecting our blood enemies lived is beyond me.
May Hashem destroy the rev rav medina speedily in our days omein
When the enemies of Jews see this, they rejoice.
When Iran sees this, they rejoice.
When Hamas sees this, they rejoice.
When Hezbollah sees this, they rejoice.
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In Tanach, Sefer Shoftim, [the Book of Judges] chapter 5, the Prophetess Deborah [Devorah HaNeviyah], sings a Divinely-inspired song [shirah].
In chapter 5, verses 12 to 16, she publicly praises those Jews who fought against the enemies of Israel. Then she publicly REBUKES those Jews who did NOT join the fight against the enemies of Israel.
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Rambam, Hilchot Shabbat, chapter 2, paragraph 23:
“[The following rules apply] when gentiles lay siege to Jewish cities:
If their intent was financial gain, then Shabbat laws should not be violated because of them, nor are we allowed to wage war against them.
If a city is located near the border, however, we should march against them with weapons and wage war against them, even when they are [merely] demanding hay or straw.
** In any location, if the gentiles’ intent was [to harm] Jewish lives, or if they engaged in battle with a city or laid siege to it, without stating a specific intention, we must wage war against them and the Shabbat laws should be violated because of them.
** It is a mitzvah for every member of the Jewish people who can come [to their assistance] to go out and help their brothers who are under siege and save them from the gentiles [even on] Shabbat.
It is forbidden to delay until after Shabbat.
After they [the Jewish soldiers] saved their brothers, they [the Jewish soldiers] may return home with their weapons [even] on Shabbat, so that a dangerous situation will not be created in the future.”
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Once full-scale war broke out after the State of Israel declared its existence on May 14, 1948 [CE] Reb Shraga Feivel’s [Mendlowitz] thoughts were never far from Eretz Yisrael.
A group of students saw him outside the Mesivta building one day, talking excitedly with Rabbi Gedaliah Schorr and gesticulating rapidly with the newspaper held in his hand.
“If I were your age,” he told the students,
“I would take a gun and go to Eretz Yisrael.”
SOURCE: Reb Shraga Feivel: the life and times of Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz, the architect of Torah in America (chapter 26, page 338)
by Yonoson Rosenblum for Artscroll / Mesorah, year 2001,
based on Aharon Sorasky’s Shelucha DeRachmana,
ISBNs: 157819797X, 9781578197972, 1578197961, 9781578197965
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Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan [ZTL ZYA] said this in his HANDBOOK OF JEWISH THOUGHT, volume II, chapter 3, paragraph 24, top of page 23:
“Experience has shown us that when Jews are not ready to defend and die for their fellows, an even greater number are killed in the end.”
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Rabbi Steven Pruzansky said:
“The IDF [Israeli Army] soldier fulfills three mitzvot that cannot be fulfilled by the soldier in any other army: the settlement (Yishuv) of Eretz Yisrael, preserving Jewish life (Pikuach Nefesh), and Kiddush HaShem, the sanctification of G-d’s Name, implicit in the Jewish people exercising sovereignty over our homeland.”
SOURCE: Ask the Rabbi, Part 22 by Rabbi Steven Pruzansky
2023 August 18 from www (dot) RabbiPruzansky (dot) com
besalel:
Why would anyone be so foolish as to think that Zionist shmad propaganda is more real than the gedolim’s opinion? And then more foolish to even write that?
SQUARE_ROOT:
There is no point in copy/pasting irrelevant Rambams and, liHavdil, quotes from “Religious Zionist” idolaters.
The Zionist army is shmad and forbidden to Jews (and has zero to do with self-defense). It really is that simple.
The cowards who run this anonymous blog don’t want to allow this message through:
Where in the Talmud or the Rambam does it recognize any concept of a “Gadol HaDor”?
“May Hashem destroy the rev rav medina speedily in our days omein”
BY1212: Any may you be among the first to suffer the consequences of the destruction of the medina, umein, v’umein.
RightJew:
The Torah itself says to listen to the Torah leaders of that generation. The Talmud itself also has many stories involving the nasi, the av beis din and the like. They were obviously the gedolei haDor then.