Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka HaGaon HaRav Dov Landau conveyed a firm message about the power of limmud Torah in a letter to Roshei Yeshivos.
“It’s only because of limmud Torah that the Arabs don’t unite and invade Israel and slaughter its residents, rachmanah litzlan,” HaRav Landau wrote in the letter, which was quoted in the Yated Ne’eman newspaper.
The Rosh Yeshivah added that “those who demand to decrease Torah endanger Klal Yisrael.”
The Rosh Yeshivah continued by quoting the passuk: “‘ולא תקיא הארץ אתכם בטמאכם אותה.’ How is it that Eretz Yisrael hasn’t spit out its residents due to the terrible things [that are neged the Torah] here over the years?”
“The only answer is limmud Torah and that’s what they want to eliminate!” the Rosh Yeshivah wrote.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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20 Responses
And here comes the posters that are “on the level” to “respectfully disagree” with Rabbi Landau
Excellent, so Rosh Yeshiva suggests that only those who are not currently learning should serve in the army?
The Arabs did “invade Israel and slaughter its residents”. October 7th, and like, other times when they killed Jews in Israel.
Unless he means Torah only protects from a bigger invasion that hasn’t happened yet? So Torah protects from like really big invasions, say, 2,000 fatalities and above, but between 0-2k murders it doesn’t protect, and that’s why October 7 happened?
Or, perhaps the people who were murdered on 10/7 didn’t keep Shabbos (allegedly), so therefore the Torah doesn’t protect them, gotcha. But if the Torah doesn’t protect the unobservants, then don’t those secular Jews still need something else to protect them, then? Like an army?
And if we are all areivim zeh lazeh, doesn’t that mean that we should help our brethren protect themselves by joining the army, since the Torah won’t protect them due to no Shabbos observance? Confused.
“ bigtzaddik69”
Confused by the way u use areivim zeh lazeh
Always_Ask_Questions:
No. Nobody suggests that anyone be shmaded in the Zionist army (nor elsewhere, for that matter). He was simply pointing out that, in addition to the universally known shmad in the Zionist army making that a non-starter for Jews, regardless, it is only the Torah learning that’s preventing the Zionists from being summarily expelled from G-d’s holy land.
bigtzaddik69:
You seem very, very confused, and should speak to a competent Torah-observant Rabbi.
To be protected, the non-observant need to observe Judaism. Failing that, they are counting on the Torah learning of others to protect them.
YWN you will have to answer after 120 if you could allow @bigtzaddik69 to make such a comment.
Outright mocking of gedolim has got to stop.
Your platform has become an open forum for tzadik bashing and the like. All the name of free press!
To Mr. Wise (big tzaddik) 69,
What happened on Oct. 7th is like the Holocaust , meaning we truly do not know the true reason of Hashem why it happened. When Mashiach will come and he will explain to us the Holocaust, he will also explain why Hashem did not stop October 7th.
Torah for sure can stop and prevent another Oct. 7th.
Rabbi Landau is hinting to all of us in a friendly manner, that Hashem wants us to improve in our Torah learning. If all the Frum Yidden will start learning Torah because Hashem wants us to learn Torah, our one and only reason why we are learning is because Hashem wants us to learn and also I must add, that we need to have zero
לשון הרע
because the
חפץ חיים זכר צדיק וקדוש לברכה
he said that if a person is a
בעל לשון הרע
every word of his Torah from 6 years old till 100 years old, every single word into the garbage. So how can such a Torah protect us??????
Might I suggest a way end to this war?
Everyone in Yeshiva should go to Gaza with their Gemarahs as their weapon & all soldiers should be ordered to sit in the Butei Midrashim & learn.
With all this learning going on nothing could possibly hurt Israel or its inhabitants.
@bigtzadik69
אין קטיגר נעשה סניגר
You can’t only use arguments from torah that fit you’re needs.
We know very well the concept of cause and effect. How it’s applied? We don’t exactly know. What we do know is, תורה מגינא ומצלא.
And the fact that we are outnumbered and so many in the world hate us and would want us dead, something more heavenly must be at play.
Most likely, he is implying that Torah learning brings “merit” that leads to the success of the army. But, if he does not mean that, are we then relying on miracles to protect us? Because Torah learning alone without effort on our part, would be just that.
It would be like, not wearing warm clothing in the winter because our Torah learning will protect from the cold. Perhaps there are certain holy individuals that merit such miracles, but the nation as a whole is not there yet. Most of us need to wear a jacket when going outside in the cold and we need an army to fight our enemies.
To Mr. bigtzadik69
Do you believe in Hashem?
Do you believe that the ONLY protection is Hashem?
Do you believe that we earn Hashem’s protection thru limud hatorah and keeping mitzvos?
Do you believe that Hashem has His reasons for all that transpires? And that you happen to not be privy to them?
The Yetzer Harah/Sitra Achara tirelessly works overtime, especially in these last days before the geulah, to confuse Klal Yisroel with misguided hashkafos bordering on kefirah, R”L.
Our Gedolei Hador with their clear Da’as Torah, are trying with great mesiras nefesh to fight the influence of the Sitra Achara, which is controlling the hashkafos of multitudes of yidden like you, R”L.
To question, and denigrate Gedolei Hador, especially on a public platform, is a tremendous Chilul Hashem, R”L.
Imagine a 4 year-old questioning and denigrating Einstein’s theory of relativity? Does it make sense? (Lehavdil elef alfei havdolos that I have to equate in some way the Gedolei Hador to Einstein, but maybe that’s the only way you’ll understand, if at all).
And, yes, there will be those who will bring other rabonim, like dati-leumi perhaps, or will bring endless Rambams and the like, (or stories of Rav Shraga Feivel Medolovitz ZTvK”L who said to pick up a gun and fight…he did not say to join the Israeli army. It’s like being approached by an angry mob during the Crown Heights riots and you had a gun available to you…wouldn’t you pick it up to defend your life? Does that mean you should join the NYC Police force?) The Rambam was not even imagining the current Israeli army. The pasuk says clearly for a Jewish army Lo Sihyeh becho ervas davar v’shuv meiAcharecha, Hashem will not protect if there is ervas davar, like the Israeli army which employs micro-skirted female soldiers, and forces charedi soldiers to listen to their singing. Is that the army the Rambam referred to? Uposh’im yikoshlu vum.
So YOU might be the 4 year old, but those more learned might be like undergraduate physics majors questioning Einstein’s theory of relativity. You have to know your place before attempting to “disagree” with da’as Torah.
The Torah being learned is protecting all of Am Yisroel, including those with misguided hashkafos. But by denigrating Gedolim and da’as Torah, especially in a public platform, you risk losing that protection. Please consider and ponder my devarim hayotz’im min halev, and shake off yourself the control of the sitra achara.
And perhaps YWN should realize how they are a platform to allow exposing the masses to misguided hashkofos, and change the current policy.
May we all be zoche to the geulah shlaima bekorov, and not be embarrassed to face Moshiach Tzidkeinu.
@not-even-a-small-tzadik: The Rosh Yeshivah Shlita didn’t say and will never say; Torah protects us from ALL Tzores; But it is clear that the Arabs have the ability and the will to inflict far far greater casualties and even to wipe out the entire Jewish Population choliloh not just in Israel. Even during the Simchas Torah massacre, great nissim occured, without which much worse would have happened – SO YES THE TORAH AND ONLY THE TORAH IS PROTECTING US!
Besides, you can’t have a whole group of people to publicly desecrate Shabbos and Tznius on the holy Simchas Torah on a festival and expect the “Torah should protect them” – no it doesn’t work like that – like everything in live; you are only given the benefit of what you respect and if on Simchas Torah people publicly scorn at the Torah they can’t expect it to protect them…
What would happen if Israels numerous arch enemies ganged up on them together…
Chances are they’d be toast
What stops them from doing that? it’s not such an ingenious plot.
The obvious answer is hkbh and he does so on a constant basis, finding that am Yisrael merits it
In what merit does he protect us? Chances are in merit of the lomdei Torah and the more lomdim the greater the merit
So who, may I ask is guarding Israel tzahal or the lomdei Torah
If the Chareidi anti-Zionists truly believe that the merit of Torah Study [Limmud HaTorah] is the ONLY thing that protects us Jews from genocidal Arab terrorists, then they should PROVE IT by establishing a yeshivah in Lebanon and another yeshivah in Damascus [Syria].
Both Lebanon and Damascus are Halachically part of Eretz Yisrael.
They will NEVER do this, because they know that without the protection of the Israeli Army, both yeshivahs would soon be: killed, murdered, massacred, destroyed, annihilated and exterminated, and not even one Jew would remain alive.
@bigtzadik69 – you’re arguing with people who are ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that the Torah being learned in Chareidi Yeshivos is the only thing that protects the Jewish population of Israel. However, when that “protection” fails, as it did on October 7, it’s either “we can’t understand why Hashem does what he does”, or “without the learning, it would have been much worse” – arguments that hold no logic, given their purported absolute conviction regarding the power of their learning.
an Israeli Yid
I must admit that Dovid the Kanoi answered that comment very well.
Thank you.
Of course Torah protects, but it is not going to protect a huge Chilul Hashem, they had a huge Getchka at that party and all the lefty media guys slyly and on purpose never showed us that picture of that whopper Getchka and also never spoke about it because they were embarrassed. A huge party on Shabbos Kodesh, tons of mingling, music blasting, driving around on Shabbos Kodesh, smoking, eating food with maybe a Hechsher,
בשר בחלב
a whopper Getchka high up on the top of that huge structure,
נגיעה
נגיעה
נגיעה
——————
Ask any 3 year old kid on this planet-Jewish or non-Jewish-Should Hashem protect this party because 50 miles away there are different people over there who happen to be learning Torah.
Come on Gimmee a break–
Where is the common sense???
This party was a wopper
חלול השם
Hashem never said that if I learn Torah then it will protect the entire country no matter what they are up to.
The Army apparently isn’t helping either, because of October 7.
So why should we join the army if it doesn’t protect Oct 7??
Whatever answer you’ll give to that, they will give to this.
An Israeli yid you choose to ignore all the comments above that answer all your groisa kashas it’s been stated above that just like the merit of the avod will not protect ppl who choose to negate the path that they taught, even if they are Jewish the koach haTorah will not stand for ppl who deny the truth and power of the Torah. Is that really that hard for you to understand
SQUARE_ROOT: Thank you for instilling some sanity into this insane thread.