Government Sheirut Leumi (National Service) officials have decided that certain Chabad activities will indeed be viewed as a legitimate form of National Service and entitle shlichim to a deferment from IDF service under the Tal Law.
A meeting with senior Chabad officials was held last week, during which the sides arrived at the agreement which recognizes activities such as preparing youths for bar mitzvah and assisting the ill and infirmed as a legitimate form of National Service.
Chabad activities that will not be included in the program are the distribution of jelly donuts for Chanukah, shmura matzah for Pesach and mishloach manos for Purim, as well as Tefillin booths at which shlichim persuade people to put on tefillin. All of these, while commendable, will not qualify as “national service”.
Reuven Gal, representing the government, met with a number of senior Chabad rabbonim, including Rav Yosef Yitzchak Aaronoff, Rav Mordechai Gurodotzki and Rav Menachem Brod.
Persons qualifying may apply and serve their National Service in a Chabad facility, resulting in their deferment from IDF service and such service will not demand they report for annual reserve duty.
They also discussed broader programs of assisting troubled youths, sending volunteers to rundown and low-income communities and other essential community services aimed at assisting the tzibur at large.
The new arrangement would apply to young men of the age of 22 that may enter the IDF following their years in a beis medresh or do community service in the Chabad framework.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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10 Responses
BS”D
I heard that according to the musical commentary on “Mitzvah Goireres Mitzvah” by Rabbynee Lipa Schmeltzer, Mishmeres Hatznius is considered a chessed organization (if you don’t know what I am getting at, listen to the song).
Therefore, I believe that service on the Yerushalayim, Beitar Illit and Ramat Beit Shemesh Mishmeres Hatznius, as well as bona fide membership in the “Shababnikim” should also count as national service according to the Tal Law. In fact, some of the Mishmeres Hatznius and Shababnik hooligans would be well served to use their tactics against terrorists and those who harbor them instead of against bnei ubnois Yisroel.
Seriously, this is fair and should be extended to other organizations that do work for the klal, and it should also be extended to those from Chabad and other organizations who serve Klal Yisroel abroad while they are in their yeshiva years.
are these considered “chabad” activities??
preparing a boy for bar mitzva is a “chabad” activity?
assisting the ill is a “Chabad” activity?
but its not shocking that “they” (chabadnicks) consider it a “chabad” activity.
This will just make the Hilonim even more enraged, unless they are also allowed a similar way to avoid the army. At least “learning Torah” is a traditional way of Jewish survival, whereas being a Chabad shliach is something of a “hidush” (albeit a nice hidush).
I think this is a fantastic idea. Bocherim can use their talents to give back to society and therby create a kiddush hashem.
I agree that the army may not be the most suitable place for bocherim but teaching and volunteer for chesed organizations is most certainly suitable and will help repair the rifts in Israeli society and the horrible anti-Charedi sentiment which i partly fuelled by the secular society’s feeling that the Chareidim to litle to contribute to the wider community.
Kalman Groner: What did you want them to call it? It has been known for 55 years as Chabad activities.
Lets not rewrite history, but I consider myself a “Boro Parker” who is very heavily involved with kiruv, but I am also man enough to say that chabad trailblazed the way for kiriv as they started what we are doing decades before we did and continue to do it in a much greater “farnem” than we do.
b’emes, its a great idea, but i really hope its ont limited to chabad.
Akuper: You are a pessemist. Look at #4, that makes much more sense than your post.
You argument makes no sense, because acoarding to you, we should shut down yeshivas and kolelim and stop 100,000 people from learning full time chas vshalom, as they are a burden on the secular tax payers 1 million times more than this program ever will become and it causes lots of more people to become “enraged”
Misleading headline.
To “grandfather” is to include something into a new version of the law that existed prior to the new version. Chabad was never included. A such the term “grandfathered” is incorrect.
# 8: While I am not a proffesor of the English language, you comment is a stira mineh ubeh.
you wrote that “grandfathered” means “to include something into a new version of the law that existed prior to the new version”
Well, they are taking something that existed prior i.e. chabads legendary work in Israel and updated “that work” into the new version of the law. I see no problem with the headline, you are knit picking.
Perhaps Chabad should ask some of their returnees, who spent time learning to write coherent, standard English, to help the YWN commentators (not to mention the editors) write their comments (and edit their website) in coherent, standard English.
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BS”D
While I qualify as one of those presumably literate Chabad returnees, my charge per hour would make my services prohibitively expensive for all concerned :).