There is still much debate surrounding this week’s special Knesset event, the 61st anniversary session. The chareidi community is divided regarding the decision to permit Chabad bachur Yisrael Aryeh Leib Bachar, 16.
YWN-Israel presented two sides of the argument, a disagreement that prompted Kikar.net to host an opinion poll asking the tzibur for its opinion. 1,586 people voted, with 38.14% stating a bachur’s place is in yeshiva and 36.56% responded he certainly was Mekadesh Shem Shamayim.
13.8% responded if chareidi MKs can be in Knesset, it is fine for Bachar too; and 12.48% stated chas v’chalila – it is a place of apikorsus.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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5 Responses
A yeshiva bochur does not belong at the Moshav Leitzim
Points to ponder;
Irrelevant of what the poll says, I am sure that within chabad circles he is being very much supported. As he is a chabad bochur, who have a very different outlook of limud hatorah / hafotzoh then others.
Whereas the “yeshiveshe” olam always saw them as contradictory, and for that reason objected to the mivzoim that chabad bochurim have been doing for over 40 years.
In chabad they see one as complimenting the other…
In addition, with regards to Israel and the Knesset, they have different views, although not considering themselves Zionist in any way, chabad always worked with the governments; army etc and never considered themselves from the “outside” of it as many other charedim
Whether a bochur in a chabad yeshiva addresses the kneset is a shayla for rabbonei chabad in eretz hakodesh to pasken in conjunction with the hanholo of the yeshiva the bochur attends . It is not subject to polls, editorials or for that matter outside batei dinim. If the rabbonei chabad wish to consult others, that of course is a different matter.
The halocha is you stop learning when a mitzvah comes along which will otherwise not be done. Kal vchomer by the mitzvah about which rabbi akiva says is a klal gadol btorah, ahavas yisroel. A bochur has the opportunity to positively affect the knesset and there are still people that find fault. Never cease to amaze.
As someone who actually heard the speech, I think he made a kiddush Hashem. He spoke very eloquently.
As #3 said, he obviously got approval from rebbeim and as his parents are shluchim, that may have played a role as well.
I have also read that right after the speech, he went back to yeshiva. He didn’t have a day off. It was 1 or 2 hours.