Israel – The “unanimous” Hesder Yeshivot declaration of earlier this week was apparently not so unanimous – and has led at least one yeshiva to quit.
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The head of the Yeshivat Hesder in the Negev city of Arad, Rabbi Yinon Ilani, has sent a letter to the Union of Hesder Yeshivot, asking to be removed from both the Union and the Hesder arrangement with the army.
Rabbi Ilani explains, “I apparently do not understand the decision that was made in the honorable forum of all the Yeshiva deans on Sunday, and therefore, to my great sorrow, and despite the great price our yeshiva will have to pay, I cannot be a party to something that I do not understand.”
Meanwhile, the students of Har Bracha have 60 days in which to find another Hesder yeshiva, or else they will be drafted for full three-year service.
The “price” referred to by Rabbi Ilani is a monthly per-student stipend of hundreds of shekels from the Defense Ministry to the Hesder yeshivot.
Rabbi Ilani was one of the very few Hesder yeshiva heads who did not take part in the meeting on Sunday. The decision made there stated clear opposition to protests within the army, and also resolved to work to restore Yeshivat Har Bracha, headed by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, to the Hesder arrangement. The statement did not say that Torah law stands above army commands.
Meanwhile, an IDF memo reported on IDF Army Radio indicates that the Hesder declaration has not brought about the desired conciliation with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the Defense Ministry; the opposite is the case. The memo states that the students of Har Bracha have 60 days in which to find another Hesder yeshiva, or else they will be drafted for full three-year service.
Hesder students generally serve for five years, including about 18 months in active duty, and the remainder studying Torah.
The final straw for Rabbi Ilani and his yeshiva was apparently words of explanation added after the Sunday meeting by Union spokesman Rabbi David Stav.
“Rabbi Stav said to the media that the Union is obligated to both State law and Torah law,” Rabbi Ilani wrote, “but that it is not yet clear how to integrate both of them. If the Yeshiva heads cannot decide the proper approach, then what can be expected from a simple soldier? Why not say clearly: ‘We are loyal to the State and its laws as long as they do not contradict our holy Torah; every law that opposes the Torah is blatantly illegal?’”
Rabbi Ilani feels that ideally, protests against orders to evict Jews and destroy their property should be carried out by the rabbis and not by the students – “but since we, the rabbis, did not sound our opinion clearly, the students burst out in ‘holy brazenness’ and do our work [by protesting]… It is the government that is responsible for these protests, by ordering the soldiers to carry out political missions that are against Jewish Law.”
“The call [by the rabbis] against protests in the army is not appropriate for this period,” Rabbi Ilani wrote, “especially when we are beginning a campaign for the very existence of the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, and when the approach towards the residents is as if they were genuine enemies – to the point where I cannot even be sure that orders will not be given to fire on opponents of the construction freeze orders.”
The reference is to an IDF plan that was publicized this week, showing that the IDF is planning something close to war against the Jewish population of Judea and Samaria (Yesha) regarding the enforcement of the construction-freeze orders. The document indicates that the army is planning to enforce the freeze with the help of six brigades, the entire Border Guard forces of Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem, Israel Air Forces helicopters and drones, the Shabak (Shin Bet) and police, intelligence forces, and IDF reserve units.
Sadly, I think this highlights the most fundamental problem of the Jewish state, as it tries to figure out its own identity. I’m not sure I can agree with the rabbi’s views here, but I give him credit for his integrity in standing by them.
“every law that opposes the Torah is blatantly illegal?”
Maybe when moishich comes, that will be the state of affairs. For now, a lawful order by a military officers MUST be followed and it would be anarchy if each soldier reserved the right to consult with his local rebbe on whether or not to obey. These rabbonim seem willing to jeopardize the IDF as an istitution to preserve their power which will not happen. If you disobey and order, for whatever reason, including advice of a rebbe, you will be court martialed and jailed. In rare cases, there may also be grounds to jail a rav who actively undermines the authority of the army by encouraging soldiers to disobey orders.
I do not understand why there is a conflict between Torah and Secular law on this issue. The settlers have no rights from the Torah to their land. Quite the opposite, if anything.
The last group the army should be picking fights with is the dati leumi–they’re the ones who care most about the state. The chareidim don’t, by and large, go into the army anyway, the secular leftists don’t care too much about Israel, and neither do the Russian goyim who’ve made aliyah. I say, to heck with the army, let all the dati leumi learn in regular yeshivos full time, get an exemption, and then where will the army be?
It is kind of hypercritical to attack and besmirch the army leadership when they try to bring unit cohesiveness and order to the military, based on law of the land. Only in theocracies you have religious fanatics control the military, and Israel is not a theocracy, and if it turns into a theocracy we do not need a State as Patrick Henry said in 1775 “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death”
Finally, the Da”lim are waking up to the bitter truth: The Medinah negates the Torah. Although not for the lame reasons of “Shleimus Ha’aretz” etc.
Now tell me the Satmar Rebbe and other Gedolim who were against the Pareve Mizrachi Yiddishkeit were’nt right…
im not fully in the know- however based on what i read.
the Rosh yeshiva should be commended for teaching his talmidim the “will” of hashem.
he has placed the torah and its giver before crooked politics.
the goverment should be ashamed as the arabs laugh at the “dumb israelis” who use warfare to get rid of their own brothers.
they own the land in yesha they revitalized it. there is no reason they should repeat gush katif.
anyone in “wake” mode knows sharon was motivated by the need to “distract” the state away from his corrupt personal dealings.
he never truly wanted the arabs in control but to deflect attention at his failings was willing and he did sacrifice the country.
same is here barak ehud has no true issue just looking to deflect attention from his honor seeking self interest agenda, and is willing to “kill” for his personal agenda.
the rosh yeshiva is saying i cant teach my talmidim to live a principled life but live a carefree hefker one.
The naivety of these rabbis is striking. If they really believe that they can kick back and relax while everyone else defends them, they are delusional to the core. In life, there is no such a thing as a free lunch, and when the other groups decide to stop paying by risking their lives to defend the most selfish among them, they can say goodbye to their homes, Yeshivas, and life as they know it. No military, no country.
Like the gemora states in sanhedrin that one of the names of moshiach is yinon. I am not saying that he is moshiach but he has exemplary leadership skills like moshiach.
I will not say all that I want to say, but think about this: What happens when a country built by idealists, although extremely misguided, loses any sense of idealism?
Like the gemora states in sanhedrin that one of the names of moshiach is yinon. I am not saying that he is moshiach but he has exemplary leadership skills like moshiach.
Barack is preparing scare tactics ro scare away any rabbi that will oppose evacuation C”V.
at least the hesder yeshivos that have ceded from the new agreement are true to their ideology, the yeshivos that made a new agreement are in essence saying that we are still in golus and have to relate to the government as such. If so there really is no difference between their position and the position of R’ Schach Z”TzL and the hesder yeshivos have negated the cause for their existance and really have no excuse for existing in a different framework then any other yeshiva.
This big fallacy, that Zionism is compatible with, lihavdil, the Torah, is unraveling more each day. Amazing to watch! And Kol HaKavod to this Rosh Yeshiva for putting “Moshe Emes Visoraso Emes” above all.
why do the bachurim have to go to another hesder yeshivah? Why can’t they get an exemption for being in a Haredi yeshivah?