READ: Rav Zilberstein Responds to Shaila About Court Decision to De-fund Yeshivos

ISRAEL (VINnews) — Rav Yitzchak Zilberstein shlit’a penned a short handwritten note regarding the current threat to Torah learning. The renowned Posek and son-in-law of Rav Elyashiv zt’l was sent a shaila about the court decision to freeze funds to yeshivos.

The shaila begins by saying that “painfully, the situation of Am Yisrael is very difficult – both the war and [the fact that] all world nations are against us.”

It continues, “However now we have an additional source of strife – the court has issued a message to stop funding to yeshivos and kollelim and begin drafting yeshiva bochurim to the army.”

“As is known, the Rav said many times in the name of HaGaon Rav Elyashiv that the zechus that [enables] the state’s existence is only in the zechus of its support of “Mosdos Torah”. And the community is afraid – who knows what will be now?

It concludes, “And they want to hear divrei chizuk and hadracha on this issue from the Rav.”

Rav Zilberstein replied with a short handwritten note: “Torah learning is what protects and saves us, and we have nothing [else], only this Torah. Writing and signing with a broken heart”, followed by his signature.

Multiple Gedolim have expressed their concern about the current threat of Charedim being drafted and the potential decrease of Torah learning.

Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, Rosh Yeshiva of Slabodka, spoke to his students last week.

Here is an excerpt:

“Everyone knows what happened last week, that they completely revoked our right to to learn Torah in Eretz Yisrael for the time being. We’ll now need to be moser nefesh for Torah. We don’t know exactly how – how much they’ll be makpid on us…”

“…But one thing is clear, that the first thing we need at a time like this is that we’ll have mesiras nefesh for the Torah itself. That the Torah itself will turn into a korban. If the Torah itself turns into a korban, our limmud will be a korban. What’s the p’shat? Full sedarim without any bitul Torah. Learning Torah with mesirus nefesh. This surely obligates us, to learn Torah like a korban. And this surely could help to eliminate the whole problem – definitely.”