JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Ahead of a donor gathering for a major charedi fundraising initiative, Israeli reserve duty groups have appealed to international benefactors to direct their contributions toward programs that combine military service and Torah study rather than supporting men who avoid enlistment.
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The appeal came in a letter sent in English by the Forum for Partnership in Service, a group of wifes of soldiers advocating enlistment, and the National Religious Reservists Forum. The letter was addressed to donors planning to attend a retreat for Keren Olam HaTorah, or the World Torah Fund, which supports yeshivas in Israel.
“We appeal to you as important supporters of the people of Israel in this challenging time,” the letter read. “Just this week, 60,000 reservists were mobilized for the next stage of the war. Many of them are Torah scholars, older men, fathers with wives and children. Their families are collapsing under emotional and financial pressure.”
The writers asked donors not to overlook the burden borne by reservists. “How can the Torah world stand by while their brothers are drowning? We know it is possible both to serve in the army and to live a Torah life. It’s possible to have both Safra and Sayfa (the book and the sword). Instead of spending money to prevent young men from serving, let us invest in ways to enable them to continue Torah study during military service. Please, do not abandon Klal Israel in our time of greatest need.”
The World Torah Fund was created last year after the High Court of Justice ordered an end to state funding for yeshiva students eligible for conscription who refuse to enlist. The decision sharply reduced yeshiva budgets.
To fill the gap, leading rabbis, including Rabbi Dov Landau, the senior Lithuanian charedi leader,began traveling abroad to meet with wealthy Jewish donors. Their campaign has raised hundreds of millions of shekels to keep yeshivas operating.
Kol haKavod to them – they are absolutely correct. My sons were in Yeshiva, and were called away once again to defend Klal Yisrael – at least in part because of the fact that certain others refuse to follow Halacha and join in this defense. The learning by those who refuse is stolen – from my sons and their friends who would like nothing more than to be able to remain in Yeshiva themselves. That stolen learning is a Mitzva haBa b’Aveira – how much is that worth??
A note of appreciation to the VIN moderators – I know that my views are not the standard views of the Yeshivish community, and I appreciate your willingness to let other views with sources based in Torah and Halacha be heard. “Kinas Sofrim Tarbeh Chachma” – a dispute in Torah and Halacha, even a fierce dispute with real-world consequences, sharpens and focuses our connection to Torah and Yiddishkeit. My motivations are to educate and force people to think about a Torah-based viewpoint they’d otherwise not be exposed to – I do not come do denigrate for the sake of denigration, but to point out how classic Halacha and Hashkafa addressed certain issues as compared to how they’re being addressed today. So in summary – thank you for your forbearance and provision of a platform.
How disgusting can you be to appeal that people stop giving money to the gedolei hador? You wanna take food away from rav dov lando? He’s in his 90s and doing the legwork of trying to fundraise for himself for yeshivos and their students and you want people to not give him? It’s their choice let them give who they want. Don’t be an Ani Hamehapech against a gadol that’s despicable
It could have been a good letter, but they ruined it.
Unfortunately today we learned a horrible lesson. Till today, Oct 7 was the secular kibutzim and not us. The nebach soilders killed through out this war was IDF soilders “zionists” and not jews who learn torah. But today it hit the torah world. Even a rosh yeshiva got shot. And they came for us too. We are no different. They want all jews alike. i am sure our torah protects us and this could have been worse. But its not fool proof and our IDF soilders work hard every day to protect jewish lives at their own risk. We are all one nation and they haters wnat us all dead even Neturi karta. Lets not forgot that and unite
Of course these Reserve groups and their wives are 100% morally correct; But they don’t understand the Politics that that run this organization and the politics that drives the donors to donate.
These Gvirim will be wined and dined…