I had a very similar experience to the one described above when my son drafted as part of a Hesder unit many years ago, and I am sure that the experience is even more intense since the war broke out.
May the Guardian of Israel protect your son and all soldiers in the IDF, that they may fulfill their service with dignity and as a Kiddush HaShem, and return safely to their families.
Yep - Torah of the Haredi world has largely decoupled from the reality and practicalities of life in the modern world. One glaring example is that the Ketubah has evolved into a purely ceremonial rather than an actual legal document. I wonder how many Haredi chatanim take pause when signing a document that states:
"I will work for you, honor, provide for, and support you in accordance with the practice of Jewish husbands who work for, honor, provide for, and support their wives faithfully.”
Which in practice has shifted to:
"You will work for me, honor, provide for, and support me in accordance with the practice of Haredi wives who work for, honor, provide for, and support their husbands faithfully.”
I was there too (and saw RDNS!). Let me also point out that a) today was another יום בניש׳׳ים, and b) yesterday someone made a siyum on seder moed.... GEMARA!😮
That is a really incredible account, on every level. It's so nice that you've cited R' Melamed on what makes a gadol before and now you have this extra connection.
Your son should have a successful and safe service.
Please forgive me, as I don't know details, but how long (the current situation aside, not that it can be placed aside) do Hesder students actually serve in total? I thought it was half the regular service- is that true? If so- and of course this is nothing at all compared to the charedi lack of service- how can that be justified vis a vis the amount of time served by other soldiers- including the vast majority of religious soldiers- whether practically or morally?
It has to be considered from the framework of the entire institution. Hesder soldiers serve for shorter terms of regular service, but it's not as though the sandwich years in yeshiva are irrelevant to their service. They are very high quality soldiers, due to their generally being older and more mature, more dedicated, and used to working together. And they serve in combat roles, which is a more dangerous and more important role. Furthermore, in the year and a half following service, they have to always stay together in the same yeshiva, so that they can be called up to fight together as a unit in times of need (as happened since Oct 7). In addition, they often do much more reserve duty than other soldiers, as we are unfortunately seeing play out right now when so many of the fallen heroes are hesder graduates. Thus, the IDF sees the arrangement as a net benefit - a five-year commitment for producing high quality combat soldiers who will also be of high value in reserve duty for many years afterwards.
In general, it is approximately half. According to the latest numbers I can find now, it's 1 year 5 months for hesder, compared to 2 years 8 months for soldiers in general.
Technically hesder soldiers do the same period of service as anyone else, but the other half of their service is called "shalat" (roughly "unpaid service") and in this period they are normally not in the army but rather have to learn in yeshiva. However, in exceptional times when the army has an unusual need, hesder soldiers are taken out of shalat for regular service, this has happened a lot in the current war where many hesder soldiers have done 2-3 years of real army service.
There is a good deal of discussion within the DL whether it is fair that (in normal circumstances) they serve a shorter period than other soldiers. This arrangement was created as a compromise between the desire to serve on one hand, and the desire to grow Torah scholars on the other. There are good arguments that even if the nominal length of hesder service is shorter, their actual sacrifice is not: 1) a large part of a soldier's contribution is not from ages 18-21 but rather in miluim which all soldiers do for decades afterwards, so the overall percentage difference in time served is smaller, 2) about 90% of hesder soldiers choose to serve in combat units, compared to about 50% of all soldiers, and combat is more dangerous and less comfortable and demands more hours per day of "work", so the average time and safety and comfort commitment of a hesder soldier may actually be higher than average, not lower.
HaKadosh Baruch Hu, shmor ve'hatzel et chayaleinu - The Holy One, Blessed be He, protect and save our soldiers
מזל טוב׳ בהצלחה (My lone soldier daughter just finished her service in a combat unit)
I had a very similar experience to the one described above when my son drafted as part of a Hesder unit many years ago, and I am sure that the experience is even more intense since the war broke out.
May the Guardian of Israel protect your son and all soldiers in the IDF, that they may fulfill their service with dignity and as a Kiddush HaShem, and return safely to their families.
May Hashem keep him safe and empower him to keep us safe
Yep - Torah of the Haredi world has largely decoupled from the reality and practicalities of life in the modern world. One glaring example is that the Ketubah has evolved into a purely ceremonial rather than an actual legal document. I wonder how many Haredi chatanim take pause when signing a document that states:
"I will work for you, honor, provide for, and support you in accordance with the practice of Jewish husbands who work for, honor, provide for, and support their wives faithfully.”
Which in practice has shifted to:
"You will work for me, honor, provide for, and support me in accordance with the practice of Haredi wives who work for, honor, provide for, and support their husbands faithfully.”
yeah, I guess that's the framework
Beautiful article. Thanks for sharing your personal story of your son's commitment.
Lots of dust in my eyes all of a sudden .....
Such nachat to see this little boy all grown up. We are sending lots of love and we are so proud.
Mazal tov! גיוס קל!
Our son had his “Beinish” draft day in 2022. It was one of the most uplifting and moving experiences I have ever been a part of
May your son stay safe, healthy and always inspired.
שפשוף נעים ושירות משעמם
I was there too (and saw RDNS!). Let me also point out that a) today was another יום בניש׳׳ים, and b) yesterday someone made a siyum on seder moed.... GEMARA!😮
May you continue to be proud of your children and may your son come home safe from his service.
Please thank him and your daughter from all of us.
Very moving. Hope he stays safe.
That is a really incredible account, on every level. It's so nice that you've cited R' Melamed on what makes a gadol before and now you have this extra connection.
Your son should have a successful and safe service.
Please forgive me, as I don't know details, but how long (the current situation aside, not that it can be placed aside) do Hesder students actually serve in total? I thought it was half the regular service- is that true? If so- and of course this is nothing at all compared to the charedi lack of service- how can that be justified vis a vis the amount of time served by other soldiers- including the vast majority of religious soldiers- whether practically or morally?
It has to be considered from the framework of the entire institution. Hesder soldiers serve for shorter terms of regular service, but it's not as though the sandwich years in yeshiva are irrelevant to their service. They are very high quality soldiers, due to their generally being older and more mature, more dedicated, and used to working together. And they serve in combat roles, which is a more dangerous and more important role. Furthermore, in the year and a half following service, they have to always stay together in the same yeshiva, so that they can be called up to fight together as a unit in times of need (as happened since Oct 7). In addition, they often do much more reserve duty than other soldiers, as we are unfortunately seeing play out right now when so many of the fallen heroes are hesder graduates. Thus, the IDF sees the arrangement as a net benefit - a five-year commitment for producing high quality combat soldiers who will also be of high value in reserve duty for many years afterwards.
Thank you. I suspected much of that, but it's good to see it laid out.
In general, it is approximately half. According to the latest numbers I can find now, it's 1 year 5 months for hesder, compared to 2 years 8 months for soldiers in general.
Technically hesder soldiers do the same period of service as anyone else, but the other half of their service is called "shalat" (roughly "unpaid service") and in this period they are normally not in the army but rather have to learn in yeshiva. However, in exceptional times when the army has an unusual need, hesder soldiers are taken out of shalat for regular service, this has happened a lot in the current war where many hesder soldiers have done 2-3 years of real army service.
There is a good deal of discussion within the DL whether it is fair that (in normal circumstances) they serve a shorter period than other soldiers. This arrangement was created as a compromise between the desire to serve on one hand, and the desire to grow Torah scholars on the other. There are good arguments that even if the nominal length of hesder service is shorter, their actual sacrifice is not: 1) a large part of a soldier's contribution is not from ages 18-21 but rather in miluim which all soldiers do for decades afterwards, so the overall percentage difference in time served is smaller, 2) about 90% of hesder soldiers choose to serve in combat units, compared to about 50% of all soldiers, and combat is more dangerous and less comfortable and demands more hours per day of "work", so the average time and safety and comfort commitment of a hesder soldier may actually be higher than average, not lower.
Thank you. My reply to R' Slifkin's response applies to yours as well.
May your son get through his service safely.
True Heroes and future “real” Gedolim