Hamas+Hezbollah+Iran= Vacation!
The people claiming to be the real defense forces take a break
Although several brigades have been pulled out of Gaza, many thousands of soldiers still remain, fighting to defeat Hamas and get the hostages out. Meanwhile, thousands of other soldiers are defending the northern border and preparing for war with Hezbollah. Then there’s the Iranian threat, which has gotten significantly more serious, and which the IDF is preparing for. And it was also revealed that an enormous amount of weapons have been smuggled into the West Bank.
With conflict and the potential for further conflict on so many fronts, the IDF has to very carefully plan how to allocate its forces. Of course, soldiers also need a break in order to function at full efficiency, but such breaks are kept to the minimum, and are scheduled to be staggered so that there is no overall loss in defensive strength. The Jerusalem Post reports that the IDF has “decided to strengthen all formations in the areas of detection, control, and air defense from the ground, the air, and the sea. Reserve forces will reinforce the various formations on round-the-clock shifts.”
Meanwhile, charedi rabbinic leaders and political representatives constantly insist that it’s actually the charedi yeshivos which are providing the real protection. Israel cannot survive, they say, without all the 150,000 charedim learning full-time in yeshivah. And they claim that this justifies them not joining the IDF. They are the real Israel Defense Force!
So what are the charedi yeshivos, the true protectors of Israel, doing in light of all these threats?
Why, they’re going on vacation, of course!
Their way of life did not change after October 7th, and it’s not changing now. Unlike soldiers who are responsible for our protection, they don’t operate in round-the-clock shifts and they take lengthy breaks. The head of the Litvish charedi yeshiva world, Rav Dov Landau, ruled that bein hazmanim, the month-long Pesach vacation period, is not cancelled.
Some of the young men are still learning during bein hazmanim for much, if not all, of the day. But all of them have easier days, and many take a full vacation. And unlike the thousands of soldiers who will not be with their families for Pesach because they need to protect us, all of the yeshiva students will be with their families instead of in yeshiva.
What’s especially interesting is that just under a year ago, when the Dees and a few other people lost their lives, Rav Gershon Edelstein specifically attributed it to the decrease in Torah learning during bein hazmanim. And yet now, when the stakes are much higher, they are still having bein hazmanim!
Why didn’t Rav Landau cancel bein hazmanim? He didn’t give a full explanation, but he told a story about how he was approached by a group of yeshiva students who were very disturbed. They said that since they are no longer able to go to non-charedi neighborhoods in order to ask for free money, and they are not able to leave yeshiva to travel around, they are being made to feel like criminals!
Chas v’shalom! said Rav Landau. They are the most special people of all! They are the ones who are truly defending Israel! They are entitled to getting money in exchange for the vital service that they provide! It’s a tragedy that others don’t recognize that!
And so, he said, they should indeed go on vacation, but they should make sure to take their pleasure trips in places where others won’t see them.
UPDATE: Someone received an email from a charedi shul, with the subject line:
הוספות בזמני התפילה בשביל הגיבורי חיל שחזרו הביתה להגין על השכונה בלימוד תורתם
Which means: “Additional tefilla times, for the valiant heroes who have returned home to protect the neighborhood with their Torah.”
See too this post from a year ago: Did Charedim Enable Recent Tragedies?
It's amazing. Dozens and dozens and dozens of comments here from Charedi apologists. Yet not one of them actually addresses the point of the post. Some of them don't even seem to have the reading comprehension to understand it.
To summarize: IF, as charedim claim, their constant Torah learning is necessary to protect Israel (and that's why Gedolim constantly warn about a weakening in Torah study during Bein HaZmanim being harmful for Israel), then why do they have Bein HaZmanim at all, especially during such a dangerous time?! Instead, they should take staggered breaks, just like the army does, rather than everyone taking a break (of a month!) at the same time.
But the bigger question that I have right now is this one: How come all the charedi commentators here either did not understand that this was the point of the post, or chose not to respond to it and to instead distract with unrelated issues?
Presumably, the answer is that they do not have an answer to this post.
I got the same from the chanichei yeshivos in my neighborhood. The extra times were a 9:00 and 9:30 shacharis!
I was so bothered by it that I wrote the gabbai yesterday (copied below). I've maintained a good relationship with him and to his credit, he wrote a lengthy reply to me which helped, though suffice it to say I didn't love it.
Dear Rabbi ---,
With all due respect, this title is quite distasteful. If the bochurim are the giborei chayil protecting Klal Yisrael, why are they returning home? Shouldn't the zeman be extended until next Friday?
And if they're learning is so important b/c Torah is מגנא ומצלא, why add 9:00 and 9:30 minyanim? Surely giborei chayil would start davening and learning much earlier than that?
I know many people who have lost a relative during this war, including from this neighborhood, and I think there could be much more sensitivity in how bein hazmanim is framed (though again, I fail to understand why the zeman is not being extended).
Written with pain,
----