Is Torah Study a Part of the War Effort?

Does it help with the war?

In the polemics about whether charedim should serve in the IDF, there is one source frequently quoted to “prove” that learning Torah is equally or even more important to national defense:

אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי: מַאי דִּכְתִיב: ״עֹמְדוֹת הָיוּ רַגְלֵינוּ בִּשְׁעָרַיִךְ יְרוּשָׁלִָם״? מִי גָּרַם לְרַגְלֵינוּ שֶׁיַּעַמְדוּ בַּמִּלְחָמָה – שַׁעֲרֵי יְרוּשָׁלַםִ, שֶׁהָיוּ עוֹסְקִים בַּתּוֹרָה.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Our feet were standing in your gates, Jerusalem” (Psalms 122:2)? What caused our feet to withstand the enemies in war? It is the gates of Jerusalem, where they were engaged in Torah study. (Makkot 10a)

However, while this Gemara is widely quoted to argue that yeshiva students are crucial to the war effort, it does not prove any such thing.

The idea presented here is that the merit of a holy and worthy nation ensures that the army will be successful. And it presumably refers to those who are unable to fight - the old, the young, the infirm, the unfit - and who are focused on learning and teaching Torah. It is saying that they are still doing something of tremendous value. According to a rationalist perspective, this would refer to creating a society that is worth fighting for and which inspires the soldiers with morale, and according to a metaphysical mystical interpretation, it would mean that these people provide a merit for Divine assistance for those fighting. It does not mean that those that are able and obligated to fight should instead learn Torah, which is never instructed anywhere in Torah law.

Accordingly, it does not follow that people who are learning Torah are necessarily doing anything of merit for the nation. It would all depend on whether they are supposed to be learning Torah in the first place. In the same way as learning Torah in the bathroom, or on Tisha B’Av in place of reciting kinnos, or on a Friday afternoon when one’s wife is desperate for help, does not generate any positive morale or spiritual merit or metaphysical protection, the same would be true for those who learn Torah when they are need to help in a war and relieve a crushing burden on reservists.

But there is another crucial point to note here, for those who adopt the mystical approach. The person making this statement in the Gemara is R. Yehoshua ben Levi. He is mentioned elsewhere in a similar context, of Torah creating protection. But this time he refers to it protecting from illness. And he interprets it to mean that due to his Torah study, he does not need to implement normal efforts at combating disease:

“Rabbi Yochanan would announce: Be careful of the flies found on those afflicted with ra’atan, as they are carriers of the disease. Rabbi Zeira would not sit in a spot where the wind blew from the direction of someone afflicted with ra’atan. Rabbi Elazar would not enter the tent of one afflicted with ra’atan, and Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi would not eat eggs from an alley in which someone afflicted with ra’atan lived. Conversely, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi would attach himself to them and study Torah, saying as justification the verse: “The Torah is a loving hind and a graceful doe” (Proverbs 5:19). If it bestows grace on those who learn it, does it not protect them from illness?” (Ketubot 77b)

Several authorities point out that this Gemara is explicitly teaching that the idea of relying on Torah protection is not relevant to the vast majority of people, even if they are extraordinary Torah giants like Rabbi Yochanan, Rabbi Zeira and others. Only a truly singular person like Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi would rely on such a concept. And, of course, another explanation of what’s happening in this Gemara would be that Rabbi Yochanan and the others were not of a fundamentally lesser spiritual stature than Rabbi Yochanan ben Levi, but rather that they disagreed with his view of Torah’s protection.

So, those who do not follow Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi in considering their Torah to protect them from all disease and illness should not be claiming to follow him in considering their Torah to serve as a substitute for military action. Never was there such a directive. And the reason was simple: soldiers are needed, because there are things that need to get done and the soldiers actually do it. If you’re able to do it, then ignoring that responsibility and learning Torah instead is not any kind of merit.

UPDATE: A reader, Gabriel, pointed out the following with regard to the previous post:

The phrase לעסוק בתורה in this Gemara doesn't even mean "study Torah"! The phrase לעסוק בתורה has a more general meaning of "being involved in Torah matters". In this Gemara it specifically means "judging people according to Torah". The judges used to sit at the city gates. They would judge people according to Torah, thus rendering *tangible services* to society: serving justice, solving conflicts between people, and thus creating a better society. That's what Torah is supposed to do. The purpose of Torah study is to practice. ללמוד על מנת לעשות.

The phrase לעסוק בתורה also appears in Sanhedrin 49a, with the meaning of "judging people according to Torah". That's the Gemara that talks about King David being עוסק בתורה at the time Yoav was waging wars. That Gemara specifically quotes a verse which says David judged the people, as proof that he was עוסק בתורה.

(The phrase לעסוק בתורה also appears in Avoda Zara 2b. That Gemara has a long story about a future argument between G-d and the nations at the end of days. The Gemara switches mid-story from the Jewish people being מתעסק בתורה to them being מקיימין את התורה. And at the end of the story G-d gives the nations the Mitzva of Sukkah. Hence, you see that throughout the story they are talking about the Jews *keeping* the Torah in general.)

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A full list of my posts on the topic of IDF service is at Torah and Army: The Big Index