The Charedim Officially Secede

At least things are clear now.

Finally, the fig leaf is off.

No more can it be pretended that this is about protecting Torah study. Nor can it be claimed, as Rabbi Moshe Hauer of the OU did, that charedi leaders are secretly working on army integration for charedim who are not in yeshivah. And it certainly can’t be claimed that they are quietly open to change on a slow pace.

Leading figures of the major chassidic sects - Gur, Tzanz, Vizhnitz, Belz - along with a major Sephardic authority and R. Machpud have signed an announcement - a halachic ruling! - that is is forbidden for any religious Jew to enlist in the IDF, period. It is specifically addressed to those who are not involved in Torah study. While there is no letter from Litvishe rabbinic leaders, they have made it clear that their position is the same.

The letter states that this prohibition includes all the charedi army tracks that currently exist, as well as whatever charedi army programs come into existence in the future. It does not make any mention of anything that the charedi community should do to make up for not serving - there is no mention of any chessed that they should do, or special taxes that should be paid (as Netziv instructs for Torah students who do not fight). In fact the charedi leaders also demand that charedim should continue to receive special financial benefits and subsidies, financed by the population of Israel that works and serves.

A former teacher of mine, Rabbi Professor Jeffrey Woolf, a talmid of Rav Soloveitchik, declared that a position such as this should be responded to with absolute cherem: their shechitah is invalid, their wine is yayin nesech, they are not counted for a minyan. That may sound extreme, but historically that is what was done with those who completely break from, and undermine, the community of Israel. It’s not even a punishment so much as a spelling out of what seceding from the Jewish People means. If you don’t remotely care to be involved in helping the Jewish People protect themselves against those who are trying to kill us all, then you are not part of the community of Israel.