The Reform of Agudah

Innovations aren't Essential or Traditional

It’s frustrating when your kid says that they “need” a smartphone. Smartphones are very helpful, along with their drawbacks, but until you can only pay for things with smartphones, they certainly aren’t absolutely essential. And that’s obviously true, because all of us over 25 grew up without them!

In the absence of a new situation, it’s logically impossible to claim that something new is essential. And, of course, it’s all the more logically impossible to claim that something new, which is diametrically opposed to what existed beforehand, is traditional.

Amazingly, the Moetzes Gedolei Torah of Agudas Yisrael of American just released a statement which appears oblivious to these logical problems. In translation, it reads as follows:

Through Hashem’s grace upon his nation of Yisrael, the world of Torah has grown and multiplied in the Eretz Hakedosha, both the quantity and quality of “benches” of Torah students in hard work and toil. We have merited to have thousands and tens of thousands of Talmidei Chachamim and Gedolei Torah, thanks to whom the entire nation has spiritual and material existence. A great and beautiful congregation has grown, of [Charedim] who fear the word of Hashem, “mighty men of strength who follow His word,” and protect the entire community from our enemies and haters.

And now the government of our holy land has issued a decree on the Torah and its learners and have revoked the military exemption and deferment, and as such declared war on the Torah itself and the Giver of the Torah, attacking our religion and the existence of the nation as a nation of Torah, thus endangering our entire nation. And especially during the current times when the nation who lives in Zion find themselves in danger of a terrifying war.

We share in Klal Yisrael’s grief with concern and anxiety about the danger involved with this situation. That is why we join the Gedolei HaTorah in the Holy Land in their call to the people living in Zion to be strong and make an effort to stand steadfast with Mesirus Nefesh against this decree.

It is incumbent upon all of us to increase Torah and Tefilah and Tzedakah, and cry out to our Father in Heaven, that not even a single soul should fall [into spiritual danger] until the anger passes, and a decree is made to be nullified.

And our wondrous G-d will not reject the prayers of the masses, and may we merit to see the honor of the Torah be uplifted and the salvation of Hashem of His nation and His portion and the redemption of the entire world, with the coming of the Righteous Redeemer, speedily in our days, Amen.

The Moetzes of Gedolei HaTorah in America

It’s incredible. They start off by openly acknowledging that the number of yeshiva students has dramatically grown by tens of thousands, far beyond what it ever was. We didn’t have it in 1948 or in 1967 or in 1973. And yet they simultaneously claim that safety of the entire nation is entirely dependent on every one of all these tens of thousands being in yeshiva!

But it gets even more absurd. In 1948, Agudas Yisrael itself called on every charedi man between the age of 17 and 25 to join the army!

Although the pashkevil calls out to every single young man, it is claimed that the Moetzes decided that those few hundred young men learning in yeshivah should be exempt (in order to redevelop Torah after the losses of the Holocaust). Still, even if this is true, they didn’t say that every charedi man should go to yeshiva to protect the country with the merit of their Torah - they said that those not learning in yeshivah should go to the army!

It boggles the mind that today’s council of “sages” can release a statement with such obvious logical and historical contradictions.

(Of course, there is also the insensitivity of using the phrase mesirus nefesh to refer to safely protesting against joining the ranks of those who actually engage in mesirus nefesh to protect the nation. And the hatefulness of describing those seeking to equalize the burden of military service as “persecutors of religion.” And the obtuseness of talking about a “war” on Torah, when there is an actual war going on for which their help is needed. And worst of all the sheer folly of thinking that Israel’s safety, with the IDF facing a growing shortage in manpower and budget, is best ensured by having a rapidly growing community of a million people avoid serving in the army while they drain the economy.)

What changed with Agudas Yisrael? I presume that the answer is as follows. The earlier rabbinic leaders, fresh from the horrors of the Holocaust, often personally connected to people who had fallen in Israel’s battles, were much more aware of the harsh realities of national survival and the importance of mutual responsibility. And being from an earlier period, they were also more historically aware that the Jewish People never had endless tens of thousands of people in yeshivah and there’s no actual need for it.

What the Jewish People needs is Jews who will be moser nefesh in order to help other Jews, not in order to avoid helping other Jews. As many traditional charedim were.