The Trojan Tefillah
What are they actually praying for?
After last Sunday’s planned American charedi battle against the State of Israel was defeated by the State of Newark, there were also rumors that even within America’s charedi community, there was considerable opposition to it by the less extreme flank. And so this Sunday, there’s a different type of event that is being announced as taking place in Lakewood.
The headline at Matzav announces:
Thousands Expected at Monumental Atzeres Tefillah in Lakewood to Support Acheinu Bnei Yisroel
Wonderful!
With nearly 100 hostages still languishing in Hamas captivity and acheinu bnei yisroel under the perpetual threat of rockets and missiles raining from the sky, yidden locally and around the world are gathering to their support and defense by beseeching Hashem for a yeshua.
It’s so great that they identify with their brethren in Israel - with the hostages, with the people under threat of missiles - and want to support them. True, they should have mentioned the particular threat faced by soldiers, but presumably that was an oversight.
This coming Sunday, the first day of Selichos, thousands of yidden from across the tri-state region will gather in Lakewood for a monumental atzeres tefillah in defense of our brethren hanesunim b’tzara u’beshivya in Eretz Yisroel
Fabulous!
as well as to implore hakadosh baruch hu to spare Klal Yisroel from the scourge of antisemitism running rampant worldwide.
Amazing!
The atzeres will also address the impending implementation of new Israeli draft laws that threaten to force thousands of bnei torah into the military, posing an unprecedented threat to limud hatorah in Eretz Yisroel – the very lifeblood of the Jewish nation.
Wait, what?
The atzeres tefillah, endorsed by dozens of rabbanim and roshei yeshiva from across the spectrum of Yiddishkeit, will be a stalwart and resolute show of achdus, as the largest Jewish communities in the U.S. join as one to proclaim their allegiance to Hashem, the Torah – and each other.
Hang on. They just said that it’s actually an atzeres to protest the draft of charedim. So it’s not presenting the “spectrum of Yiddishkeit,” since there are many rabbanim and roshei yeshiva who absolutely believe that charedim should draft.
And it’s certainly not a show of achdus! Achdus would mean sharing the gigantic burden of military service being placed upon all the other Jews in Israel, with whom once again the young men and husbands and fathers have to leave their learning and jobs and families to risk life and limb to protect everyone else.
All the talk about caring about those suffering in Israel is obviously a smokescreen. What they really only care about is that their fellow charedim might be called upon to share and relieve the burden. It’s last Sunday’s planned event in disguise.
Another advertisement for this event makes it clear that this is what it’s really about:
Some of the print is very small and difficult to read, but it speaks about how Klal Yisroel must unite in a “massive show of support for our bochurim in their time of danger and distress.”
Silly me. I thought those facing danger and distress, those who need help in sharing the burden of such danger and distress, are those going into Gaza and Lebanon, not those leaving the comfort of yeshiva. But evidently, they’re not a concern of Klal Yisroel.
A full list of my posts on the topic of IDF service is at Torah and Army: The Big Index
Further to your last post regarding, "isn't this enough" I must congratulate you and implore you to continue your vital holy work. I think that Rabbi Slifkin must be one of the lone voices in the English speaking world that is highlighting the correct and moral voice that Jews worldwide need to hear.
Israeli's and possibly Americans do not realise that in the UK and many other countries with relatively small Jewish populations, the default position is charedism, our Rabbi's, teachers and leaders have in the main had a Charedi education. So even within a mainstream centrist orthodox community, the Rabbonim do not give over Rabbi Slifkin's perspective, they would mainly not tackle these subjects, as its a conflict between there own beliefs and what the community will tolerate. This results in ignorance and confusion, most English Jews automatically assume that Charedim are "frummer" or "better" in some way, and so the "gedolim" must be right and it leaves a lot of unanswered questions which are most often just not discussed and brushed away.
It is so critical to have this voice, and these discussions brought to the forefront to arm people with the knowledge to be able to have conversations and give over a different view (the correct one!) At the very least to at least allow people to know the correct Derech even if they are not going to voice it to others. I for one have gained a huge amount from your year of blogs on the topic and I look forward to the book on the subject.
Good luck, continue what you are doing, Shana Tovah and we should only hear good news coming out of Israel after such a difficult year for the Hostages/Soldiers, the families of Hostages/Soldiers and all of Israel.
I am one of those who do think you harp too much on the chareidi issue. But this atzeres tefillah is disgusting and needs to be called out and you are 100 percent right. Where was the grand atzeres for the hostages? For our brothers at war? Only once an imaginary draft happens (not a single learning in Chareidi yeshiva boy has been drafted yet) do we see a huge atzeres. Feh.