Torah vs. Daas Torah, Yet Again

"Venahafoch hu"

What’s really astonishing about the “Gedolei Torah” of the charedi community is not just the total lack of concern for the wellbeing and lives (and Torah studies) of non-charedim, and not just the short-sightedness and complete lack of plan for the long-term survival of their community and the country, but also how they completely pervert the Torah itself.

In a post from a while back, Torah vs. Daas Torah, I noted how the Gedolim cited a Torah source in order to prove that tzniyus is an important tool to fight the threat of drafting charedi soldiers: “Hashem, your G-d, walks in the midst of your camp, and your camp shall be holy” (Devarim 23:15). Amazingly, these “Gedolei Torah” seem to be entirely oblivious to the fact that the “camp” mentioned here in the Torah is a military camp of the Jewish People going to war!

In another post, Torah vs. Daas Torah, Again, I noted how the standard line of the Gedolim is that it’s solely spiritual merits that gain victories in war, and the physical military effort is nothing other than illusory hishtadlus. Yet David HaMelech himself explicitly praises the physical accomplishments of Saul and Yonatan in battle as having brought success!

And here is the latest extraordinary example, which tops them all. The Moetzes Gedolei Torah, the “Council of Great Torah Sages,” just released the following statement:

In translation, this reads:

Go, Gather All The Jews

At a time when they have declared war against the world of the yeshiva, and are plotting, God forbid, to draft the students of the Torah, forfend, and many other decrees against the world of the Torah, the people of Israel have no power except in their mouths, and it is our duty to plead with the Creator of all the worlds and to arouse mercy from Him for His people. And therefore let us all gather for a day of prayer on the Fast of Esther, which is suited to prayer, to come to the king to be gathered and to stand up for our souls with the prayer of many in all the ends of the land, and to beseech Him on behalf of the whole world of the Torah and for each and every one of its people. Our Father, Our King, revoke all evil and harsh decrees from us.

And the people of Israel, that are in each and every place, men, women, and children, will gather to recite Tehillim and prayers, whether does much or a little, provided that his heart is directed to heaven, and the yeshiva students will increase their studies, and the cry of the people of Israel will rise up for the world of the Torah and for all Israel, who are in trouble and captivity. And God, blessed be He, will have mercy on us and redeem us from all our troubles, and we will merit great salvation as in the days of Mordecai and Esther.

It is a time of trouble for Jacob, and from it we will be saved, and we have no one to rely upon except our Father in heaven.

The most immediately jarring claim is that the desire to recruit charedim into the IDF is presented as “a war against the yeshiva world,” rather than being about addressing the enormous manpower shortage in the IDF and the threat to all of our safety that this represents, along with the appalling burden placed upon the reservists who have to leave their studies and careers and wives and children for endless months on end. There isn’t even the slightest acknowledgement that there is an actual war going on for which soldiers are needed to fight.

Then there is the reference to the audience of this directive as being “Am Yisrael.” Of course, the large majority of Am Yisrael - including many religious communities - are very much in favor of charedim joining the IDF rather than being paid to be in kollel. The definition of “Am Yisrael” as being exclusively the charedi community in opposition to everyone else is further evidence that the charedi community has seceded from the wider Jewish nation.

But there’s also the complete and utter perversion of Torah. This declaration calls upon the charedi community to “come to the King to be gathered and to stand up for our souls,” to pray not to have to join the army. Now, this is a reference to Megillas Esther. Specifically, it’s a quotation from the letter that Mordechai arranged to be sent out to the Jewish People:

אֲשֶׁר נָתַן הַמֶּלֶךְ לַיְּהוּדִים  אֲשֶׁר בְּכׇל־עִיר־וָעִיר לְהִקָּהֵל וְלַעֲמֹד עַל־נַפְשָׁם לְהַשְׁמִיד וְלַהֲרֹג וּלְאַבֵּד אֶת־כׇּל־חֵיל עַם וּמְדִינָה הַצָּרִים אֹתָם

And in translation:

“that the King has given permission to the Jews in every city to gather and stand up for their souls - to destroy, kill and annihilate all the armies in each place that were persecuting them.”

It’s simply breathtaking. The very verse cited by the “Gedolei Torah” about not going to fight our would-be destroyers is actually about how the Jews should go to fight our would-be destroyers!

There is Torah, and then there is Daas Torah. The two are diametrically opposed.

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