In the late 1980s, my revered teacher, Rabbi Yehuda Amital, zt”l, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion, a leading Hesder yeshiva and one of the leaders of Religious Zionism, met his relative, Rabbi Elazar Menachem Shach, zt”l, rosh yeshiva of the Ponevitch yeshiva and leader of the Lithuanian haredi world, at a wedding. After they reminisced about their work together in the 1950s as teachers at Yeshivat Hadarom in Rehovot, R. Schach turned to R. Amital and said: “Oy, R. Yehuda, we are so far apart and distant that we can’t even fight anymore.” This story reflects the distance and alienation that already existed in those years between most of the Israeli haredi Torah world and the Religious Zionist Torah world which continued to increase in the coming decades.
Alongside this reality, there were some points of light. For example, the connection and love that was exhibited by the Religious Zionist Torah world for moderate haredi Torah giants such as Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l and Rabbi Zalman Nehemiah Goldberg, zt”l is a shining example. These two Torah scholars appreciated and valued the religious Zionist worldview even if they did not agree to it, showed respect to Torah scholars from the Zionist camp, delivered shiurim in Religious Zionist institutions and were in intensive contact with its students and rabbis. Many yeshiva students, lay people and rabbis from the Religious Zionist camp attended shiurim of these two figures on a regular basis, consulted with them on halachic matters and supported their work and institutions.
In our generation, this phenomenon has decreased and there exists greater alienation between the various camps. However, here and there, there still exist some exceptions in various degrees. The most prominent example today is the relationship between Rabbi Asher Weiss, a leading moderate haredi posek and rosh yeshiva, who delivers many classes and lectures in non-haredi settings, including hesder yeshivot both in Israel and in the Diaspora, responds to many complex halachic inquiries from all segments of the religious world, and serves as a halachic consultant to the Orthodox Union in the United States. R. Weiss draws many Religious Zionist and Modern Orthodox students and rabbis to his classes. His sefarim are extremely popular in those circles as well. R. Weiss maintains strong connections to Religious Zionist rabbis and lay people in Israel and Diaspora communities, and receives significant financial support from those persons and communities for his myriad of educational endeavors.
In addition to R. Weiss, there are other haredi figures such as R. Shaul Alter, rosh yeshiva of the Ger Hasidim Yeshiva, who delivered a talk earlier this year at Yeshivat Har Etzion; R. Yitzchak Meir Morgenstern; R. Avigdor Nevantzal; and the Boyaner Rebbe, who some in the Religious Zionist world connect to, attend their classes and tisches (Hasidic table) and study their works carefully.
This phenomenon has been at the forefront of my thinking as the deeply raw and frustrating debate about conscription of haredi yeshiva students has emerged as a central issue during this past year of war and difficult days for the Jewish people and the state of Israel.
I live in the United States and thus express my views below haltingly and with a measure of trepidation (though I have a son who made aliyah this past year and is currently serving in the IDF).
During the course of the last few months, and more intensely in the last few weeks, many leading Religious Zionist Torah scholars and roshei yeshiva such as Rabbis Yitzchak Shilat, Yaacov Medan (whose son lost his legs in battle), and Tamir Granot (whose son was killed in battle), have issued passionate pleas directed to the haredi Torah world on this topic. They have forcefully declared that enough is enough and the time has come for a major shift in thinking and action during this especially difficult time for the Jewish people with an ongoing war of survival to protect the people and state of Israel.
In addition to the ongoing fighting at the various fronts, there exists a dire need for more manpower to relieve the crushing burden that has fallen on the reservists who have been in the field for months on end and whose families are under enormous economic and emotional pressure in light of the burden their husband, father or wife and mother has had to shoulder. All these factors strengthen the clear and unequivocal need for massive conscription of haredi yeshiva students, a need that is demanded on practical, moral and halachic grounds.
The Religious Zionist scholars mentioned above have also pointed to the grave desecration of God’s name and His holy Torah that is increasing every day due to the perspectives and policies articulated by the haredi Torah and political leadership on this topic, who are arguing for a formal, legally codified blanket exemption of yeshiva students from army service.
In the current political and social climate, one can unfortunately and painfully assume that these general calls to the haredi world will go unheeded. Despite the great emotion and pathos of these appeals which cite many traditional sources from Maimonides and others arguing for haredi participation in the military, there is grave doubt whether they will make any significant impact on the haredi leadership and street.
In place of these generalized calls, it is worth focusing efforts on direct contact, both private and public, with some of the more moderate haredi leaders (some of whom were mentioned above), who engage in ongoing interaction with and teaching of Religious Zionist laypeople, yeshiva students and rabbinic leaders.
Has not the time come that all those thousands of devotees and financial supporters of Rav Asher Weiss, for example, who come to his classes and turn to him, both in Israel and the Diaspora, express their frustrations and questions to him on these issues? Has not the time come for all those Religious Zionist students of his forcefully request that he engage seriously with this problem and express his clear view and his response to the sources, arguments cited, as well as the reality on the ground, cited in favor of conscription of able-bodied yeshiva students?
If, in the recesses of the hearts, these moderate haredi leaders believe that there exists a moral injustice and desecration of God’s name in the continued exemption of haredi yeshiva students, is it not time to ask them to stand courageously and bring about a significant change in attitude and direction in the haredi world? It appears that the time has come to ask, to plead and demand from these leaders to express their clear view on this discretion of God’s name and His holy Torah, a transgression that the sages teach us does not allow for showing deference even to the greatest of scholars Ein Holkin Kavod LaRav!
These open discussions between the supporters and talmidim of these Torah scholars in the Religious Zionist and Modern Orthodox communities and the scholars must involve direct and concrete steps that can and should be taken in a bold and innovative spirit. New winds and perspectives that can and should emerge from these discussions have the potential to raise the spirit of the Jewish people, redeem the honor of the Torah which has been disgraced, and bring a measure of unity to our fractured people in these difficult times.
Even if all these efforts prove fruitless, and it turns out that even these haredi scholars fall in line with the dominant haredi ideology regarding conscription to the IDF, we will at least know that we tried to move the needle. Moreover, we will know where these leaders stand ideologically and practically, which should lead to food for thought and evaluation among members of our broad Religious Zionist and Modern Orthodox community going forward.
Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot is rabbi of Congregation Netivot Shalom in Teaneck, on the Judaic faculty at SAR High School in Riverdale and a Machon Siach scholar at Machon Siach at SAR High School.
