Hamas/Gaza War Musings #18: Demand to Force Draft of Chareidim is to Break Coalition

 

I love this set of three mugs which picture/symbolize the range of Jewish Israelis from non-religious old time kibbutznikim to chareidim. Am Yisrael Chai! The People of Israel Lives! Yachad Ninatze'ach! Together Victorious!

One of the most beautiful and encouraging things I've seen in this horrifying war for the State of Israel's very survival has been the involvement of all sectors of Israeli society, and that does include chareidim. 

In the more than half a century I've lived in Israel, there has been a steady, quiet change in the involvement of chareidim with the rest of Israeli society. Today Israelis of all levels of Torah observance enjoy the services of various gmachim like Yad Sarah and first aid services established by chareidim. As strictly Shabbat observant chareidim are, those who are in first aid and emergency services keep their phones on 24/7, so they were among the first to try to rescue the dead and wounded in southern Israel on that nightmarish Simchat Torah on October 7, 2023. This was even before the army had gotten themselves organized. And, yes, if you're wondering, ambulance crews were murdered, too. 

Within days of the start of the war, Hamas trying to destroy Israel, many chareidim made their way to the IDF offices to sign up and join the army. Joining the army is a process, since recruits and volunteers must be assessed to see their abilities to find the most suitable unit. Newspapers and television news showed them lined up waiting their turn for assessment. It certainly made me feel good. And to make it clear, I'm not at all chareidi. It's not my cup of tea.

As this war has dragged on, one of the most comforting thing has been seeing the volunteerism in Israeli society. Yes, that includes chareidim among others coming to the hotels where Israelis who had to leave their homes were staying, and bringing them supplies, toys, doing people's laundry and more. Yachad Ninatzeach UNITED WE WIN!

So why did Defense Minister Yoav Gallant suddenly make a speech demanding an end to the army exemption for yeshiva students*? With his army experience he must certainly know that angry resentful people make for terrible soldiers! And why now, in the middle of a war for the country's survival would he want to shake up Israeli society in such a way?

No doubt Gallant wants to break up the coalition, which simply put is Likud plus dati leumi (national religious) and chareidi parties.

Considering that a sizable portion of Likud MKs are either religious or traditional, I guess Gallant feels like a fish out of water. Has he made a deal with another political party....? Considering Benny Gantz's unauthorized trip to the USA... something stinks for sure.

*Despite the exemption, chareidim do serve in the army in various roles, and numbers have been growing. 

Haredi Anti-Army/Draft Riots

I have absolutely no tolerance nor understanding for any anti-draft/IDF actions/riots etc here in Israel or any place else. The State of Israel is under constant threat and periodic attacks. From the Jewish point of view, that makes serving in the IDF a great mitzvah, Torah commandment, because it saves lives.

Prior to the Israeli Declaration of Independence, while we found ourselves defending ourselves against the Arabs and British, the "underground" forces, Haganah, Palmach, Etzel and Lechi had a complete cross-section of volunteers of all types of Jews in the Land of Israel. That included secular, traditional, religious and hareidi. 

In the early days of the State of Israel, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion made an agreement with the hareidim that they could get a deferment for full-time yeshiva students and religious women. The yeshiva students were expected to support the state by their prayers and learning. Of course, many of us believe that Ben-Gurion was "generous" in granting a deferment, because he wanted to isolate the then small number of hareidim from the rest of the population. He didn't want religious interference or influence in the IDF.

While there has been great improvement and changes in the IDF for strictly religious soldiers, certain  hareidi factions have become dangerously and violently more intolerant of the army and soldiers. Jerusalem has been plagued by frequent violent anti-draft riots. Last week, I found myself waiting for buses that couldn't come to the stop, because they had been rerouted. There was no notification. Public transportation and many main thoroughfares were closed or rerouted when possible.

Ordinary citizens, young and old, religious and secular have suffered physically due to travel difficulties. This is all because young, fit hareidi men are wasting their energy rioting, rather than serving the Jewish People, rather than doing mitzvot, Torah Commandments.

They claim that their time in the Batei Midrash, Study halls are too precious to waste in the IDF, but they have lots of time to riot, attack the police and endanger the health and welfare of innocent Jews. There is absolutely nothing to support their behavior in the Torah.

Senior citizens touring the Underground Museum, Russian Compound, where Jewish fighters were held prisoners  by the British Mandate before the establishment of the State of Israel.

The Chareidi Riots Go Against Torah Law

The recent rioting and violence by a faction of chareidim against the IDF and State of Israel has crossed all of the "red lines." These same people are very dependent on all sorts of social welfare aid. Why should we law-abiding taxpayers who and/or whose family members serve in the IDF subsidize their family and health expenses?

On one hand they claim that the State of Israel has no Jewish, or holy, status, but on the other hand they would never riot and demonstrate like this if they were living in a non-Jewish country. They would obey the laws with respect.

Sorry, Charlie, or Chaim, but you can't have it both ways.

If the State of Israel really is a "goyishe" country, then treat the government and laws they way you'd treat them if you were in Canada, France or Australia. Obey the laws. Respect the government, and serve the country if that's required.

And if the State of Israel is not really a non-Jewish State, then it's a Jewish one, and it's a stage closer to our Redemption, the Moshiach. I'm not saying it's perfect. We, the Jewish People, aren't yet ready, perfect enough to be redeemed. But many of us are trying hard to get there.

This latest wave tsunami of violence was caused by the simple fact that a couple of youth/men from that "Jerusalem" group of chareidim refused to go to the draft board and report that they are full-time yeshiva students. That would have given them an easy exemption, no drama. Since they didn't do it, they were picked up as draft dodgers. And then the rioting began.

It has been going on for almost a week, paralyzing almost half of Jerusalem, changing bus routes, causing indescribably inconvenience to innocent citizens, tourists etc.  People have missed flights, been forced to walk miles to their own wedding, missed or been terribly late to appointments etc, etc.

These rioters are obviously not truly religious people. They are not Torah observant Jews. They show neither courtesy nor love for their fellow man. They are harming the poor, the old and the sick more than anyone else. Their behavior is a complete Chillul Hashem, desecration of Gd's Name.

Sins against one's fellow man are very difficult to repent. Gd cannot forgive them. They need to ask those they've hurt and inconvenienced personally, and then includes the police who were only trying to restore order. And they certainly must ask forgiveness from all the IDF soldiers whom they malign by refusing to value and respect their contributions and sacrifice for the sake of us all.

Soldiers and Terror Victims Memorial Day in Shiloh

Lapid's Tirades vs Chareidim and Army Wrong

This post is also on Israel Blogger as Chareidim to IDF with Honey not Lapid’s Tirades.

The truth is that I do think that the chareidim and the extreme Leftists who have been finding lots of loopholes to to get out of IDF service should serve. But there's one thing for sure. Yair Lapid's hateful and spiteful tirades against the exemption for chareidim will only make them oppose army service more. And all those religious people who support him, like Dov Lipman, should take Lapid's rabid anti-chareidi statements more seriously. Lapid doesn't have the personality characteristics to make him a national leader of the State of Israel.

Chareidim aren't a small marginal part of the Israeli demographics, the way they were seventy years ago as the modern State of Israel came into being. A very large portion of the First Graders each year are in various chareidi educational frameworks, and the percentage shows no real sign of shrinking. One of the big problems in chareidi society and families is the vast difference in educational curriculum between the girls and the boys. The girls generally study enough English and math to pass the Bagrut, Matriculation exams, study a profession and support their families. The boys have an extremely limited curriculum, which sometimes even ignores Hebrew as a spoken language, besides not teaching English and Mathematics. This not only limits professional opportunities, but it can make for difficult homelife.

Lapid's We're done being suckers statements only makes army service into an unbearable burden for fools/"suckers," rather than an opportunity to serve one's country, mature, make lifelong friends and even learn a profession or complete a Bagrut Diploma.

I have no doubt that by being amenable, understanding and sympathetic, plus offering an extensive "end of service educational package," more and more chareidim will decide that it is to their advantage to serve in the IDF. To make it more suitable, the teachers should be male, preferably religious/chareidi, and some will be graduates of the program who undergo teacher training. The added bonus will be a new cadre of chareidi men qualified to teach academic subjects. That's the educational revolution that must happen here in Israel, the sooner the better.

Our Righteous IDF Soldiers

Photo by Nir Kafri

This past war, the poorly named "Operation Protective Edge," there were many contradictory stories about how chareidim* were reacting/relating to IDF soldiers, those from their own "ranks," and others.

While the very anti-Chareidi Jerusalem Post's "In Jerusalem" had a piece about an injured chareidi soldier being shunned by his family, there were many more stories about how chareidim were filling the hospital wards trying to support and aid IDF wounded and their families. Those were the stories I heard from neighbors whose son was wounded.

Older stories about how very distinguished rabbis, accepted and respected as chareidi had reacted in the past honoring IDF soldiers and the uniform were also back "in print."

Noam Moshkowitz/EPA

You have to be blind not to notice how many of the families of dead and injured soldiers and also the recent war heroes are religious, beginning with the kidnapped teens. Kippot and hair-covering were seen in such numbers on the media. You'd think that the IDF was made up almost only of what's known as the dati le'umi, national religious.

What surprised me the most was the amount of religious staff in the media. I had never seen so many men in kippot or women with various hair-coverings holding the microphone interviewing people and reporting on the situation.

For the past couple of decades, our dati le'umi youth have been encouraged to enter the media as their profession. My own children didn't, but it's clear that many others did take that advice. And during the weeks of the war the veteran news-media stars couldn't be everyplace, so the lower tiers of workers had their chance in front of the camera. And they proved themselves very competent.

Back to the IDF and the point of this article...
This war was a very modern media in your face war. Everything seemed to be on camera or just a shout away. Everyone effected had their 15 minutes of fame, and we heard horrendous, though brave, stories of attempts to rescue body parts of dead soldiers. Wounded soldiers in hospital beds, bandaged and connected by tubes could only say that they waited to recover and join their comrades to defeat the enemy.

This level of pikuach nefesh, risking one's life to save another Jew is the highest mitzvah, Torah commandment one can do. It doesn't matter what hechshar, rabbinic supervision you have on your milk or meat if you won't risk your life for your fellow Jew. The IDF soldiers, the IDF medics, the hospital staff, not only the doctors, worked so hard to preserve Jewish Life and to also preserve the State of Israel.

More and more chareidim are seeing this. That's why it was a chareidi Jew who established Zaka, and that's why you see so many chareidim as medics in the various first aide NPs here in Israel. And that's one of the reasons there has been an increase in the amount of chareidim joining the IDF as soldiers. It's getting harder for the anti-Israel element in the chareidi world to declare the IDF as evil sinners. Not only Israel, but World Jewry owes everything to the holy bravery of the IDF and its soldiers.

*Following is the story that inspired me to write this post. I received it in the email bulletin send out by Chabad of Arizona:

Position Available

During the month of Elul, a maggid (traveling preacher) came to Beshenkovitz, where Reb Shmuel Munkes' lived. Reb Shmuel was a beloved chasid of Rabbi Shneur Zalman, founder of Chabad Chasidism. Though known for his sharp wit and "chasidic pranks," Reb Shmuel was no empty joker. He was a deep personality, one who could abide no falsehood, and whose own ego was completely nullified to perform the will of his Creator.

The townspeople saw the maggid's letter of introduction which referred to him as a great tzadik (righteous person), who traveled from town to town only to arouse and inspire Jews. Being G-d-fearing people, they immediately invited him to speak and inspire them to serve G-d better.

The maggid began his speech. Over and over again, he accused his audience of committing terrible sins. His entire speech was filled with accusations and descriptions of the terrible punishments awaiting them because their evil behavior had aroused G-d's anger. Only if they would wholeheartedly repent would they possibly have a chance to be spared. The townspeople were utterly broken by the maggid's harsh words, and they cried bitterly, fearing the awesome punishment.

After his speech, the maggid, satisfied with himself, retired to the room that the community had arranged for him.

A short while later, Reb Shmuel entered the maggid's room. He carried with him a long knife and a stone with which to sharpen it. Reb Shmuel closed the door behind him and then bolted it. Without saying a word, Reb Shmuel began to sharpen his knife.

A few tense moments passed. Finally the maggid broke the silence and asked in astonishment, "Sir, could you please tell me what you are doing?"

Without glancing up from the knife he was sharpening, Reb Shmuel answered, "As the honorable, great maggid  knows, we are very simple people in this town. Perhaps, it is because of our unintentional sins that we have never merited to have a great, righteous, G-d-fearing scholar in our midst."

Not knowing what to make of this answer, the maggid replied, "Yes, that is true. Nevertheless, what does that have to do with sharpening the knife?"

Reb Shmuel answered simply, "We were taught by our parents that before Rosh Hashana, one is supposed to pray at the graves of the righteous."

Still unsure of what Reb Shmuel's point was, the maggid asked, "That is correct. But why are you sharpening that knife?"

"Oh, that is very simple," explained Reb Shmuel. "The nearest grave site of a righteous person is very far from our town. For some of us it is extremely troublesome and difficult to make such a long journey."

With these additional words, the maggid  began to feel uneasy. He started sweating and ventured, "But you still have not explained why you are sharpening your knife in this room!"

Reb Shmuel answered, "Quite simply, I am sharpening my knife here because the townspeople want a very righteous person buried in this town."

Now the maggid  had not even a shadow of a doubt as to what Reb Shmuel's intentions seemed to be. The maggid stammered, "But I am not completely righteous. I have also done some small sins, such as ..."

Reb Shmuel dismissed the maggid's revelation, saying, "Honored maggid, you are still a very righteous and learned person. As for the sins that you mentioned, I did not even know that they were transgressions."

The maggid trembled and stuttered, "But I did some transgressions that were much more serious, such as ..."

Concerning this revelation, as well, Reb Shmuel shrugged, insisting, "But to us you are still a tzadik; for us, you are quite good enough."

This strange dialogue continued for some time with the maggid, mentioning more and more severe transgressions and Reb Shmuel telling him, "But you are still acceptable to us, since you are far better than we are."

Finally, the maggid  admitted to some extremely serious transgressions and that he was not really the great righteous man that his letter of introduction and credentials claimed him to be. In essence, he was saying, "I am an impostor."

Now, Reb Shmuel no longer played the simpleton. After putting away the knife, he began chastising the maggid for causing the Jews of the town so much pain and sorrow. After making sure the maggid  fully understood how one is to talk to and treat another Jew, Reb Shmuel unbolted the door and let the maggid go on his way, much  wiser and more sensitive than before. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
Source: Supplemented by Yerachmiel Tilles from //lchaimweekly.org (#986).

Biographical note: Rabbi Shmuel Munkes (1834-1882)], an elder disciple of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Chabad, was known for his fervent and creative Chasidic service. Stories abound of his sharp wit and "chasidic pranks". He lived in Beshenkovitz and then in Kalisk (or the reverse?) in (or near?) the district of Polotz.

A "War" in The Jewish Press

For the past not sure how long, a selection of my blog posts have been appearing in The Jewish Press, at least in the internet edition. This is/was due to the hard work of Yori Yanover who brought it lots of us pro-Jews in The Land of Israel unabashedly Zionist bloggers, like Paula, Rafi and more.

Since I blog to get my views to the public, I've been glad to have this additional forum and apparently have developed a following.  That's because I can see how many people are sharing my posts via their facebook and twitter accounts.  Decades ago I had a few of my articles published by the Jewish Press. That was before the internet became the main medium for news and newspapers.

I didn't grow up with the Jewish Press.  It wasn't at all on my parents' news radar.  When I was young we only got the New York Times, and then after moving to Great Neck my parents added Newsday to our newspaper collection.

I only first saw the Jewish Press at my in-laws.  It was the only paper they got.  When my father-in-law wanted to read something else he had to go to the public library. My mother-in-law didn't want a house filled with newspapers so a weekly suited her just fine. The world I read about in The Jewish Press wasn't the world I knew, but I liked some of the columns. I was amazed to recognize the names of some of my Oakland Jewish Center Hebrew School teachers who apparently had become not just Orthodox rabbis, but chareidi.

When Yanover was given the job to edit the Jewish Press Internet Edition, he gave it new life, and it was the life I agree with. Unfortunately, he got into trouble with the owners/editors, Naomi Mauer and Jerry Greenwald when he confused his opinion with the paper's by writing an editorial that got a lot of flack from the Jewish Press's traditional chareidi readers. For that he was fired, which is explained in this letter. I have no idea who's taking over the internet edition now.

In all honesty, and it's something I've blogged about many times, I think that serving in the IDF is important and a mitzvah related to defending Jews and Jewish rights in the Land of Israel. As I've said many, many times, the only way to improve the IDF and make it more Jewish, halachikly Jewish is for more Torah observant Jews to serve and even become professional officers. Standing on the outside and criticizing whether it's criticizing the State of Israel or the Israeli Defense Forces will not improve things one iota.

To be true Torah observant Jews one must engage with all aspects of Jewish Life here in the Land and State of Israel. I think that the anti-State of Israel/draft campaign the chareidim are waging is dangerous and mistaken. In the long run it endangers them, too. Whatever weakens Jewish unity weakens the entire Jewish People. In the "Al hacheit..." "because of the sins..." we recite repeatedly on Yom Kippur, we speak in the plural. We Jews are all in the same boat.

Since I value all news media willing to include my blog posts, I hope that whoever is now running the Jewish Press will continue to publish my posts.  I also wish Yori Yanover good luck in his future endeavors; I appreciate all he did to promote my opinions. There are enough wars and enemies of the Jewish People that really endanger us. I don't want to get involved or be a victim of this issue.

We Need Unity, Not Protest Rallies!!

We Jews here in the Holy Land are under great danger, and G-d is getting very impatient.  This year's winter weather is a sure sign that G-d is angry with us.  We haven't had enough rain. Our rainfall and other weather conditions are indications of how The Almighty has graded our behavior, most especially towards Eretz Yisrael and bein adam v'chareiro, fellow Jew.

U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama is back on his theme that we had better sign a deal quickly, even though the vast majority of Israelis know perfectly well that all of these proposed "deals" will just further endanger us.

Speaking to Bloomberg’s Jeffrey Goldberg in an interview published Sunday, Obama warned that time was running out to negotiate a peace agreement.
Obama further claimed that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas “is sincere about his willingness to recognize Israel and its right to exist.”
“We are coming to a point, though, over the next couple of months where the parties are going to have to make some decisions about how they move forward,” he said. “And my hope and expectation is that, despite the incredible political challenges, that both Prime Minister Netanyahu and Abbas are able to reach past their differences and arrive at a framework that can move us to peace.”

Instead of separating themselves from most Israelis and the State of Israel, chareidi leadership should be working hard to unite with us, find solutions good for all.

COURTESY ISRAEL POLICE

If only these strong masses of good Jews would use their power to work together with other Israelis instead of holding themselves as if they are a separate people. Davka in recent years you can see chareidi Jews in more and more jobs and positions here in Israel.  That should be their aim, and that's the only way to influence, through darchei noam, gently more and more Jews to live Torah observant lives.

Photo Credit: Kobi Gideon / GPO /Flash 90

Instead of protesting against the State of Israel and the IDF, chareidim should have spearheaded a rally to encourage Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to be strong against American pressure. The Public Letter by Women in Green's Nadia Matar and Yehudit Katsover  is on the right track, and chareidi leadership should be joining them.

Dear Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Today you are your starting out on your complex mission to the United States and may you have Heaven’s support and the support of the Land of Israel. He who turns history presents you with the challenge of your life at an optimum point in time. A quick glance at what is happening around us reveals how international attention has passed from Israel to the Ukraine and everyone is alert and prepared to see if the weakness of the American president’s policies will lead to the collapse of the United States’ international standing. The experience of the recent past in Syria teaches us that Obama has not kept his promises about the red lines that he himself stated. In Egypt as well as in Libya Obama supported the wrong side and his failed policy has brought the entire Middle East to a state of instability and shock. Who better than you knows that in the Iranian question as well, Obama made declarations, promises and commitments about his commitment to the security of Israel while in effect, gave a green light to continue the Iranian nuclear program. Mister Prime Minister, every child understands today that we must not depend on the Obama administration and we must not submit to his decrees. The eyes of the People of Israel accompany you in your travels. Up until now you have maneuvered yourself wisely, and indeed, we hope that you will have the wisdom to take advantage of the momentum that has been presented to you to raise Israel’s esteem in the world and repair the long-range damage to the consciousness that were done by the declarations in your Bar Ilan speech. The damage that was done by that declaration must and can be repaired now. At this juncture, when the entire world is alert and everyone realizes the importance of maintaining the sovereignty of Ukraine, this is the time to clarify in a great voice to the entire world that we intend to guard our sovereignty in the Land of Israel like the pupils of our eyes. We must impose Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley. From your long years of acquaintance with the Arab “partner” and the blood-soaked history that our people has experienced, you know well, Mr. Prime Minister, that the Arabs have never recognized and will never recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish People, regardless of any borders. We are at a decisive time in which it is possible to strengthen our position. As you leave Jerusalem, the Women in Green movement and the Forum for Sovereignty are with you and will accompany you with a very large poster that will be placed at the exit from Jerusalem for the coming weeks and it reads: “YES to Sovereignty over Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley”. In a discussion on the expulsion from Gush Katif and northern Samaria that was held in Ariel a few days ago, Eyal Arad claimed that the Right failed because it did not present an alternative. This is not true. There is an alternative! A realistic, Zionist plan does exist – application of Israeli sovereignty. This plan is indeed accompanied by difficulties but the difficulties associated with sovereignty are preferable to the physical and spiritual destruction entailed in the establishment of a terrorist Palestinian state in the heart of our Land, a stone-throw away from Ben Gurion Airport. We must not think in terms of survivalism, rather we must aspire to realize our hold on the Land and our sovereignty in the Land of Israel. This will bring calm to our Arab neighbors, economic growth and an improvement in the security situation. From the city of our forefathers we send you the greetings of Caleb ben Yefuneh: Let us ascend, for we can succeed. Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar Women for Israel’s Tomorrow – Women in Green – Sovereignty.
Read more at: http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/have-a-good-us-visit-bibi-please-dont-bring-home-any-surprises/2014/03/02/0/

Chodesh Adar Tov, May All the Evil be Reversed and Turned into Good!

OUTRAGEOUS

Just like how Gd ordered the tribes that wanted to settle east of the Jordan River to join the kibush liberation of the Land of Israel all Jews must join together to defend the State of Israel.

It's Clear in The Torah That All Jews are Commanded by G-d to Serve in the Jewish Army

Warning: I'm not a rabbi and don't claim to be.  I'm not even a Torah scholar and certainly never claim to be.  I'm a simple Jew who does my best to live according to what G-d commands us.  Almost half a century ago I began to be Torah observant and soon after that got married and moved to Israel.  For over thirty years we've lived in Shiloh.  This is my personal opinion.

This week's Parshat Shavua, Torah Portion of the Week has a very timely story. 

Matot-Masay (Numbers 30-36) are the last chapters of במדבר Numbers (In The Desert.)  It takes place during the fortieth year of wandering in the wilderness, just as the Jewish People are about to cross the Jordan River enter the Land of Israel.

Numbers Chapter 32 בְּמִדְבַּר

א  וּמִקְנֶה רַב, הָיָה לִבְנֵי רְאוּבֵן וְלִבְנֵי-גָד--עָצוּם מְאֹד; וַיִּרְאוּ אֶת-אֶרֶץ יַעְזֵר, וְאֶת-אֶרֶץ גִּלְעָד, וְהִנֵּה הַמָּקוֹם, מְקוֹם מִקְנֶה.	1 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle; and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle,
ב  וַיָּבֹאוּ בְנֵי-גָד, וּבְנֵי רְאוּבֵן; וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל-מֹשֶׁה וְאֶל-אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן, וְאֶל-נְשִׂיאֵי הָעֵדָה לֵאמֹר.	2 the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying:
ג  עֲטָרוֹת וְדִיבֹן וְיַעְזֵר וְנִמְרָה, וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן וְאֶלְעָלֵה, וּשְׂבָם וּנְבוֹ, וּבְעֹן.	3 'Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon,
ד  הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר הִכָּה יְהוָה לִפְנֵי עֲדַת יִשְׂרָאֵל--אֶרֶץ מִקְנֶה, הִוא; וְלַעֲבָדֶיךָ, מִקְנֶה.  {ס}	4 the land which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle.' {S}
ה  וַיֹּאמְרוּ, אִם-מָצָאנוּ חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ--יֻתַּן אֶת-הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת לַעֲבָדֶיךָ, לַאֲחֻזָּה:  אַל-תַּעֲבִרֵנוּ, אֶת-הַיַּרְדֵּן.	5 And they said: 'If we have found favour in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession; bring us not over the Jordan.'
ו  וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה, לִבְנֵי-גָד וְלִבְנֵי רְאוּבֵן:  הַאַחֵיכֶם, יָבֹאוּ לַמִּלְחָמָה, וְאַתֶּם, תֵּשְׁבוּ פֹה.	6 And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: 'Shall your brethren go to the war, and shall ye sit here?

This statement by Moshe is a very important one.  And I as a longtime Israeli whose husband, sons, other relatives, neighbors and friends have served in the IDF, most survived but not all, relate to those words very strongly.

In 1948 a small Jewish State was established, which lacked the Walled City of Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and many other areas of the historic Land of Israel.  Nineteen years later, as a result of the Six Days War when Israel was attacked by three coordinated Arab states, Jordan, Syria and Egypt, Israel miraculously won and liberated most of those Biblical areas.

Israel's victories in 1948, 1967 and 1973 were so obviously miraculous that it was and is obvious that G-d lent His Power and approves of the existence of the State of Israel.  In this week's Torah Tidbits, Phil Chernofsky wrote about the " old philosophical question about whether a glass is half full or half empty" apropos to the State of Israel.

There are some Jews who view the establishment of the State of Israel as an empty glass - or worse. As has been written many times in Torah Tidbits, that is a lamentable attitude towards something that we should be thanking and praising G-d for. Israel has been returned to Jewish hands, Jews from all over the world are returning to their homeland, and the land that had been desolate and abandoned for so many long years of exile is flourishing.
There are some Jews who see the modern State of Israel as a full glass. The dream - Herzl’s dream has been realized. The Jewish people have their state, have their homeland back. What more could we want? As has been often written in these pages, these people are seriously missing the point. Our dream has not merely been ‘Next year in Jerusalem’, but in Yerushalayim HaB’nuya - in rebuilt Jerusalem, and that means the Beit HaMikdash and all that accompanies it.
There are many Jews who view our current status as the proverbial half-filled glass. This group is subdivided into the half-empty or half-full types - but let’s leave that for another time.
Let’s be optimistic. Today we have a half-full glass. We have witnessed the process of the Ingathering of the Exiles. We has seen - with out our own eyes, as the expression goes - parts of Zecharia’s prophecy come to be. There are old men and women who sit in the streets of Jerusalem and we see Jewish children playing in those streets. We see the Land flourish with fruits and vegetables that not only fill our food baskets but are, in some cases, the envy of the world. Israel’s impressive strides in many fields are evidence of our return to Israel - with G-d’s blessing.

I am not saying that things here are perfect.  It's our job to make it better, closer to perfect and not to stand back and reject the State and the IDF.

At the women's Shabbat Torah Class in my neighborhood, we were reminded that the Jewish People were given three commandments to do once entering the Land:

1. anoint a king
2. destroy Amalek
3. build the Beit Hamikdash

I numbered them, because they are supposed to be done in that order.  G-d facilitated the establishment and continued existence of the State of Israel.  It is up to us to make is a Jewish State, a proper Jewish Kingdom.  And it's up to us to make the army, the IDF a strongly Jewish army. The only way to do this is to have Torah observant Jews as soldiers and officers. That is how, with the help of G-d, our enemies will be destroyed.  And then we will be able to build the Beit Hamikdash, the Holy Temple.

Seeing IDF Service as a Mitzvah

There are many Torah observant Jews (aka Orthodox Jews) who consider Israel army service to be a great mitzvah, Torah commandment.  I'm one of them.  The State of Israel with all its many imperfections is Jewish, as Jewish as a country can be in today's world, and it is up to every single one of us to do our best to protect it.

For those who can serve in the army, that is the greatest mitzvah, because one is risking his life and future for the Jewish People.

Hat tip: Life in Israel for the story of the Chabadnik who is going for the Israeli Air Force.  When my daughters' friends were trying out for and some getting accepted into the Air Force it was considered revolutionary that a dati leumi, national religious with kippa s'ruga, crocheted kippah would be in the Air Force.  By the time my sons' friends tried out, it was not news, but when one friend married a religious girl who was also in the Air Force that was special.

Many people like to complain about the difficulties of serving in the IDF for the religious, but like with every sort of position and all sorts of "marketing," the more people who take it on, the easier it will be.

I'm also seeing, at least here in Shiloh, more and more young religious women serving in the IDF and not just as teachers.  Those who want to volunteer in educational positions still do Sherut Le'umi, National Service.  But today quite a few young women are going into fields mostly occupied by men, because they feel the need to serve on a higher level.

It's too bad that the government is going on an aggressive track trying to rush the chareidi draft to the army.  There are also too many lies, especially from the chareidi side which distort facts. One of them is that the dati Le'umi are only asked to serve seventeen months while they are being forced to serve three years.  The seventeen months is the time of active service for hesder yeshivot out of their five year program.  Let the chareidi also establish or join hesder yeshivot and commit to a five year program of which all of the post army part makes the students "first call" in an emergency.

Cracks in Bibi's New Government?

Our Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had a very hard time putting together his latest coalition government. Even though he started his election campaign with what had appeared to be a winning hand, circumstances got in the way and he ended up needing an awful lot of MKs to make that "sixty plus" majority.

To make matters even more complicated, although his Likud has a large portion of MKs  from the Right, he filled his coalition with parties from the Left, starting with his Justice Minister Likud-Kadima deserter no extreme Left Tsipi Livni.  Not only won't she reform the Justice Ministry which many of his Likud MKs and voters would like, but she has been given unprecedented powers to "make peace" with the Arabs who want to destroy us.

To add to his difficulties is the two-headed alliance of Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid (There's a Future) and Naftali Bennett's Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home.)  Their parties similarities, or lack of,  remind me of the screwball comedy when Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger  played twins. 

Both those parties ended up with a surprisingly large amount of MKs, which Netanyahu desperately needed to make his coalition.  Lapid and Bennett, both first-time MKs succeeded in running ole Bibi ragged, and in the end he also gave them a lot of power.

Bennett has a lot of strong Jewish right wing nationalists among his Knesset faction and got the votes from the Right, which prevented Eldad and Ben-Ari's party from passing the threshold.  But now those voters are realizing that they've been had.  They aren't happy with Bennett's policies.

Participants were asked if they were pleased with the party's handling of the matter of electing a Zionist rabbi to the Chief Rabbinate, in view of the split within the party over the issue.
Only 29.6% answered in the positive, while the rest, 70.4%, said they were not pleased.
Regarding issues that concern the hesder yeshivas (yeshivas that combine army service and Torah study over a five year period), too, about two thirds of the voters were not happy with the way the Bayit Yehudi handled things, while the remaining third were pleased.
The austerity budget includes cuts to the hesder yeshiva budgets. In addition, there has been controversy over an initiative to lengthen the period of military service of hesder yeshiva students.

And Lapid's luster has already seriously tarnished with the release of his austerity budget which hits the lower and middle classes very hard.

Lapid has been using the threat to leave the coalition when he doesn't get his way, such as in pushing the draft of chareidim into the IDF and fining those who refuse.  The fact that his budget has cut the IDF's money, and there won't be enough to cover the expenses of more soldiers seems irrelevant to his ideology.  That's  a sign of a true Leftist- "Don't let facts get in the way of our ideology."

The only thing that Netanyahu may have in his favor is that his coalition partners may be too afraid that they'll get fewer seats in new elections.

TW3, That Was The Week That Was, The Best Israeli Version; IDF and the Chareidim

In less than two minutes, Latma's Hebrew's Word 12.4  brilliantly summarizes the past week's news. 



The writers bring up some excellent points.

• This week's theme is no matter how hard the Israeli media tried, they couldn't find good pictures of chareidim goofing off, ignoring the sirens on Holocaust Memorial Day.  The result was that the people most active during the sirens and who the least understand the significance of the day were the media. 

This anti-chareidi theme is related to the fact that Likud's Binyamin Netanyahu's latest/newest coalition must find a solution on how to draft chareidim into the IDF Israel Defense Forces without totally alienating the chareidim who have been locked out  of the government coalition as part of the demands of the Yesh Atid-Bayit Yehudi aka Lapid-Bennett block.

The Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) Party, which is the former Mafdal, NRP, National Religious Party, which had been dying a slow death until Naftali Bennett  took it over and gave it a total facelift.  One aspect of his campaign was to stress his elite fighting army service.  Actually, showing MK wannabes' IDF records was one of the two main campaign points of many parties. The other was to campaign as saviors and protectors of the elderly.  About that, I still haven't seen an increase in my state old age payments from Bituach Le'umi, National Insurance.  I'd love more money each month. It would come in very handy.

Israeli politicians and media are claiming that the unfair disproportionate burden of army service and milu'im, reserve duty is because of the chareidi exemptions, although it's actually growing faster from the secular Left, the youth too self-centered and non-patriotic to serve in the army.

It's always easier to blame the very/extreme religious aka the chareidim.  Don't get me wrong. I do think that they should serve, as should the secular Left, but this is a slow process for the better of the army and Israeli society in general.  Soldiers must be well motivated.  No doubt a large part of the Gilad Schalit fiasco is due to the fact he didn't have the mental toughness to be on the frontlines.  His father ran the campaign to get him released as if it was all the fault of Israel and Israel should pay any price no matter what the ultimate cost to security would be.

We must remember that today's Israel Defense Force isn't a peacetime army.  We are surrounded by enemy countries and international NGO's and anarchists who aim to destroy us.  Even the countries like the United States that claim to be our allies promote policies that totally endanger us.

There is absolutely no way that we can make peace with the Arabs who want us off the map and into the sea.

The Israeli War for Independence is till being fought, and we must win!