Daas Torah vs. Daas Shotim

The difference between light and darkness

As always, we emphasize our gratitude to the soldiers for their mesiras nefesh and tremendous efforts on our behalf, and keep them in our tefilos. We note that most religious soldiers largely agree with our general perspective, see here and here.

In a question-and-answer session given to high school teachers in Eretz Yisroel, Rabbi Kirschenbaum of Yeshivas Nachalas Haleviim in Haifa, a prominent Charedi Yeshiva, was asked how to discuss the Israeli soldiers with the pupils.  

His answer, delivered with great passion and deep pain, is relevant to all of us. 

He told them,

For this I had to travel to answer your questions?! Do you not know instinctively that when someone does you a favor, you thank them? They are putting their lives on the line for the public, don't they deserve some recognition? How can a person not notice this? Do you not thank a dentist who does something to make you feel more comfortable?

They asked him, "But thanking a soldier leads to identifying with him, and blurring the lines between our Hashkafa and theirs?" 

He did not accept this.

This question comes from confusion and misunderstanding of our own position. If we truly understood what we accomplish by learning Torah, if we were truly convinced of the truth of our lifestyle and its Torah base, we would not need to denigrate others to convince ourselves. We cannot build ourselves up through putting others down. The soldiers are doing something good, and we are doing something better. We can believe this and teach this. Only if we do not understand how important learning Torah is, do we think that we have to make army service into nothing.

כלפי מה הדברים אמורים? 

This Mussar Shmuess is not limited to high school teachers in Eretz Yisroel. The idea behind it, that people who cannot appreciate the contribution of others due to their insecurity regarding their own ideals, can be universal.  

Most Dati-Leumi people that I know, appreciate the depth of their own opinions and lifestyle. They honestly believe that the State of Israel is a step along the path to Geula, and every move that will strengthen its security, stability, and solvency, is partnering with Hashem and His Moshiach. They see Army service as Avodas Hashem, not only because they are saving Jews, but because they are building a society of Acharis Hayamim. 

I, and my Rebbeim all the way back to the pre-war Gedolim, do not accept this. We do not see any major spiritual avoda in serving in the Army. Beyond saving lives, which is a limited function of the army, the Army service is not considered part of Avodas Hashem. Which is part of why we choose learning Torah over serving in the Army. 

The Dati-Leumi people that I know, appreciate this. They appreciate that others disagree over the parameters of Avodas Hashem, and they are respectful of the fact that we stay true to our principles. They also see, that even though they chose differently, ultimately all of us gain when there is a strong camp of Lomdei Torah, because the value of Limud Hatorah is appreciated by them too. Only because they have other values too, did they make a different choice. There is no hatred, distance, or anger between me and my Dati Leumi relatives and acquaintances. 

However, some people are totally confused and ignorant. They don’t know what they believe in, they don’t understand what their lives are really about. It is these people who need to denigrate others to uplift themselves. People who have done little to help the war effort, can feel the need to disparage the work others have done, because otherwise their own inaction is more visible. People who know deep down that they chose Religious Zionism, not due to any belief in its principles, but because they mistakenly saw it as a step down from the strictures of Charedi Judaism. Basically, a wish to make life easier. That internal struggle, between what they know instinctively that they have done wrong and the opinions they espouse, causes a self-loathing that can only be masked by trivializing others and their actions. 

Deep down, they know that the mind’s questions are unanswered. By what right does Israel take Biblical land rights for granted in the modern world? How can we live in the modern world, with modern ideals and values, and still consider land conquest and national policies guided by the maintenance of a certain ethnic majority acceptable? If all Charedim disappeared, the question would itch even more. Without the existence of people who take the Torah, and only the Torah, as the source of morality, the justifications become more difficult. But accepting that means rejecting political Zionism, rejecting the idea of Jewish authority in the hands of a populist - someone whose rights to rule are based solely on his ability to convince people to vote for him, however unqualified, rejecting the idea of Jewish meaning something other than 'Ben Bris' - someone subject to the Torah's laws and mores, both TSBC and TSBP, rejecting the entire concept of ככל הגוים בית ישראל. 

These are the thoughts that come to mind when reading Slifkin’s obsessive rants against Charedim, Talmidei Chachamim, and anyone who knows more than him.  

The terrible insecurity of a confused belief system means that he can only build himself up by bashing others. People who don’t think about him and have nothing against him. Specious logic and text distortions all contribute to the general feeling that ‘here is someone who says one thing and means another’. 

We, as Charedim, believe that learning Torah is the central motor of any success in Olam Hazeh, including the army. For whatever reason, we have chosen to sit and learn in Beis Hamedrash and to grow in Torah. That is our personal goal, and our contribution to Klal Yisroel.  

An infantry man may not stop his mission to help the air force fulfill theirs. Only with the partnership of a Tzibur in which each person pulls their full weight in their job can we hope for success. If the Yeshiva bochur goes out to levayos of soldiers, or ties Tzitzis for the newly inspired foxhole believers, he has disparaged his own contribution to the success of the mission. He misunderstands his place in the world, and he misrepresents the attitude towards Limud Hatorah. 

That is Reb Dov Landau’s message with his letter and announcement that bochurim should do nothing but learn. 

If a Yeshiva student were to change camps and transfer to the Dati-Leumi camp, and then join the Army, that would be a mistake in my opinion, but an honest one. However, the attempt to make Yeshiva bochurim second guess their position in the world is not the same. The net result is akin to the infantry soldier helping the pilot. His own job won’t get done, neither will the pilot be helped. 

The Yeshiva bochur must stay true to the course. He is upholding the world with his Torah; he cannot occupy himself with the issues of the soldiers in Gaza. His mind must be singularly focused on the goal – more and better Torah. Even if he misses one day, or learns without the necessary investment, he must recoup his strength and fight another day. Any attempt to persuade him that his contribution is now useless because of a mistake he may have made is included in that which the Chovos Halevavos calls החזק שבשלוחיו.  

(Here is Sefaria’s translation of the relevant Chovos Halevavos – SHa'ar Yichud Hama’aseh Perek 5:

O Man! You should know that the great archenemy you have in this world is your own yetzer (evil inclination). He is interwoven in the forces of your soul and intertwined in the order of your spirit. He associates with you in the guidance of your physical and spiritual senses. He rules over the secrets of your soul and of what is hidden in your breast. He is your advisor in all of your movements whether visible or invisible that you wish to do. He lies in wait, watching your steps to lead you astray. You are asleep to him but he is awake to you. You look away from him but he does not look away from you. He masks himself as your friend, and pretends to show love. He enters in your inner circle of close friends and advisors. From his gestures and signs it appears he is running to do your will but in fact he is shooting deadly arrows at you to kill and uproot you from the land of the living, as the verse speaks of one like this "like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death; so is a man who deceives his friend and says, 'Am I not joking?'" Among the strongest of his weapons [החזק שבשלוחיו] which he will fire at you and wage war with you in your innermost being - is to try to cast doubt on things you deem to be true, and to confuse what is clear to you, and to confuse your mind with false thoughts and erroneous arguments, and to draw you away from what is for your benefit, and to cause you to doubt what is clear to you in your faith and religion.) 

The various invasions of Yeshivos by people who ostensibly wish to create a partnership between Yeshivos and the Army are unwitting actions by the Yetzer Hara who wishes to bring doubt and insincerity into the hearts of the warriors. 

Additionally, and this must be underscored, the only ones who get to decide Torah are those who invested their lives into Torah. Demanding that Reb Dov explain himself to someone who hasn't invested the years necessary to understand the texts is like the anti-semites on social media taking the words of Chazal about Bi'as bas shalosh out of context and demanding answers. Come to Beis Hamedrash, sit down and learn the basics, get to know how Gemara works and what it teaches us, and then maybe you will appreciate the benefits of the hyper-focus of a Yeshiva education that may not be interrupted by Army service, Tzitizis tying, or attendance at Levayos. 

ברוך אלקינו שבראנו לכבודו והבדילנו מן התועים ונתן לנו תורת אמת