Natan and the Purim Story
How Natan's worldview couldn't be further from the lesson of Purim
We are all familiar with the story of Purim. King Achashveirosh decided to throw a feast that lasted for months and invited all the Jews living in Shushan to join in the fun. It seemed innocent enough, but Mordechai warned against it. He knew that it was against God's will for Jews to socialize with non-Jews and partake in a feast served on the vessels of the Beis Hamikdash. Sadly, his words fell on deaf ears, and the Jews continued to feast with the Persians.
Divine punishment soon followed, and a decree was issued to wipe out all the Jews in the kingdom. It was a dark time, but Mordechai refused to give up hope. He rallied his people, asking them to fast and pray, and miraculously, the decree was overturned. It was a stunning victory for the Jews, and Mordechai emerged as a hero.
But the Brisker Rav, R’ Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik ztz”l, offers a different perspective. Suppose, he suggests, that you were living in Persia at the time. Mordechai might have actually seemed to be quite a troublemaker. After all, he was openly defying the king's orders by not coming to the feast and refusing to kowtow to the narcissistic Haman. Not only that, when Haman got upset at him and orchestrated the decree against the Jews, he had the audacity to blame the civilly obedient Jews as the cause! Yet the Jews realized that the decree was because of their misdeeds. Not only did they not blame Mordechai, they accepted responsibility for their actions. They put their trust in Hashem, and He delivered them from harm's way.
This lesson from Purim reminds us that appearances can be deceiving. The physical world is only a reflection of our spiritual state. Sometimes we must put our faith in things beyond our understanding, knowing that there is a greater plan at work.
The criticism of the Charedim for not serving in the army by Natan Slifkin is not new. He has claimed that the secular and Dati Le'umi Jews are doing a tremendous job protecting the State through military service, while the Charedim are lazy and doing nothing.
But such criticisms fail to recognize the importance of Torah study in protecting the State. As the Torah warns in the Tochacha, we risk destruction and defeat from our enemies if we do not heed its teachings. Indeed, this is a recurrent theme throughout Tanach. When Jews strayed from the will of Hashem, their enemies rose up against them and defeated them. Unfortunately, secularists in Israel have a complete disregard for the Torah, and many of their Dati Le'umi counterparts are not much better. The army, which is supposed to be the protector of the State, is in fact a cesspool of lewdness and chilul Shabbos.
In contrast, the Gemara in countless places teaches that meticulousness in Torah and mitzvos is a physical protection. On the very topic of Purim, the Gemara in Megillah (11a) speaks about the Jews of that era’s laxity in Torah study and how it was a precursor to their troubles that followed. Specifically, the Gemara in (Bava Basra 8a) teaches that studying Torah is a physical protection and therefor Torah students are exempt from serving in the military. This is not a “fanciful drush” but direct statements from the Gemara itself. The Charedim who devote themselves to Torah study are actually protecting the State of Israel, even if it does not seem that way from a natural perspective.
Then again, this is not to say that there is no place for a military. In the story of Purim itself, the Jews needed to physically revolt against their enemies to gain victory. Throughout ancient history, we find that the Jews had an army for protection, even when they were doing Hashem’s will. But the army is merely the messenger, the vehicle, through which Hashem delivers His victory. If there is rampant desecration of the Torah, especially if it is perpetuated by the army itself, then the army is defeating its stated objective.
It is therefore unfortunate that Natan has focused on the Charedim's perceived shortcomings while ignoring the lack of observance among the Dati Le'umi Jews. He has even taken the polar opposite approach to that of the Torah - acknowledging that the Dati Le’umi system is lacking in its effectiveness, yet arguing that nonetheless it is worthwhile to sacrifice one’s children to Molech for the sake of “national security”. He says that the Dati Le’umi’s laxity in Torah is of no concern to him as it “does not harm him personally” (doesn’t he live in a Dati Le’umi community and send his kids to Dati Le’umi schools??). If he truly cared about the security of Israel (and the spirituality of his own family for that matter), he would take the lesson of Purim to heart and focus on the spiritual welfare of all Jews, rather than harping on those doing their best to uphold Torah values
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The issue isn't that learning protects, no need for an army.
The issue is of how to run a state. No state wants every single person to fight in the army, so they choose according to various criteria. One of those criteria is, 'what does society lose by placing him on the front?'
If the person's job was selling earthquake insurance, designing the sleek look of a new car, third bass guitar in the Hod Hasharon Philharmonic, or throwing a ball into a net, we have better uses for him at the front.
If he would be learning Torah, we have better uses for him in the Beis Hamedrash.
Yes, if everyone was learning Torah, we would need to find a different criteria. But right now, enough people are sports announcers, makeup artists for movie stars, animal museum curators, professional 6 star chefs and other useless professions. When we arrive at a world of people learning, we can discuss matters again.
I don't understand
If it were true that "The army, which is supposed to be the protector of the State, is in fact a cesspool of lewdness and chilul Shabbos." - and this immoral action is putting the State at risk or reducing the protection of the state, wouldn't the logical response to send thousands of Yeshiva students to the army to increase the number of religious units which would make the army more effective.
As the many Hesder units prove, there is no problem keeping Mitzvot, including Tziniot, a high standard of kashrut, Tfilla B'Tzibur, and Kove'a Itim L'Torah.
The fact that not all units encourage this is because very hew Haredim enlist.
Think of the positive influence these Bochrom could have on the army and according to your opinion the security of the state if they served in the army.