Rav Yitzchak Yosef And Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein Cave and Approve IDF Enlistment For Non-Yeshiva Students

 

After all the ill will created by the previous pronouncements of these three individuals, they are now backtracking – notwithstanding their claim that these are only “clarifications”. 

However, there’s already been tremendous damage done to the standing of Torah and Rabbanim amongst the Israeli population due to the extreme positions previously expressed by these individuals and their fellow leaders of the Chareidi community – the Chilul Hashem is staggering, and they were ultimately forced to back down anyway. “Eizehu Chacham? Haro’eh es Hanolad.” There were some major blind spots here…

I only hope that the Mesirus Nefesh shown by other groups of Shomrei Torah uMitzvos in the defense of Klal Yisrael will help mitigate the damage.

In the last few days, three leading charedi rabbis have clarified their positions regarding enlisting in the IDF. All three qualified previous statements which implied that they were opposed to IDF enlistment even for those who are not studying in yeshiva and are working full time.

Rabbi Moshe Maya initially signed a letter which prohibited all forms of enlistment in the IDF even for those who are not currently studying. However in recent days he stressed that if the IDF order enables a charedi to maintain his religious lifestyle in the army, he would not oppose enlistment for charedim.

Former Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef, who has been one of the strongest opponents of attempts by the IDF to conscript yeshiva students, and even stressed that those who are not learning should tear up their draft notices, qualified his statement and said that he was only talking of those who are going through a difficult period in their enthusiasm for study but are still connected to yeshivos, but those who are working as waiters in restaurants can definitely be conscripted into the IDF.

Rabbi Yitzchok Zilberstein, the rabbi of Ramat Elchanan and a son-in-law of Rabbi Elyashiv zt’sl, also qualified a statement attributed to him, claiming that a person can desecrate Shabbat rather than serve in the IDF if it will lead him to abandon his religious lifestyle. Rav Zilberstein stressed that the frameworks approved by Rabbi Steinman (Nahal Charedi, and apparently the new Chashmonaim brigade) would be good options for those who are not studying in yeshiva, and are the preferred option if they are wasting their time otherwise.