I am deeply disturbed by the recent spectacle of thousands of Tinokos shel Beis Rabban—young yeshiva children—being pulled from their sacred learning and paraded outside a prison to protest the detention of a draft dodger.
According to reports, thousands of young Charedi yeshiva students from the Ateret Shlomo network were brought to protest outside Beit Lid military prison, where draft dodger Ariel Shamai was being held. They wore yellow hats emblazoned with slogans like “Bring him back to yeshiva now,” deliberately echoing the “Bring them home” campaign for hostages held by Hamas
Who authorized this mass bittul Torah? Which gadol took responsibility for closing yeshivos and turning Torah into a political prop?
The symbolism was grotesque. Yellow hats—meant to evoke the suffering of hostages held by Hamas—were handed out to children, as if skipping military service were equivalent to being kidnapped by terrorists. This is not just tone-deaf. It is a perversion of empathy and a mockery of those who are truly suffering.
Who paid for the hats? Who funded the buses? Who orchestrated this campaign of manipulation?
Torah is not a tool for protest. It is a source of light, of truth, of derech eretz. To exploit children, to distort sacred symbols, and to equate civil disobedience with national trauma is a betrayal of everything Torah stands for.
But someone made a decision to shut down Torah learning for thousands of Tinokos shel Beis Rabban to stage a protest that many see as deeply misguided. The question Torah mah tehei aleha isn’t rhetorical—it’s a cry from the soul.
This isn’t just about politics. It’s about the sanctity of Torah, the dignity of protest, and the responsibility of leadership
We are a nation at war. Soldiers are dying. Families are grieving. And instead of unity, we are witnessing a campaign of division dressed in the garb of righteousness.
This is not kavod haTorah. It is chilul haTorah.
If Torah study protects, then how are they allowed to take time off?
ReplyDeleteThere is a Skanah brewing in Israel, of all places. Rav Shternbuch declared it as a must to turn over the world againt these sworn enemies of Torah. Reb Shalom Ber has the right people to fund it.
ReplyDeleteYudel
DeleteLet’s be clear: the only “trouble brewing” in Israel today comes from those who refuse to carry the burden of defending a Jewish state while enjoying all its protections. I live here. I see it with my own eyes. The shuls are full. The batei midrash are alive. No one has ever been arrested for learning Torah.
But I also see something else: thousands of Charedi youth drifting off the derech. And not one of them ever served in the army. So let’s stop pretending that army service is a threat to their Yiddishkeit. The real threat is a system that shelters them from responsibility while offering no path to purpose.
If Charedi leaders feel they are being “persecuted” (ois ge’shmat), they are welcome to move to Ramallah, Jenin, or even Gaza—cities in Eretz Yisrael where they won’t have to live under the Israeli flag. But as long as they do live here, they must share in the burden like the rest of us.
?האחיכם יבוא למלחמה ואתם תשבו פה
Open a Tanach and read Shiras Devorah where she says that even Shevet Yissacher fought by her side!
וְיִשָּׂשכָר֙ כֵּ֣ן בָּרָ֔ק בָּעֵ֖מֶק שֻׁלַּ֣ח בְּרַגְלָ֑יו
Reb Shalom Ber fights because if his students are drafted, he is out of business and will be left with empty benches and his $25,000 Aron Kodesh
DeleteHe is a Fake, Fraud and Phony! No one is fooled by him except for dumb Americans!