Shabbat in a Changed Israel: How Israelis have embraced Shabbat since October 7

 

by Carol Unger

If there is a silver lining to the cloud that has hung over our nation since October 7, it is the remarkable increase in faith and Shabbat observance.

Since the earliest days of our history, Shabbat observance has been a defining marker of Jewish identity. The term shomer Shabbat has long served as shorthand for a Torah-observant Jew, even finding its way onto tombstone epitaphs. In our times, when the majority of Jews have moved away from the traditional day of rest,

Shabbat-with its many intricate halakhot-remains one of the most challenging mitzvot to reclaim. And yet, in the wake of the tragic events of October 7, a growing number of Jews in Israel, especially hostages and hostage families as well as October 7 survivors, have embraced this foundational mitzvah.

Perhaps the best known of them is twenty-year-old former hostage Agam Berger who famously demonstrated an inner strength of Biblical proportions by resisting her captor’s demands to violate Shabbat. Berger’s journey to Shabbat did not start in a Gaza tunnel. It began in her suburban Tel Aviv home nearly a year before her abduction, when Agam’s beloved grandmother, Sima Rosenthal, suddenly passed away. “She had been my whole world," says Agam’s mother, Meirav. As a merit for her mother’s soul, Meirav decided to start keeping Shabbat.

Why Shabbat? Meirav, who lives in Holon, near Tel Aviv, attributes the decision to a book she read Lo Bikashti Lavo Laolam (I Didn’t Ask to Come to This World), a collection of thought-provoking articles based on the teachings of the well-known Chabad lecturer Rabbi Manis Friedman.[1] The book led Meirav to realize that the Creator has expectations of us, including observing Shabbat. “I decided I would keep Shabbat for a year," she recalls. During that first year, Meirav kept Shabbat mostly alone, sometimes joined by Agam and her twin sister, Li-Yam.

From the moment Agam was abducted from her army base in the Gaza Envelope on October 7, the rest of Meirav’s family joined her in keeping Shabbat. Meirav’s decision didn’t just transform her home-it inspired her neighbors to make the same commitment. For six weeks, she recited morning and evening prayers in Agam’s room until it occurred to her that a Torah scroll should be brought in.

“I put a sefer Torah in her room," Meirav recalls. “Eventually, I moved the Torah into the lobby of our building." Soon after, the neighbors began to gather there to pray together on Shabbat.

“Every Shabbat, seventy to eighty people-some of whom had never attended Shabbat services before-came together to pray, hear a devar Torah and share the third Shabbat meal," Meirav recalls.

Now that the scroll is housed in a synagogue, Meirav and her neighbors still hold a Friday night service together in the plaza outside of the family’s home.

From the moment Agam was abducted from her army base in the Gaza Envelope on October 7, the rest of Meirav’s family joined her in keeping Shabbat.

Meirav is far from alone in recognizing the power of Shabbat. “There is a trend. Many people took on Shabbat observance," she says.

Among them is Merav Daniel, from Kfar Saba, who began to keep Shabbat on October 7 after learning that her son Oz, a soldier stationed near Gaza, was missing. For 142 days, Merav and her family held out hope that he had been kidnapped rather than killed, until the army discovered his blood stains on a tactical vest and stretcher-both were buried in a funeral the Daniels held for their son. They learned that Oz was killed while fighting the terrorists on the first day of the war. As of this writing, they are still waiting for the return of his body. For Merav, Shabbat is the way she honors her son’s memory. “Shabbat is a holy day with great meaning. I feel a need to protect this day because it does something good for Oz’s soul," she says.

Meah She’arim-born Tzili Schneider is one of a small but dedicated group of kiruv workers who have supported these families almost from the moment their loved ones were taken captive.

A former teacher, mother of eleven and founder and CEO of the Jewish unity initiative Kesher Yehudi, Schneider first met the hostage families in the winter of 2023 when she visited the protest tent they pitched outside of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence. “As a haredi woman, I thought I would be criticized," recalls Schneider. Instead, she was welcomed. After Schneider offered each of the mothers of hostages a hug, all of the women became teary-eyed. “I then pointed to their sign with the words ‘Bring them home now,’" she recalls. “‘Who can do this? Bibi?’ I asked.

At once, all fingers pointed Heavenward. ‘So let’s tell Him. Let’s do something that Hashem won’t be able to refuse.’" Schneider’s idea was to give the hostage families a chance to keep one Shabbat according to halakhah. A week later, thirty-eight members of hostage families gathered together at a Jerusalem hotel for that purpose. For many of them, this was the beginning of their journey into Shabbat observance.

Schneider has glowing memories of that Shabbat. “It was a Shabbat of pure holiness. The families didn’t skip a single prayer service," she recalls.

Since that time, Schneider and Kesher Yehudi have held many more such Shabbatot.

In the spring of 2024, Schneider had another dream. “I wanted the Nova survivors to keep Shabbat in the merit of the hostages," she recalls. When she shared the dream with one of her supporters, New York-based philanthropist Ralph Rieder, she got the green light to move forward.

By the time of this writing, the organization has held five Shabbatonim enabling Nova survivors to keep Shabbat in the merit of the hostages. Schneider says that miracles have ensued. “Sinwar was killed. Then, Nasrallah. The Nova survivors’ Shabbat makes an impression in Heaven."

Schneider says that 230 members of the hostage families and survivors have Torah study partners arranged via Kesher Yehudi and at least half a dozen formerly secular hostage families and thirty-five Nova survivors have become Shabbat observers. That has a tremendous ripple effect. “If one person starts to keep Shabbat, he can influence another ten people," says Schneider.

After a missile fell 200 meters from our warehouse, thirteen people approached us telling us they want to keep Shabbat.

That’s where V’Shamru comes in. Founded in the aftermath of the Meron tragedy in 2021 and dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives, V’Shamru is committed to helping Jewish families embrace keeping Shabbat across Israel and around the world by providing “Shabbat kits." Over the past two years, especially since the outbreak of the Swords of Iron war, V’Shamru has helped more than 40,000 families start observing Shabbat. Designed to remove barriers to keeping Shabbat, each kit includes essential items such as a ceramic hot plate, electric kettle, Kiddush cup, Shabbat lamp and Shabbat timer as well as books that explain Shabbat. The Bnei Brak-based organization provides the kits at no cost.

Additionally, V’Shamru matches recipients with shomer Shabbat families in their communities for support and guidance. “We want them to have someone to speak with about halakhot and for help in getting ready," says Rabbi Avihai Darshan, who founded the organization together with the singer Avraham Ben Yisrael.

“Before the war, we distributed twenty to thirty kits each week," recalls Rabbi Darshan. Since the Gaza war started, that number has doubled, and when war broke out with Iran in June 2025, the numbers rose once again. “After a missile fell 200 meters from our warehouse, thirteen people approached us telling us they want to keep Shabbat," says Rabbi Darshan.

For those who are not used to keeping Shabbat, even with the right supplies, taking on Shabbat can be a formidable challenge.

Part of the challenge is FOMO (fear of missing out). “Shabbat is when all the best festivals take place," says twenty-nine-year-old Nova survivor Shira Cohen, from Ramat Gan, who took her first steps back after attending a Kesher Yehudi Shabbaton. Gradually, she moved along to full observance. Shira wants to help others, especially those who live in secular environments where keeping Shabbat can feel lonely. “I want to rent a large house. Then everyone who finds it hard to keep Shabbat alone can come to me."

On the same page is Tehila Dvir, an ADD coach from Tzefat who also took on Shabbat observance in the wake of October 7. In May 2025, Tehila posted a video on social media suggesting a gentle path into Shabbat, which has garnered more than 50,000 views. “You can introduce Shabbat slowly," she says. “There are ups and downs in the process. For example, you might watch a movie on the computer but not drive, or you can put up a hot plate and not cook," she says.

“Start with small things. Just think about one Shabbat, not about forever."

Having taken on the mitzvah of keeping Shabbat, Shira and Tehila are deeply devoted to observing the holy day each week-and have no regrets. “Shabbat," says Tehila, “is a present to my soul."

Chutz Le'aartz Rabbis, where are you?

 

by Tzvi Fishman

Day after day, we read about anti-Semitic attacks throughout Europe. 

Fox example, today, Arutz 7 reported about three Jewish teenagers in London who were assaulted while riding on a bus . Also we read about the fear of Jewish hospital patients in England due to threats and expressions of anti-Semitism in hospitals across the country

These are merely two examples out of thousands. So I ask, shouldn't the Rabbis of Europe be calling for Jews to make Aliyah now?

Truthfully, the question could have been asked over a hundred-and fifty years ago when Jews began immigrating to Eretz Yisrael in greater numbers. After all, the Jewish People had been praying for almost two-thousand years to return to Jerusalem. Certainly the question could have been asked after the Balfour Declaration when Jews were awarded the right to rebuild their national homeland. Understanding the greatness of the hour, Rabbi Kook urgently called upon them to come home in widespread public announcements.

Again, the question could have been asked some eight decades ago after the Holocaust and upon the creation of Medinat Yisrael.

To be fair, there was a Rabbi in Paris who did call for the Aliyah of French Jews about a year ago and was met with stiff opposition prompting him to take back his words - and The Netherland's Chief Rabbi told Dutch Jews to come on Aliyah before that.

And while the Jews in America have not yet encountered anti-Semitism on the level it has reached in Europe, there is certainly cause for deep worry and the same question can be asked - shouldn't Rabbis in America be calling on their congregations to make Aliyah? We know that entire synagogue congregations are buying apartments in the Givat Hamatos neighborhood of Jerusalem, but do they really intend to live in them?

Any answer from me can be easily dismissed. After all, what does a baal t’shuva from Hollywood know about crucial issues of Torah and Jewish History? How can someone who isn’t a Rabbi speak about Torah Scholars immersed in Jewish scholarship and law, Rabbis in Europe and America who are dedicated to upholding the foundations of Torah? That is a fair question.

So let’s hear the answer of the holy Rabbi Yisachar Shlomo Teichtal, a onetime leader of the Haredi community in Hungary and author of the book, “Eim HaBanim Semeichah."

Charedie Violence is winning! Moshiach doesn't want to come, he has no one waiting for him!

 

 I drove through the tiny alleyways scanning my windshield for cracks as stones, garbage, and curses were hurled at my car. It was Shabbat afternoon and I was navigating through the maze-like streets of an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood surrounded by an enraged mob. Ironically I wasn’t afraid for my own safety. I was afraid for theirs.

The mob was made up of children. Teeny children.Their tiny bodies formed a human blockade in the street as they screamed, “Shabbos!” They threw rocks and assorted garbage while shaking their tiny fists in indignation.

Six minutes earlier, I had been resting at home when the call came in: Woman giving birth. Seven minutes away.

Medinat Yisrael - Kosher or Treif?

 

Tzvi Fishman interviews Rabbi Shmuel Eliahu, Chief Rabbi of Tzfat.

What is the proper orientation a religious Jew should have toward the State of Israel?

Just as we thank Hashem in the morning for each new day, and over each breath we take, as King David says, ‘Let every breath praise Hashem,’ and over each drop of rain, so too we should express thanksgiving over every second the State of Israel exists and continues to flourish, for this is the greatest miracle that has transpired in the world since the beginning of Creation until today.

On several occasions, your father, a former Chief Rabbi of Israel, of blessed memory, said that the celebration of Yom HaAtzmaut should focus more on Torah study and prayer, and less on half-day barbecues. Can you summary for us what his attitude was toward Medinat Yisrael?

Upon his appointment as Israel’s Chief Sefardi Rabbi, HaRav Eliahu, זצוק"ל, cited the Gemara which states that the surest sign of the revealed End of the Exile is when the Land of Israel gives forth her fruits in abundance, something which our generation has merited to witness. He often asserted that he only saw lights in Medinat Yisrael, not the shadows of doubt.

Each year on Yom HaAtzmaut, in his speech at the Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva in Jerusalem, HaRav Tzvi Yehuda Kook would bemoan the fact that not everyone saw the Divine Hand in the establishment of the State of Israel, declaring that we only had to open our eyes to see ‘the return of Your Shechinah to Zion,’ as we say in our prayers. What is the source of this blindness?

The Rebbe of Chabad also said that for the Geulah to come, a Jew had only to open his eyes and proclaim, ‘Behold, the Mashiach is on the way.’ The blindness in not seeing the great events of our time as the workings of Hashem, this is the root of Amalek. When the Children of Israel went out from Mitzrayim, they asked, ‘Is Hashem with us or not?’ Immediately Amalek attacked.

Our Sages compared this to a father who carried his son on his shoulders and gave him everything he needed. With the passing of time, the father heard his son ask, ‘Where is my father?’ The father replied, ‘I am carrying you on my shoulders, yet you ask where I am?’ So he set his son down and a dog leapt forward and bit him.

In the same light, if an unthinking person were to witness the dividing of the Red Sea day after day, he would say that the wonder was the natural way of the world - not a miracle. In contrast, a person who contemplated the phenomenon would understand that its daily, repeated occurrence was a much greater miracle than a onetime event.

The same is true with the day-after-day miracles which have accompanied Israel’s restoration in Eretz Yisrael and our continuing development, including the tremendous ingathering of the exiles and the rebuilding of the Land and Jerusalem. Each of these things is a miracle, but they remain hidden when you forget that Hashem is the Grand Conductor of Jewish History.

The Torah informs us that the Children of Israel were compelled to wander in the Wilderness because they failed to see and acknowledge Hashem’s Providence and loving care. Only in the fortieth year did their eyes and ears open, and did their hearts comprehend. Because of this turnabout of understanding, they finally merited to enter the Land of Israel. In a similar light, our Sages teach us that King Hezkiyahu lost his chance to be the Mashiach because he didn’t sing Hashem’s praises over the great miracle granted to him.

Likewise today, what Heavenly Merit can we expect if we fail to thank Hashem for orchestrating our way back to Zion via the historical events of our time?

Charedim must become full partners in Am Yisrael’s national mission

 

by Moti Leitner

For the past year, I have travelled across Israel listening to members of the Charedi community. I met avreichim, working fathers, mothers carrying the financial burden of large families, educators, business owners and young people searching for a place within the community they love.

I heard deep devotion to Torah, but also growing anxiety. Families are struggling financially. Young people who do not fit within the existing educational framework are being lost. Dropout rates in parts of our community are alarmingly high. Parents fear that their children will reach adulthood without the education, qualifications or practical skills needed to build stable lives.

These conversations convinced me that the present situation cannot continue. They also convinced me that the natural partners in creating a new path are Israel’s observant right-wing public.

Watch as Charedie "rashaim" attack Charedie Netzah Yehuda soldiers

 

רשע למה תכה רעך

A demonstration in support of those involved in last month's riot outside the home of Israeli Supreme Court Deputy President Justice Noam Sohlberg was held in Jerusalem and ended in violence, during which three Haredi soldiers serving in the IDF's Netzah Yehuda Battalion were attacked.

The event began with a vehicle convoy from Beit Shemesh to Jerusalem, after which participants continued on foot to Shabbat Square. During the march, demonstrators carried signs opposing the enlistment of Haredim into the IDF, including one reading, "We will never serve in the enemy's army."

Participants also shouted slogans against police officers, and in several instances objects were thrown at them.

The three soldiers, who happened to pass through the area by chance, were assaulted by some of those attending the protest.

The march took place following the release of 63 haredi suspects who had been arrested in connection with last month's riot outside Justice Sohlberg's home in Alon Shvut.

According to the investigation, the rioters damaged Sohlberg's home and the family's vehicle. Windows were smashed, flower pots and planters were broken, and the entrance to the house was vandalized. Israeli flags bearing swastikas were also placed in the street.

Following the incident, Justice Sohlberg's wife, Meira Sohlberg, described what they found upon returning home.

"We are children of Holocaust survivors," she said. "Jews are hurting one another like this. Look at this destruction-a pogrom. What is this, Kristallnacht?"

שלושה חיילים חרדים המשרתים בגדוד “נצח יהודה” נקלעו לאזור שבו התקיימה קבלת הפנים ל”פורעי סולברג”, והותקפו על ידי ההמון במקום.

המפגינים השליכו לעבר החיילים בקבוקים ורדפו אחריהם, השלושה הצליחו להימלט מהמקום ללא פגע. pic.twitter.com/IThA3urExZ

— יעקב הרשקוביץ | Yaakov hershkowitz (@yaakov_hershko) July 30, 2026

Yeshiva World News Posted a Clip of Israeli Police beating the crap out of Charedim but look at all comments!! 99% for the Police

 Is it finally turning? Are frum people finally opening their eyes? 

The Yeshivishe News Site wanted to portray Police in a bad light but it backfired!  

The oilom, the silent majority are fed up with the Bnei-Torah and are speaking out!

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see comments after the break

The deep divide between the Charedie & Dati-Leumi Culture!

Moshe Gafni, had an interview with Haaretz 2017, and made the following outrageous comment.

“I am not on the right, on policy issues I stand closer to the Left’s position,” and declared that “the Palestinians were here before us and we displaced them."

What a sick perverted piece of slime! "Palestinians were here before us?" Mamash what Hamas says and is an outrageous lie! 

by  Leonard Oberstein

I discussed the army issue with a chareidi person and see that we does not live in the same reality. The very existence of the State of Israel is not that vital to him. He says you can't draft weak students because they will become non religious and that there is a war between the secular who want to destroy our yeshivos and the olom hatorah. In other words, the existence of Israel as an independent country is not at all his priority. This person didn't make it up. Ther hashkafa which prioritizes the safety and existence of the Jewish State is not his concern. What matters is the religious security of the haredi populace . Torah is the only priority. Even if this person lives in Israel, that is not a permanent situation. If the existence of Israel harms the kedusha of the people, then it is not necessarily permanent.

Is what this person told me accurate or am I speaking about a daas yochid.

Another thing. They either ignore or denigrate the units created for observant men. Both Netzach Yehudah and Hashmonaim are not a factor. They might as well not exist. These people feel no obligation to defend their homes and family, that is totally outside of their zone. The claim that they are learning and thus they are the defenders is just a point to pull out but it is not the real reason. The crowning remark is "We were here first." This means that before the Zionistts messed things up we lived in harmony with the Arabs. That may not be factual and the ones who say it may be students on a gap year from the US, but it is their main argument.

Jeffrey Woolf

May 29 at 6:54 PM ·

Rabbi Leonard Oberstein, who I've never met but who I've come to deeply admire and respect, has published a number of deeply respectful and thoughtful posts about the refusal of Haredim, especially Lithuanians, to serve in the IDF.

In the latest one, he noted that Haredim object that drafting anyone is dangerous, especially weaker students because they may abandon a life of Torah and mitzvos.

It hit me that such an assertion is a condemnation of the entire Haredi educational system. It is incapable of meeting any kind of intellectual, spiritual or cultural challenge. Its Judaism is so vulnerable that unless they are kept in an insulated cocoon, it cannot survive. The faith that confronted, and whose gedolim successfully confronted every single trend in world history has, in their hands, become feckless and feeble.

One could, of course, object that withdrawal into ghettoes worked to staunch the effects of the enlightenment and the emancipation. That's partly true, but it no longer obtains. The isolated gedolim can scream bloody murder against computers, the internet and AI. They are helpless and unable to stop them from penetrating their walls. The only way to preserve religious integrity is, ironically enough, judicial and critical confrontation and partial integration. Muscles exercised are stronger than those left to wither. The Haredi ideologues have signed the termination warrants of their own world if they continue to stick their heads in the sand.

Ironically, they have created precisely the conditions that took such a toll on traditional Jewry after 1789.

Part 2 .......The Satmar Rebbe and the Destruction of Hungarian Jewry

 

The Satmar Rebbe, Yoel Teitelbaum, far right, when he arrives in Switzerland on the Kasztner transport from Bergen-Belsen.

This is the second of a two-part investigation into the life of the Satmar Rebbe. Read part one here.

During his stay in the Cluj ghetto, Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum hid rather than position himself as a leader. On the rescue train, he avoided the other passengers, failed to encourage or to comfort them, and did not share the precious commodities provided by his followers with them. 

In Bergen-Belsen, too, despite the preferential treatment accorded him in the camp, he refrained from assuming a leadership role, even among the observant inmates. 

After his release, Rabbi Yoel elected to run a rescue campaign from the safety of Switzerland. His efforts to rescue Jewish children raised by gentiles were restricted to fundraising, and even in that task he failed abysmally. 

Once again, his conduct stands in stark contrast to that of other rabbis, who returned to their hometowns to lead their surviving flocks or worked relentlessly in the DP camps. All the sources describing the rescue activities of the Haredi community during the Holocaust, including archival sources, indicate that compared to other rabbis who survived the Holocaust, Rabbi Yoel’s contribution was negligible in both scope and significance.

"Disconnected" Litvishe Roshei Yeshiva Running Scared as their Followers Wake Up and Enlist

As I’ve been writing over the past two weeks, there is a noticeable shift taking place in the thinking and hashkafah of many within the Charedi community. More and more people are recognizing that they cannot remain separate from the rest of the Jewish people, and that this separation is creating real resentment.

We all live in this country, and every individual has a responsibility to be part of Klal Yisrael and not to be poretz geder.

Many are beginning to realize that their elderly spiritual leaders are, in their view, increasingly out of touch — disconnected from the realities unfolding around them — and that these leaders are often influenced by handlers who filter what they see and hear.

We are at war, yet when speaking to a typical Charedi individual, you might not sense it. Some openly say that this is not “their war,” a statement that echoes language historically used by those hostile to the Jewish people.

At long last, some within the community are waking up. There is a small but genuine ray of hope that people are beginning to see the larger picture and reassess long‑held assumptions.

 An emergency gathering attended by dozens of Lithuanian-haredi yeshiva deans was held Sunday to warn against what they described as a "grave spiritual danger" posed by the enlistment of haredim into army frameworks tailored for the haredi public.

Central to the gathering was the reading of a sharply-worded letter from leading rabbis opposing military enlistment, even in frameworks that claim to accommodate religious observance and allow soldiers to maintain their haredi lifestyle. In the signatories' opinion, these arrangements "regrettably do not endure over time despite promises and commitments."

Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch wrote: "It has unfortunately come to my attention that, as part of efforts to enlist Torah students, various tracks have been established and given names such as ‘Kodkod’ and others, and recently additional enlistment tracks have been added in the south, in Netivot and Be’er Sheva."

"And it is certain that all of these tracks are an integral part of the army, and one who goes there hands himself over to the control and authority of the military rulership, and becomes a full soldier in every respect, and it is similar to joining the army, which has no permissible aspect at all."

The letter also included remarks by yeshiva dean Rabbi Dov Lando, who warned: "Anyone who, G-d forbid, joins these tracks or similar, should know that beyond the personal tragedy that he brings upon himself and his household, others may, G-d forbid, be drawn after him, and his sin would be great to bear."

However within the Chasidic-haredi community: In groups such as Belz, Sanz, Karlin, and others, married working men are permitted to participate in supervised military initiatives.

Charedi Recruits Enlist In Combat Units: Netzah Yehuda, Chashmonaim, Chetz, Avnet And Negev ...Despite Gedoilim Writing Kol Koras!

 

Finally, it seems that parts of the Charedi world are beginning to recognize that they are being led by “gedolim” and roshei yeshiva who, in the view of many, are increasingly disconnected from the broader reality of Klal Yisrael — including large segments of their own Charedi communities.

October 7 changed everything. Many Charedim saw, in real time, that their leadership had painted itself into a corner with no clear way out. The long‑standing opposition to army service and to yeshivos that offer vocational training is becoming harder to defend, and it is isolating the community from the rest of Israel’s Jewish population.

Some observers believe that unless Torah leaders such as Rav Landau and Rav Hirsch open their eyes and begin to compromise, the Charedi community may face a serious internal split. In many ways, that process has already begun.

Rav Landau and Rav Hirsch are not fully aligned. Rav Hirsch, with his American background, is seen by some as more aware of the need for yeshiva students to acquire a trade, and he has expressed the view that those who are not learning full‑time should enlist. Yet he continues to sign strong kol kora declarations against the IDF — likely, as some suggest, due to intense pressure from factions within the community who prefer to maintain the status quo, allowing others to work and serve while they do neither.

A special enlistment day for the charedi sector was held on Sunday at the IDF Induction Center  in Tel Hashomer. Young charedi men arrived at the recruitment office to integrate into meaningful service in the Israel Defense Forces, with an emphasis on combat units and frameworks adapted to their religious lifestyle.

The recruits were assigned to a variety of units, including the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, the Hashmonaim Brigade, the “Hetz” platoon in the Paratroopers Brigade, the “Avnet” platoon in the Israel Border Police and the Negev platoon in the Israeli Air Force.

One of the central focuses is the Hashmonaim Brigade, the first charedi brigade in the IDF, which operated during the war in the Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria sectors. Recently, its forces completed raids in western Lebanon.

The brigade runs an independent training base that includes squad commander courses, combat medic training, and technological tracks such as drone operation. In recent weeks, it also completed its first officer training cycle tailored for Haredi soldiers.

A notable feature of this enlistment day is that many recruits arrived after a long preparation process in pre-military academies run by the Netzah Yehuda Association.
Among the academies attended by the recruits are “Nitzotz Be’emunah,” “Derech Emunah,” “Tiferet HaArazim,” “Yadav Emunah,” “Batzavta,” and the chasidic preparatory program “Beit David.” Over the past year, students in these programs underwent training focused on strengthening values, building personal identity, and mental preparation for the challenges of combat service.

 The month of Adar is meant to be a time of joy for the Jewish people — a time to dress up, to celebrate, and to remember how we were saved from a threat that once loomed over our entire nation. Yet this year, the threat we must confront feels painfully internal. What happened yesterday was not only dangerous; it was a near‑miss that could have spiraled into tragedy.

Two female IDF officers, simply doing their job and visiting a soldier under their care, were attacked by a mob of thousands — not enemies, not extremists from afar, but fellow Jews. The absurdity of it could be mistaken for a Purim skit, but the reality is sickening.

According to Yeshiva World News:

The usually quiet Chagai Street in Bnei Brak turned into a mob scene on Sunday after two female military police officers arrived in the area and rumors spread that they were distributing draft orders.

A crowd of over a thousand people quickly gathered. Police arrived to rescue the soldiers as the crowd grew. A police vehicle was overturned on HaRav Shach Street, and a police motorbike was set on fire. A burned siddur and tefillin were later found in the storage compartment of the bike, belonging to a frum officer.

Community leaders did condemn the violence. As YWN reported:

Rabbi David Stav: 'Charedi draft law is all a bluff'

 

Rabbi David Stav, chairman of the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization and Chief Rabbi of the City of Shoham, sharply criticizes the Israeli government’s proposed legislation on the recruitment of haredi men into the Israel Defense Forces, calling the bill misleading, ineffective, and morally indefensible in the wake of Israel’s ongoing security challenges.

Speaking with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News, Rabbi Stav rejected claims that opposing the government’s proposal amounts to an attempt to topple the coalition. While acknowledging that political stability is a legitimate concern, he argued that the current legislation sacrifices fundamental values while pretending to achieve reform.

“It is a legitimate position to say: I want more haredim to serve, but I prioritize the survival of the government," Rabbi Stav said. “What is not legitimate is to present a bill as historic and transformative when everyone knows it will not draft anyone who does not already intend to enlist."

According to Rabbi Stav, the proposed law falsely promises the enlistment of tens of thousands of haredi men while quietly ensuring that no real change will take place. He accused politicians of privately admitting the bill’s ineffectiveness while publicly promoting it as a breakthrough.

“No one who does not intend to go to the army will go because of this bill," he said. “Everyone knows this."

Lakewood-based WhatsApp group spreads unfiltered Lies about Eretz Yisrael!

 

DIN: The following is a post of a popular Lakewood-based WhatsApp group!

This post is not about the story itself which we posted as well, my beef is with the comment the poster made to appease his naive yeshivishe sheep who live in Chutz Le'aaretz in warm comfortable homes! 

I posted his sick comment in red!

 IDF Chief of Staff Approves Final Orders for Haredi Integration into the Army*

The IDF Chief of Staff has officially approved new General Staff directives aimed at integrating Haredi soldiers into the Israeli military.

Under the new regulations, special frameworks will be created to accommodate religious standards in certain service tracks. Among the measures: a complete ban on women entering designated bases, restrictions on any exposure of soldiers to women, the appointment of only observant commanders, and mandatory Torah study and daily prayer as part of the service routine.

In addition, an external rabbinical committee will be established to supervise and ensure proper Enforcing of the directives within the IDF.

*Mr. B -*  At some point, the IDF has to admit the truth. Maybe the army already knows this, and this is about politics and not results.

These changes won’t make a difference; mainstream chareidim aren’t enlisting. For many frum Jews, IDF service clashes with a Torah-centered life of full-time learning and values. No accommodations can change that core conflict.

The army was described by Ben Gurion as a secular melting pot (_koreh hituch chiloni_), and that’s without even getting into the ג' שבועות, כיבוש הארץ  התגרות באומות.

DIN: #1

Let’s begin by addressing his argument about the ג' שבועות—an argument so weak that even Satmar abandoned it.

No Jew ever witnessed these “ג' שבועות” and no one can identify when or where they supposedly occurred.

This aggadatah appears in Kesubos 110a, yet Rashi and Tosafos offer no commentary on it. None of the major commentaries printed at the back of the tractate—Rosh, Ran, Maharsha, Rif etc., mention it. It is entirely absent from the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, and it receives no mention whatsoever in the Shulchan Aruch or its nosei keilim.

I have already cited Emailim BaTorah, which notes that

"the Zohar in Parshas Vayechi explains that “Bnos Yerushalayim” refers to the neshamah. The Avnei Nezer therefore concludes that since the oaths were made with the soul and not with the physical human being, they do not apply to us in any halachic sense.

Indeed, the overwhelming majority of Gedolim—Agudas Yisroel, Shas, Degel, and most of the leading Torah authorities—did not consider the ג' שבועות to have halachic force. Even those who opposed the establishment of the State did not base their position on these oaths."

#2

Next, he invokes כיבוש הארץ & התגרות באומות.

This claim keeps resurfacing, regurgitated by commentators living abroad in comfort and safety, while criticizing Israel.

They live far from danger yet speak harshly about the State of Israel—whose soldiers risk their lives daily to protect millions of Jews in the only Jewish country on earth, surrounded by hostile enemies—and then accuse Israel of “provoking the nations.”

Jewish husbands leave their families for months, placing themselves in danger and leaving their wives and children as living widows and living orphans in emotional and financial strain, all to defend Jewish lives. Yet this commentator dismisses and mocks their sacrifice as “התגרות באומות”

The audacity is astonishing. What exactly do they offer as an alternative—disband the army? Avoid defending ourselves so as not to “antagonize” others?

Insanity!

As for כיבוש הארץ: The Ramban explicitly writes that settling the Land of Israel and securing it are mitzvos aseh d’Oraisa בזמן הזה.

Every major war Israel has fought was initiated by surrounding hostile nations that swore to destroy and eliminate her. Suggesting that Israel should have simply stood by passively defies both logic and halachah.

Finally, he quotes a 75-year-old description by Ben-Gurion in reference to the IDF that the IDF is a “secular melting pot.”

And what of it? So?

Since when does a historical comment override Torah obligations such as

?לא תעמוד על דם רעך

or

?ואהבת לרעך כמוך

The army has made significant efforts to accommodate Chareidim, yet he claims that mainstream Chareidim should not enlist.

Why should others bear the burden entirely? Why should Chilonim die for you?

Moshe Rabbeinu has a message to this fool

?האחיכם יבוא למלחמה ואתם תשבו פה

My message to this Lakewood-based WhatsApp administrator is simple: We do not need your commentary, and we do not need your interference. Please stay out of our affairs.