Our
Yeshiva, Yeshivat Ateret Yerushalayim, received very exciting news this week
that Ha-Rav Colonel Ayal Krim, who learned in
our Yeshiva and was head of our Pre-Military Academy, has been appointed to be
the next Chief Rabbi of Tzahal!
Although
our Yeshiva is not an "Army Yeshiva", but rather a Yeshiva where we solely
learn Torah, we are extremely proud since Ha-Rav Krim will be the second Chief
Rabbi of our Yeshiva. The first being
Ha-Rav Avichai Ronski, who served as a Ra"m in our Yeshiva.
Rav
Krim, along with serving as an officer in elite combat units and serving as head of the Halachah Department of Tzahal, has
also published 6 volumes of Teshuvot relating to military related questions
entitled "Kishrei Milchama".
In
his honor, here are some Teshuvot of Rav Aviner which quote Rav Krim's rulings:
Using
a Untensil without Immersion in a Mikveh
Q:
I am a soldier. I have a new pot and am unable to immerse it in a
Mikveh. Is it permissible to use it one time without immersion?
A:
No. It is permissible to use disposal utensils without immersion (if
they are used more than 3 times, many Poskim require their immersion), but a
permanent utensil may not be used even once without immersion. In a
pressing situation, it is permissible to give the pot as a gift to a non-Jew
and then borrow it from him (since the utensil of a non-Jew does not require
immersion). Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 120:16.
Q:
And what if there is no non-Jew?
A:
Call a military Rabbi, or the 24-hour phone line for soldiers of the Military
Rabbinate 052-941-4414. They will sell the utensil to a non-Jew, or
in a pressing situation, they will permit it based on the opinion that it is
permissible since it is not the soldier's utensil (Kishrei Milchama of Ha-Rav Colonel 3:58).
Ambush on Shabbat
Q: If a soldier goes out of an ambush on Shabbat or returns
from an ambush on Shabbat, is it permissible for him to take personal items
with him?
A: It is permissible to take food which will contribute to
his alertness. There is a dispute regarding non-essential items.
The Chafetz Chaim is lenient in his book "Machane Yisrael" (see
Ke-Chitzin Be-Yad of Ha-Rav Avichai Ronski, former Chief Rabbi of Tzahal,
Volume 2 pp. 36-37. And Kishrei Milchama of Ha-Rav Colonel Ayal
Krim, head of the Halachah Department of Tzahal, Volume 4 pp. 86-90).
Writing
during a Life-Threatening Situation on Shabbat
Q:
If one is obligated to write on Shabbat during a life-threatening situation, in
the case of a doctor or soldier, is it preferable to use a pen or computer?
A:
Computer, since writing with a pen or pencil is a Torah prohibition while
writing on a computer, which involves electricity, is a Rabbinic prohibition
(see Kishrei Milchama of Ha-Rav Colonel
Ayal Krim 3:41).
Soldiers
in Protective Edge Eating Meat During the Nine Day
Q: Is
it permissible for combat soldiers fighting in Gaza to eat meat during the Nine
Days?
A: In general, it is forbidden for
Ashkenazim to eat meat from 1 Av (Mishnah Berurah 551:58) and for Sefardim from
2 Av (Kaf Ha-Chaim ibid. #125). A
soldier in Tzahal, however, is not defined as Ashkenazi or Sefardi but as a
soldier, and it is permissible for a combat soldier to eat meat if it is needed
to give him strength. And
this is also the ruling of Ha-Rav Colonel
Ayal Krim, head of the Halachah Department of Tzahal (Kishrei Milchama
3:56). And the Military
Rabbinate also ruled this way.
Q: Can non-combat soldiers eat
meat?
A: There
is a Chiddush of Maran Ha-Rav. It once happened that there were two
restaurants for workers, one Kosher and one not Kosher, and many of the
non-religious Jewish workers ate in the Kosher restaurant. During
the Nine Days, however, meat was not served in the Kosher restaurant, and the
workers who wanted to eat meat would eat in the non-Kosher
restaurant. The Rabbi, who was responsible from the Poalei Mizrachi,
asked Maran Ha-Rav Kook: Is it permissible to serve meat in the Kosher
restaurant so that the non-religious Jews would not eat the Treif
meat? Rav Kook said that it is permissible since it is a Mitzvah to
save Jews from eating Treif. Any such meal is therefore considered a
Seudat Mitzvah at which one may eat meat during the Nine Days, and even you -
the Rabbi - would be allowed to eat meat there (Moadei Ha-Re'eiyah pp.
539-542)! One could say, based on this, that a meal during which a
combat soldier eats meat in order to give him strength to wage war is considered
a Seudat Mitzvah, and at a Seudat Mitzvah even a non-combat soldier would be
permitted to eat meat. If Rav Kook had given such a ruling, we would
certainly accept it, but he did not. So the non-combat soldiers must
still refrain from eating meat.
