[Interview
which appeared in the Jewish Press -
https://www.jewishpress.com/in-print/e-edition/413761/2019/02/01/]
Last week, the
Israel Defense Forces announced that kosher supervisors will now be drawn from
the ranks of female soldiers along with the men. While instruction courses were
designed to be taught separately, after an insufficient number of female cadets
registered, it was decided that men and women soldiers would study together.
The new arrangement raised eyebrows in the Orthodox community which, time and
again, during the tenure of former Chief of Staff, Gadi Eisencot, raised its
voice in protest over a list of army ordinances which seemed to disregard, and
even oppose the religious beliefs and sensitivities of Orthodox soldiers,
decrees including beard regulations; women in combat units; ultra-liberal
lecturers in the army education program; required attendance at ceremonies
where women sing, and more. To clarify matters, the Jewish Press spoke with
Israel’s Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, the Rosh Yeshiva of Ateret Yerushalayim in the
Old City, and Rabbi of the town Bet El, author of more than a hundred books on
Torah commentary and halacha.
We have sometimes
heard Rabbis state that there exists a conscious effort on the part of Tzahal’s
higher echelon to “de-program” religious soldiers from their allegiance to
Torah.
HaRav Aviner:
“That isn’t true. There is a very minority of people who say such things, and
the media blows it out of proportion to make a spicy story, but there is no
secret conspiracy in Tzahal to strip religious soldiers of their beliefs. On
the contrary, throughout all of the ranks there is a spirit of, “All for one
and one for all.” Unity, concern for one’s fellow, and working together to
achieve a common goal, characterize the attitude of soldiers, officers, and
generals alike. Similar to every large group, there can be exceptions here and
here, but overall, the IDF is exemplified by joint respect and brotherhood
throughout the ranks.
“First we have to
understand that the situation is not all bad. There are problems, and we work
to improve everything that we can, but because there are problems, that doesn’t
mean that the Israeli Army is traf, G-d forbid. The situation is not black and
white. As the old saying goes, you have to be careful not to throw out the baby
with the dirty bath water.
“When we speak
about the Israel Defense Forces, we are speaking about ‘pekuach nefesh,’
meaning life and death. In this case, we are speaking about the life and death
of all the Jews in Israel. We have to remember that Israel is surrounded by
enemies. Hundreds of millions of enemies who want to destroy us. This is
certainly ‘pekuach nefesh,’ and in a situation where life is at stake, such as
when soldiers must go forth to battle, it is forbidden to weaken the ranks.
This is forbidden by the Torah. If criticism of the army causes people to view
the army in a critical light, to the point of refusing to serve in the army,
this attitude weakens Tzahal and endangers the nation. Therefore, we have to be
very careful when criticizing the army. We recognize the matters that demand
correction, and we strive to correct them, but we must first have a feeling of
respect for the IDF and its leaders, along with a feeling of gratitude that
Hashem has given us a Jewish army to defend us from our enemies. Certainly
Tzahal must respect the rules of modesty. The army is no place for women, and
certainly no place for women combat soldiers. Without question, it must honor
the rules of kashrut and Shabbat. Great progress has been made in these areas.
The Army Rabbinate works around the clock to ensure that the beliefs and
religious practices of dati soldiers are honored. Special religious units have
been created for soldiers who want everything glatt kosher. There is the Hesder
program that combines army service with Torah learning, and there are the
Shachar and Nachal Yehuda programs for Haredi soldiers where there is no
contact with women. Yes, there are matters that need correction, but because
problems exist, we don’t reject the army. The same is true with the State of
Israel. Certainly there are problems. Not everything is the way we want it to
be. There are many foreign groups, organizations from Europe and the like, who
invest great amounts of money to denude Israel of its holy Torah values, attempting
within the army as well, and this is a phenomenon which must be opposed, but
because of the problems, we don’t reject the gift we have received from the
Master of the World. When a baby is born with some type of defect, we don’t
throw it into the trash, G-d forbid. We do everything we can to heal the
infant, with patience and love.”
If a soldier
finds himself in a compromising situation with a female soldier, what should he
do?
Rav Aviner: “In
such a situation, for example, if he is ordered to spend the night in a
vehicle on guard duty with a woman soldier, he should inform his commander that
he cannot follow the order – that he is willing to do a hundred other orders,
but not this one, and he should refuse to obey the command.”
There are voices
which insist that Torah study brings protection and strength to the nation –
therefore students of Torah should not have to serve in the army.
HaRav Aviner:
“Service in the Israel Defense Forces is a mitzvah. A person interrupts Torah
study to daven shacharit. One interrupts Torah study to honor one’s parents,
and so on. A person must study Torah for a solid period of time, and then serve
in the army when the time and circumstance demands, then return to his studies
or his chosen field of endeavor. The IDF allows Torah students to serve less
time than regular soldiers, but some service is required of everyone, for three
reasons: to save the life of the nation; to maintain Jewish sovereignty over
the Land of Israel; and to avoid the Chillul Hashem of non-Jews defeating
Israel in battle and conquering the Land which Hashem gave to the Jews. Moshe
Rabeinu served in the army; Yehoshua served in the army; King David served in
the army, etc. These holy heroes of the nation were great in military prowess
and great in Torah.”
When a Jewish
youth in the Diaspora reaches the age of army service, does he have the same
obligation to serve in the IDF that young men in Israel have?
HaRav Aviner:
“Young Jewish men in the Diaspora have the obligation to make Aliyah, and out
of that obligation, they have the duty to defend the people of Israel from the
enemies which threaten the nation. Of course, Aliyah is not easy, and there are
those, for whatever justifiable reason, are not capable of performing the mitzvah.
But today in Israel, a livelihood is possible to find, Jewish education
abounds, and olim can find comradery and support from others like them who have
come to Israel from America, England, or France. The fact is that Jewish life
in the Diaspora is not without dangers of its own. Sixty percent of Jews
intermarry. Seventy-five percent see no reason why they shouldn’t marry out of
the faith. According to trustworthy surveys, in the overall Diaspora
population, the lack of Jewish identity has reached at a catastrophic low. It
is a silent Holocaust. This makes the mitzvah of living in Israel even more
imperative.”
When discussing
the issue of Aliyah with Orthodox Jews from America, one often hears the
argument that Rabbi Moshe Feinstein stated that Aliyah is not an obligation,
but rather an optional mitzvah.
Rav Aviner: “We
don’t purport to disregard the opinion of HaRav Feinstein, of blessed memory,
but not everything that HaRav Feinstein said was agreed upon by all the Rabbis,
just as not every decision of the Rambam was accepted as halacha. Today, the
time of the great Rabbis of the Diaspora has come to an end. Indeed, there
remains but a handful compared with days gone by. Today, the greatest
concentration of Gedolim by far can be found in the Land of Israel. That fact
speaks for itself. It is very difficult to find among them, someone who says
that Aliyah is not an obligation. There are those who have a problem with
recognizing the sanctity of the State of Israel, but, almost without exception,
they all agree that today a Jew belongs in the Holy Land. The exaltedness of
Eretz Yisrael is so great that many are against leaving the Land, even to
participate in a wedding celebration. Our Sages inform us that living in the
Land of Israel is equal in weight to all of the commandments of the Torah, so,
of course, living here, and defending the nation and the Land, are supreme and
holy mitzvot for each and every Jew.”
