The War for Israel's Soul

Moshe Feiglin
Manhigut
17 December 09

It is very symbolic that Defense Minister Barak has chosen Chanukah - the holiday that would never have been born if the Greeks had not attempted to eliminate Jewish faith - to threaten the freedom of thought of a Jewish scholar and educator. "Teach what I tell you to teach," says Barak," and in exchange we will allow the religious nationalist students to combine Torah study with army service - as long as they defer to the army and not to their rabbis."

The struggle between the Israeli regime and Rabbi Eliezer Melamed's hesder yeshiva in Har Bracha is another chapter in the all-out war that the auto-anti-Semitic Israeli elite wages against Religious Zionism. This is a war for Israel's soul. It is the war of the crumbling anti-Jewish old guard fighting for its hegemony against the Jewish alternative that is being born.

Whoever reads the leftist commentaries in Ha'aretz understands that the elites crave another expulsion; they yearn for burning synagogues and the sight of settler families being dragged from their homes. For them, the goal of expulsion is expulsion itself and the goal of the battle against the yeshiva of Har Bracha is the destruction of all the hesder yeshivas. Four and a half years ago, they broke the physical body of the settlements. Now they want to break its spirit.

When Barak expelled the Har Bracha yeshiva from the army, he turned all the remaining yeshivas into state-controlled institutions. From now on, the rabbis of the various hesder yeshivas must all toe the government line. If not, they, too, will be expelled from the hesder arrangement. The students must understand that if a rabbi cannot speak his mind because of fear of the government and its ego-inflated ministers, the Torah that he teaches cannot be one hundred per cent true.

The only logical reaction to the current phase of this war for Israel's soul is for all the hesder yeshivas to cancel their arrangement with the Defense Ministry. Instead, they should send the students who have not yet enlisted in the army to the Har Bracha yeshiva. But it is hard to believe that that is what will happen. So now the ball is in the yeshiva students' court.

For years, Religious Zionist youth have been brought up to serve in the army with self-sacrifice. In Israel, army service is a prerequisite for growing up. Enlistment is like a second bar-mitzvah - an essential part of a young man's maturity and self-image. But now, it is time for the Religious Zionist youth to overcome the army tradition. They must defer their enlistment and enroll in the Har Bracha yeshiva, instead.

Forget about the hesder arrangement. The fact that it is an "arrangement" means that something about it is not right. Study true Torah for two years in Har Bracha or in other yeshivas that are not state-controlled. Mold your values and beliefs well. At the age of 20 - enlistment age according to the Torah - enlist in the army like all other Israelis. Just make sure that you are willing to clearly delineate the limits of obedience.
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Letter from Graduates of Yeshivat Har Bracha to the Chief of General Staff: "If there is no Hesder – there is no reserve duty"

Eitan Fried
Etrog News
14 December 09

After Barak announced yesterday on the cancellation of the army arrangement with the Har Bracha Hesder yeshiva, in lieu of the failure of Rosh Yeshiva Eliezer Melamed to appear for a "hearing" scheduled by the Minister of Defence, a letter signed by 100 graduates of Har Bracha was sent to the IDF Chief of General Staff. The letter stated: "If the Hesder is cancelled, reserve duty will also be cancelled. The IDF is showing us the way out, so we will leave on our own accord."

After the dramatic occurrence yesterday, when Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced that the arrangement between the IDF and Yeshivat Har Bracha would be discontinued, all because the rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, didn't show up for a "hearing" scheduled by Barak – the crisis has reached a new height this morning. A harsh letter, signed by 100 graduates and students of the Har Bracha yeshiva, as well as residents of "Har Bracha", was sent to the IDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi. The letter informs Ashkenazi in no uncertain terms that if the hesder arrangement is discontinues – then they will not report for reserve duty.

"We are greatly sorrowed by statements we have recently been hearing, made by the leaders of the IDF and the decision makers in the Defense ministry. Statements that endanger the status of the IDF, and are causing cracks in the fighting spirit and motivation among the soldiers. The statements are a direct threat to the army," wrote graduates of "Har Bracha" in their letter to the Chief of Staff.

"We enlisted in the army with a sense of devotion to our people and our land, and many of us battled in the second Lebonese war and in the Cast Lead operation. We were prepared to fulfill every mission to the best of our abilities, and even to give up our lives, if that became necessary. Our roshei yeshivos taught us to be the first, and the best, in our efforts to defend the State of Israel. We were educated at the feet of our roshei yeshivos, and thus saw our mandatory and reserve service in the army as a holy mission."

The letter continued, "In the last few days, the Hesder yeshivos have been pushed out of their respected place in the army. If in fact the IDF and the government follow through with their decision, we interpret that to mean that the IDF is rejecting us as fighters in its service, that the IDF doesn't want us, is throwing us out."

The graduates of the yeshiva conclude the letter with a concrete threat: "We only enlisted in the army and continued to report for reserve duty because of the education we received in the yeshiva. If the army is now choosing to show our yeshiva the door, then with heavy hearts we have no choice but to complete the process. Therefore, if the army fulfills its threat, then we will unfortunately no longer consider ourselves to be a part of the army that has rejected us."

(Continue reading)
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