Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg is quoted in your Chukas edition as applying the status of milchemet mitsva to the current ongoing situation in the State of Israel.
You also quote the Mishna in Sotah as saying thast no-one is exempted from a milchemes mitsva.
Is it not therefore incumbent on even bnei Torah to serve in the Israeli Army given the need for training in the (quite feasible) event of a war which would be a Milchemet Mitsva?
If that is the case, on what do Gedolim base their opposition to yeshiva men serving in the army?
Answer:
Although it is true that the defence of the Jewish People is considered self-defense, which will include the current situation in the State of Israel, the obligation of going out to war applies only when soldiers are needed.
Therefore, in the Yom Kippur war, many yeshiva men were drafted, and fought in the army, because they were required.
In the current situation, the army doesn’t really need yeshiva men, and the argument for their service is not that they are required, but rather that there should be “equality” among all.
The Gedolim see the army as being a spiritual threat, and wish the character of young men to be molded by Torah study and not by serving under secular officers, and these, among others, are the reasons for which the argument of “equality” does not convince them. [This aside from the fact that the study of Torah affords protection to the nation, and preserves its Jewish character.]
Best wishes.
Thank you for your prompt response.
My problem is still that when Yeshiva men are drafted when they are needed, i.e. at time of actual war ch.v., they will not be trained and could end up being more of a liability than an asset because of this lack of training.
My follow-up question is: should the Torah community see it as more of a priority to work (of course diplomatically and b’darchei no’am) towards improving the spiritual standing and standards of TSaHaL which will assuredly also improve its morale and raise its levels of excellence. In this way TSaHaL will, in time, come to be an institution in which shomrei mitsvot will be able to serve without compromising their standards.
Thank you for listening.
Surely not. In this case, the dough is kneaded with milk–or with cheese, or milky ice cream, or whatever you mix the milk with–but in our case the dough is not kneaded with milk. That is a very basic difference.
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