A Question of Loyalty

The issue of the future of Jewish life in our ancestral lands is quickly coming to a head. First, Defense Minister Ehud Barak kicked Har Bracha Yeshiva out of the Hesder Yeshiva program for failing to swear fealty to him rather than G-d. The heads of the Hesder Yeshivas have failed to take the proper stand, coming out against protests by soldiers against using the IDF to evict Jews, while saying that it is not okay for the IDF to evict Jews. In other words, the policy is wrong, but the people who are expected to carry it out cannot speak out. At the same time, these same rabbis say that if they follow orders to evict Jews they are disobeying G-d (which they would be).

Could there be a more spineless mixed message? Either stand up for Torah or shut up. As far as I am concerned, these students are now without valid teachers. What is the point of delivering lip service to Torah law you tell soldiers not to stand up for it? Don't protest, but don't follow the orders either?

In an open letter to Yeshiva students, and those among them preparing to enlist, Hesder Yeshiva rabbis stated the following:

An open letter
From rabbis/educators in the Hesder yeshivas
To the yeshiva students, and youth awaiting conscription
Dear students and youths!

We turn to you at a time in which many in the country are discussing the relationship between Torah commandments and the authority of the military commander.

As educators who send their students to serve in the IDF, we are committed to answer this question in a clear and precise way, as we were taught by our greatest rabbis: Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren of blessed memory, Chief Rabbi Avraham Elkana Shapira of blessed memory, Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli of blessed memory and Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neria of blessed memory.

We have therefore written the following before you:

May you only be strong!

By the grace of G-d we have been given the gift of living in a time of redemption. A time of ingathering of exiles, of establishment of the State and a Jewish defense force, the Israel Defense Force or IDF. All these constitute a great sanctification of G-d's name and are steps toward the complete redemption.
To our sorrow, for some time now, the army is also being used for purposes that have nothing to do with defending Israel, and are contrary to the will of Hashem, as it appears in the holy Torah. This situation throws the soldiers of the IDF into a reality in which there is a contradiction between the commandments of G-d and the orders of the military commander.

Therefore, we must teach ourselves and all of Israel, that our belief in Hashem the G-d of Israel and the acceptance of the yoke of His Kingdom, are the source of our devotion in the war to assist Israel. We need to make it clear to everyone that this loyalty to Hashem stands above all other loyalties, to the government or to the army.

Through this very trouble shall we be delivered.

We will make it clear that while it is true that the army has one commander – he, too, must be loyal to the G-d of Israel. This clarification will uplift our army to loyalty to Hashem our G-d, a loyalty through which the true Israeli military consciousness shall be clarified. It is not “my power and the might of my hand that hath gotten me this wealth, but the Lord your God... gives you power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8).

The Gemara in Sanhedrin Tractate teaches us that it is a mistake to declare loyalty to a flesh and blood king without noting that our primary loyalty is to the Word of Hashem!

The Yad Ramah [a 12th century Jewish sage from Spain – ed.] explains the passage by saying that any declaration of loyalty must be carried out in the fashion of the sons of Gad and Reuven, who told Joshua: “As we obeyed everything that Moses told us so shall we obey you, only let the Lord your G-d be with you as He was with Moses; Every man who goes against your orders will be put to death, may you only be strong.”

They declared loyalty and then lessened it, in case they would be ordered to transgress against the Torah and its commandments.

We teach our students, the Hesder Yeshiva students, to be loyal soldiers out of a commitment to to the Word of Hashem. We are certain that the Name of the Lord which we bear is what strikes fear into the hearts of our enemies, and it is what awards us with salvation and the glory of victory.

Signed,

Rabbi Yigal Abutbul, Rishon LeTzion Hesder Yeshiva
Rabbi Ben Tzon Elgazi, Kerem BeYavneh Hesder Yeshiva
Rabbi Shmuel Eckstein, Afikei Daat Hesder Yeshiva in Sderot
Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakai, Kiryat Arba Hesder Yeshiva
Rabbi Shlomo Binyamin, Lev LaDaat Hesder Yeshiva in Sderot
Rabbi Ariel Bareli, Afikei Daat Hesder Yeshiva in Sderot
Rabbi Ohad Baruchi, Tverya Hesder Yeshiva
Rabbi Eyal Gefen, Rishon LeTzion Hesder Yeshiva
Rabbi Chaim Gross, Mitzpeh Eshtamoa Hesder Yeshiva
Rabbi Amir Garti, Shavei Shomron Hesder Yeshiva
Rabbi Erez Vatik, Shavei Shomron Hesder Yeshiva
Rabbi Shiloh Tovi, Afikei Daat Hesder Yeshiva, Sderot
Rabbi Elisha Yinon, Beit Shean Hesder Yeshiva
Rabbi Yaakov Yehudah Yakir, Beir Orot Hesder Yeshiva
Rabbi Yitzchak Levi, Kerem BeYavneh Hesder Yeshiva
Rabbi Yishai Lange, Beit Orot Hesder Yeshiva
Rabbi Yair Frank, Shiloh Hesder Yeshiva
Rabbi Nachum Tzafri, Elon Moreh Hesder Yeshiva
Rabbi Noam Konigsberg, Shaalabim Hesder Yeshiva
Rabi Eliyahu Shachor, Elon Moreh Hesder Yeshiva
Rabbi Aryeh Stern, Kerem BeYavneh Hesder Yeshiva
Rabbi Shalom Shmidt, Ramat Gan Hesder Yeshiva
Rabbi Yedidya Shimon, Rishon LeTzion Hesder Yeshiva

With the vote by the rabbis against protests, how are the students supposed to know what to do? They are asked to deny Torah truth while being told they must stand up for it. The entire program is in jeopardy, and students are without teachers.

Meanwhile, a secret military plan of action against Yesha residents has come to light and is enraging the populace.

"...the army is planning to enforce the government-ordered construction freeze on Jewish towns in Yesha with the help of six brigades, the entire Border Guard forces of Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem, Israel Air Forces helicopters and drones, the Shabak (Shin Bet) and police, intelligence forces, and IDF reserve units. The forces are required to submit a daily report to the General Staff and the Defense Minister by 1 PM each day.

The Shomron Residents Committee released a sharp statement in response: “This war plan formulated against the pioneering settlement enterprise in Samaria and Judea, together with the plan against the hesder yeshivot which produce the best of Israel’s soldiers, turns [Defense Minister] Ehud Barak into a war criminal.”

“With the full backing of Netanyahu, who so cynically called us ‘brothers,’ Barak is wasting billions of shekels of the People of Israel’s money in order to promote his own standing in the Israeli left – instead of investing the money in building and developing the Galilee, Samaria, Negev and Judea. We will fight without compromise against Barak’s criminal actions, and we will continue to build our land wherever Arab nationalism threatens to turn it into terrorist states.”

The document states that the plan is on the “General Staff” level, and outlines the plan to destroy new Jewish buildings throughout Judea and Samaria. It appears that the plan is set to be put into operation within two weeks.

“The security forces will display zero tolerance vis-à-vis violence against the forces engaged in enforcing the construction freeze, demolitions and evictions."

There can be no doubt that this is the prelude to evacuation of Judea and Samaria, clearly against the will of the Israeli public that voted for a government that would refuse to allow the creation of an Arab state in our land, and would support expanding the construction of communities in Yesha. Now that it is clear that this government is going to do the exact opposite, what are the people of Israel going to do about it?

The irony is that the military is clearly able to mobilize its forces to destroy Jewish life, while it sits on its hands as Hamas arms itself in Yesha. Rather than eradicate the Arab armies that exist on our lands, the military plans to eradicate Jewish communities.

The choice for Israel is clear: will Am Yisrael side with a G-dless government that acts against Torah, and the will of the people, or will we fight against these Hellenists?

An interesting poll has been released indicating that 55% of Israelis (including 51% of those who see themselves as secular) see the residents of Judea and Samaria as the modern Maccabees, the Hasmonean led fighters that liberated the land from the Selucid Greeks and their Jewish Hellenist collaborators. Only 13% see IDF officers this way, and only 6% see Knesset members this way. It is clear where the people of Israel are looking for the future of the survival of Israel and the Jewish people. It is not the current G-dless leadership. It is to the Torah Jews of Yesha to whom they are looking.

If the Jews of Yesha rise up against the government, will the people follow? Will the army split? We know what Barak will do. He has already made his mafioso threats that if the residents of Yesha just comply with the destruction of their communities there will be no need for him to use force against them.

The time to end the secular government of Israel is now. Alas, there is no real leadership. Where is the Matityahu among the people? The Hesder Rabbis have betrayed their students. The government has betrayed the Jews of Yehuda and Shomron. Where are the nationalist leaders now? Where is Katz? Where is Feiglin? They will do nothing but rant. It is the people who must stand up now.

This is the test of our time. This is the replaying of our test at Sinai. Is it the golden calf or Hashem in which we will place our trust and faith? The time is short. If the reports are correct, the Jews of Yesha will be under attack in less than two weeks. To whom will we be loyal?