Jerusalem – The foremost religious arbiter in the ultra-Orthodox Sephardic Shas movement raised eyebrows on Wednesday when during a special prayer held at Jerusalem’s Western Wall for IDF soldiers, he remarked that “Israel doesn’t need an army.”
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The comments by Rabbi Shalom Cohen, the man who succeeded the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef as spiritual leader of Shas, drew rebukes from secular Israelis as IDF soldiers continue to operate in the Gaza Strip on the 17th day of Operation Protective Edge.
“Do you think that the people of Israel need an army?” Cohen asked during his sermon. “It is God almighty who fights for Israel.”
When stunned worshipers asked the rabbi to offer a blessing for IDF troops, he replied, “Do you think you are fighting? I am fighting for you. We screamed out to God: ‘Save us without inflicting anymore sorrow on the people of Israel’.”
The head of Hiddush, an organization that champions religious freedom and equality, lambasted the rabbi for the comments.
“If the country doesn’t need an army, then there’s no doubt that the yeshivas and Torah students don’t need budgets from the treasury,” Uri Regev, the director-general of Hiddush, said. “From now on, they can put their faith in the Lord when it comes to asking for money to fund their education systems. We will help the ultra-Orthodox in saying earnest prayers for money to start growing on trees.”
“At the end of the day, most of us believe that we do need an army, but we are quite uncertain as to whether we need Shas,” Regev said.
Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post
G-d, please save us from people who supposedly spend their whole lives studying Torah but know nothing.
Yehoshua Ben Nun captured EY with both.. army and learning.
We are not better the him
I pray that there are many contextual errors in this news reporting (sic). I find my ability to suspend my disbelief challenged when reading these “quotes”.
I do no understand what Rabbi Cohen was thinking when he made that statement. Obviously it’s the Ribbono Shel Olam who is ultimately protecting us but the IDF are his sheluchim. You need both an army and those to daven and learn to help protect them as well as everyone else. This statement is almost as puzzling (trying to be nice) as the one by the Satmar Rebbe putting the blame of the deaths of the three teenagers hy”d on their parents.
Oy Lohem Labriyos Meelbona shel torah. This man is a walking churban Hashem Yishmor.
Please let’s refrain from unuseful comments
The Rabbi Shlite is an idiot.
What kind of Shtus is that? Surely it must have been taken out of context. What about Milchemes Sichon, Shivas Amim, Midyanim. Of course Hashem Yilochem but if Moishe Rabeinu needed an army…..
It is not clear why Hatzaloh was not called immediately to take away this delusional rav and place him under observation for whatever afflicts him. He should have a refuah shelamah and the Shaas Council of Torah Sages should call an immediate meeting to select a new Chief Rav. This guy is either out of touch with reality or simply trying to stir up more dissent when achdus is needed. Either way, he should be locked away somewhere for his own good and for that of the klal.
I cant wait for the day he says we don’t need to work cause our prayers help for that too
I am sure his words were taken out of context
Poor man, the heat obviously affected him. It is not only the not yet religious who see what a freakish statement this is. I am Haredi and I also see that he is crazy.
I guess this so called ‘leader;’ is greater and knows better than Moshe Rabbenu ,Yashua Ben Nun,Dovid Hamalach,etc.because ALL those TRUE LEADERS,had armies DURING WAR at the SAME time they davened to HASHEM.
That goes against Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 329.
Spoken like a clueless man who lives in an ivory tower surrounded by sycophants. Does he think the modern state of Israel, which is led by men who are not Shomer Shabbos and don’t keep the Torah, is more worthy of Hashem’s protection than the Bnai Yisroel at the time of Moshe Rabbeinu or Yehoshua Bin Nun? The Bnai Yisroel had huge standing armies in those times.
You could know shutdown the Iron dome we have the rabbis blessing
They screamed on the ramps of Auschwitz, in the wagons to Treblinka and Majdanek but there was no answer. In 1948 it was the Haganah and Palmach who made it possible that this fine talmid chochom is a maven today
I’ll be don l’kaf zechus and just chalk it about to the rants of a senile.
We need Tefillah AND we need to do our “hishtadlus” (e.g. an effective army).
Don’t you think his comments are insensitive at least? As Israel is burying its young heroes, now is not the time for fool hardy comments. Israel needs both, prayers and soldiers! We could not make it without one or the other. Rabbi Cohen should keep his comments to himself
Ein somchin al haness (we dont rely only on miracles)
I don’t think we’ve ever had this much consensus here with regard to the absolutely ignorant remarks of a rav who some regard as a gadol and talmid chacham. The absolute insensitivity and stupidity of these comments exceeds those of the Satmar Rav who blamed the parents of the three kedoshim who were murdered for having the chutzpah to live in Hebron. Here, this jerk says the sacrifice of the 30+ chayalim killed in the past few days was for nothing and we don’t need an IDF. One can only imagine that a rocket will land later today on this rav’s beis medrash with 30+ yeshiva bochurim killed at their shteders and he will tell us its all part of some great plan the Ebeshter has to bring moishiach.
Please save us from our leaders.
Wow. He’s more extremist than the Eidah.
This is the same guy who banned college for women.
In shock!!! We obviously need both. אין סומכין על הנס. Hashem sent out Bnai Yisroel to fight for Eretz Yisroel–if Hashem gave guidelines in the Torah as to who should go into the army and who not, then evidently there is a need for both.
“When stunned worshipers asked the rabbi to offer a blessing for IDF troops, he replied, “Do you think you are fighting? I am fighting for you. We screamed out to G-d: ‘Save us without inflicting anymore sorrow on the people of Israel’.”
So, he wouldn’t even give a ברכה to the IDF troops who are מוסר נפש throughout this entire conflict? But, credit deserved is credit due, for this Rabbi Cohen has united all the posters of VIN, which is quite an accomplishment in itself. I never thought I’d see any degree of אחדות on this site!
Maybe because of all this concensous the Rav’s words where somehow taken out of context?? Just saying
Probably his words were taken out of context or the report is an outright lie.
Now way these words come from a talmid chacham. Talmidai chachomim marbim shalom baolam. Chachomim hizaharu bidivraichem.
I would ask the good ruv, why didn’t Hashem protect the fine Yidden of Europe without a Jewish army?
I think that it is clear that the so called das toire rabbis need more evaluation as to what is proper das before they speak
so far all the statements this rav has made is insane….why cant we have a respectable rav whom loves and respects people…why all these negative statements.? where are the times when rabbonim were real and were a ohev yisroel like reb levi yitzchok barditchev?
You know you are all ridiculous!! Weren’t we taught to be dan lcaf zchus?? You all know what he meant. His words could have been taken out of context. He meant to say that with Tefillah Hashem helps us!! Without the help from Hashem we can have all the armys in the world and it wont help.We have to daven and pray for Hashem to help us and to keep our soldiers safe and watch over them and Hashem will fight for us!! Now all of you take back your nasty comments, you know we are in the three weeks and you know why we had the churban!!! Be dan, lets not take apart people, lets all love all the “yidden” including the “satmar rebbe” and do ours!! Daven, give Tzadakah, and lets all do tshuvah, and together we will “all greet Moshiach!!
The Rabbi has an excuse. He’s a Rabbi. But what is the excuse of his sheepish followers who make up excuses like, “he was misquoted, the seculars are out to get him, he ate a stale knish today”. Our boys are fighting and die for klal Yisroel, and he won’t acknowledge them. 1939 all over again.
He was misunderstood. .This is what he meant: Israel doesn’t need an army… as much as it needs an air force.
People with such belief; are the same time that don’t want to work, etc. David Hamelech had an army and fought to protect the land.
I see that those who study, work and research do away more to society; then those who only “sit & learn nothing”.