Jerusalem – A group of five adult Yeshiva students in Jerusalem have put together an initiative that requests volunteers from the Haredi community to join the military reserves.
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An advertisement placed on various ultra-Orthodox websites reads, “A group of Yeshiva students is organizing to volunteer with the reserves. Want to join?” reports The Times of Israel (http://bit.ly/1v82z53).
“We believe it is a great privilege to join the military effort, in addition to our important contribution through Torah study. We too yearn for this precious mitzvah,” the ad continues.
The advertisement provides those interested an online application that asks participants about marital and employment status and age.
The Haredi community is typically against taking part in the military, and until the conscription law was passed on March 12, 2014, they were able to postpone mandatory military duty indefinitely as long as they were studying in a religious institution.
The initiative’s publicity coordinator – 40-year-old Yossef – says 500 volunteers have signed up so far and he estimates a total of 1,500-2,000 volunteers will sign up.
Yossef says the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens in June and Operation Brother’s Keeper spurred the students to create the ad and ask for volunteers.
Younger, unmarried men could be trained to take part in fighting units, and a shorter track for older volunteers can include volunteering in the reserves 12 days a year for a total of five years.
And despite dozen of hate messages received this week in response to the ad, Yossef believes that the volunteer track into the IDF will be more successful than the draft approved by the Knesset.
Information taken from The Times of Israel.
We can ask Hashem for love and we can beg G-d for mercy, but until we acnowledge that Torah reasons with justice to build out soul, we can not approach Hashem to plea for forgiveness. And we do this by serving in the IDF if we are Israeli. You can not expect Torah to protect you if you do not protect Torah. G- d is visionary to the Angels. You might want to keep the mitzvot of standing up for the austerity of human development. And idea that your study supercedes the right of your brother to exist is a Chillum Hashem. Mazel tov to any charedi who chooses IDF service as his true introduction to Torah’s power. G-d is very real and burying our brothers while we look for our future bargain in the eyes of last year’s suffering is dismal. We must push Israel to keep Torah Values in spite of what wars we encounter in Hashem’s society. Go IDF!
If they are able to attract even a small percentage of chareidi bochurim to join the reserves, they will have achieved a massive Kiddush hashem and will have shown their rebbeim that indeed one can do both learning and contribute to the defense of the medinah. May they have much hatzlacha and hopefully cause much anger and consternation among the rabbonim who have said this would be impossible.
I wish I was young enough to join
What a great idea
God bless them.
Great to hear!
Judaism is not a “feel-good” religion. Just because you “believe” it is a good thing to join the IDF doesn’t mean that this is the Jewish/Torah way. As our rabbis have repeatedly and emphatically indicated, this is NOT the Torah way.
How sad.
Kol Hakovod to these bachurim!!!! It is better to learn how to protect yourself and your loved ones than to be caught off guard and be slaughtered.
Wonderful!? There’s only one grave problem. The Israeli government, being afraid of the nations, puts its soldiers in harms way. Witness the ship ‘Avi Mamara.’ Three wonderful young Jews might now still be sick after being beaten and thrown down two or three levels at the time…needlessly! Finally they shot the terrorists…B”H. What did the Israeli Government do? Apologize! For what? Protecting it’s brothers. There are many examples like this. Who, in his/her right mind would make ‘Aliyah’ with teenage sons? One Israeli mayor called this episode: “Avodat Molech.” Think ten times before you consider ‘The IDF.’
Do I make sense? Please reply…’Todah raabah’ (Vosizneias is an excellent website. Some of the best photos and most timely news.)