Page 27 - HaMizrachi Chanukah 2021 - USA

1985 1986 1990
The Mizrachi Torah Scholarship Fund Over 20 AMIT institutions serve more Solly Sacks is elected
provides for over 1,000 students, totaling than 16,000 people throughout Israel Secretary-General of the
3.6M shekels, equivalent to $8M today Mizrachi World Movement

defending army service by yeshiva stu- praised its soldiers while providing (PHorns: 1DF)
dents that he had published soon after halachic guidance to its chaplain
Israel's Declaration of Independence. regarding kashrut and other ritual
observance.
Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook was not the
only rabbinic scholar to support the These letters in favor of religious
conscription of yeshiva students. Sim- exemptions during World War I were
ilar essays were written by Rabbis now being cited in 1948 to protest the
Yitzhak Herzog, Shlomo Yosef Zevin, conscription of yeshivah students to
and Cohen's own father, R. David Cohen the newly formed IDF. But Rabbi Zvi
(known as "the Nazir"). Yet Rabbi Zvi Yehuda argued that the scenarios were
Yehuda's treatise was particularly fas- not compatible. In England, the British
cinating because it addressed an earlier army was drafting yeshivah students,
era in which religious Jews were much including many Russian refugees, into
more conflicted over whether they had an army that was foreign to them;
a homeland to fight for. in 1948, Jewish soldiers were needed
Jews were active participants on both that Jewish soldiers on one side might to defend their own people and true
sides in World War I: More than a mil- be killing Jewish soldiers on the other homeland from the ongoing attacks
lion Jews served with Allied forces, side, a trope common in Jewish liter- of their enemies. When it comes to
while 450,000 Jews served in the ature throughout the 19th and early defending the Holy Land, all Jews must
armies of the Central Powers. Some, 20th centuries. be willing to fight.
particularly in countries like Turkey Over time, Israel would establish dif-
Other rabbis, however, deemed military
(Central Powers) and Russia (Allies), ferent models, including the Hesder
service a religious duty. Rabbi Moshe
were forced into service by rulers they David Glasner of Germany (the "Dor Yeshiva system, to enable religious
loathed. In other countries, such as citizens to both study Torah and serve
Revi'i") denounced Jewish draft dodg-
Austria-Hungary and Britain, many in the army. In fulfilling both of these
Jews patriotically enlisted, thankful ers. In his mind, the obligation to follow great religious values, these scholar-sol-
the state's laws demanded not only
for the relatively safe position of the diers are following the path blazed
Jewish community in those countries. paying taxes (damim in Hebrew) but before them by the brave 20-year old
also risking one's blood (also damim).
For over a century, Rabbis debated If national service entailed violating Shear-Yashuv Cohen in 1948. While best
whether Jews should fight for their the Sabbath and other commandments, known for becoming the Chief Rabbi of
host countries. Partly due to the dif- so be it. Similarly, Chief Rabbi Joseph Haifa, Rabbi Cohen would first serve as
ficulty of observing ritual laws while Hertz of Britain praised Jewish service- head chaplain of the Israeli Air Force,
serving, many were opposed to such men and regularly condemned those serving alongside his brother-in-law,
participation. Yet recognizing that it who neglected their combat duties, IDF Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren - a fit-
was often not a matter of choice, like in particularly if they did so in the name ting way to serve his nation as both a
Tsarist Russia, they nevertheless guided of religion. This proclamation was scholar and a soldier.
enlisted soldiers in the observance, to opposed by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak • This article is adapted from the author's
the extent possible, of dietary and Sab- Kook, who was living in England after forthcoming book, Judaism Confronts War:
bath laws. The "Chafetz Chaim," Rabbi Jewish Military Ethics in the 21st Century
being stranded in Europe due to the
Yisrael Meir Kagan, would even write a outbreak of war in 1914. Much to Rabbi (Maggid Books).
popular handbook for Jewish soldiers
Hertz's dismay, Rav Kook wrote letters
called "Machane Yisrael."
for yeshivah students to receive a draft
More fundamentally, many rabbis exemption for religious reasons. Rav ffl
spoke out against the wanton blood- Kook felt that Jews should avoid mil-
shed of warfare when not fighting in itary service if the government would A member of
self-defense. Proactive belligerence, not allow them to maintain their reli- the Mizrachi
in their view, flagrantly violated the gious lifestyle. Interestingly, when the Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Brody is the co-dean of the Speakers Bureau
commandment of "Thou Shalt Not so-called 'Jewish Brigade' was formed Tikvah Online Academy and a post-doctoral mizrachi.org/
Murder." To this was added the fear toward the end of the war, Rav Kook fellow at Bar-llan University Law School. speakers

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