Soldiers of God

Soldiers of God


Ariel Salto


In a ceremony on May 24, 2012 to officially appoint the first rabbi in charge of haredi [ultra-Orthodox] integration into the Israel Defense Forces, Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger said that, "just like there are pilots and sailors, there must also be soldiers of God."


Metzger was actually implying that haredim should not enlist in the IDF because they should be allowed to continue studying Torah full time, and thus be soldiers of God, instead of soldiers in the service of the earthly state.


An arrangement acceptable to both the secular and haredi sectors can grow out of Metzger's words. The proposed arrangement should be based on three principles: The first principle is that Torah study is essential for the State of Israel and the Jewish people to keep the flames of faith alive, revive the world of Halachah (Jewish law) destroyed by the Holocaust, and contribute to Israel's sense of security. The second principle is that all members of society must bear the burden as equally as possible. The third principle is that any person who is qualified to work needs to go out and earn an honest wage.


Additionally, the arrangement must be based on two existing IDF practices. First, since the day the IDF was founded, there have been operations and jobs that are not essentially military. For example, the IDF also does educational work, such as teaching Hebrew to new immigrants, running Army Radio and providing supplemental education and advancement programs for underprivileged populations (dubbed "Raful Youth" after former Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Rafael Eitan, who started the program).


The second practice is that the assignment of recruits to different IDF units is not necessarily based only on one's military profile, but also on personal circumstances. There are many recruits who, despite having a physical profile score of 97 — the highest possible — might not be sent to a combat unit: outstanding athletes, musicians and dancers; Raful Youth; candidates for intelligence units; "atudaim" (solders whose active service is postponed while they pursue degrees in relevant academic fields, such as engineering, to be applied to their post-college service) and others.


According to the proposed agreement, all haredim will enlist in the IDF and go through basic training. They will be designated as "Torah-studying soldiers." In the framework of their army service, they will essentially sit on a base and study Torah. They will, however, be subject to the authority of the military establishment. For example, like other soldiers, Torah-studying soldiers who go AWOL would be tried in military courts. Their terms of service would be adapted to the religious way of life, of course, in a similar way to those adjusted regulations for the Nahal Haredi, a haredi combat unit.


After their three years of service, Torah-studying soldiers will be assigned to reserve units according to the army's needs. Once they are discharged from the army, they will be integrated into the broader workforce and will become part of the productive population. Haredim who are either not interested or not fit for Torah study can serve on haredi army bases in supporting roles, such as kosher supervisors, cooks, equipment supervisors and squad commanders for other Torah-studying soldiers during their basic training. Anyone among the haredim who asks to be integrated to serve in other roles in the army will be welcome.


I believe that this arrangement will be acceptable to the haredim, since within this framework, any haredi man interested in continuing his study of Torah will be able to do so. This arrangement should also be accepted by the secular community, because it means that haredim will serve in the army and be subject to supervision and orders, they will be part of the reserve force and, perhaps most importantly, they will join the workforce.




http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=2139