Ahead of the Fifth Annual Chinuch Conference of the Ha’azinu Center, set to take place this Thursday, Rosh Yeshiva and Torah leader HaGaon HaRav Dov Landau addressed the growing unrest surrounding the draft, offering firm direction to mechanchim, mashgichim, and yeshiva bochurim.
In a question-and-answer session released ahead of the conference, Rav Landau was asked about the mounting pressure and confusion among bochurim amid reports of harsh government decrees targeting yeshiva students.
Addressing the seriousness of the situation, Rav Landau stated that “the harsh decrees, the decree of the draft, are not a simple matter,” and stressed that the gedolei hador are “making every effort” to ensure the best possible outcome.
When asked how bochurim can strengthen themselves and avoid anxiety, Rav Landau responded sharply and unequivocally. He warned against those he described as agitators, saying that there are individuals who go out and hold protests, which he characterized as deeply harmful. Rav Landau instructed clearly: “Do not participate in protests.”
Rav Landau emphasized that the responsibility of mashgichim and mechanchim is to reassure bochurim that they are not alone and that their situation is being addressed at the highest levels. He underscored that the matter “occupies the elders of the generation greatly,” and that they are exerting themselves fully on behalf of the yeshiva world.
In especially strong language, Rav Landau added that there are those who “disrupt with protests and other nonsense,” reiterating once again that participation in such actions is forbidden. Instead, bochurim should be told that the gedolei hador care deeply for them, are fully engaged, and are doing everything within their power.
Rav Landau concluded with a message of emunah, expressing hope that, with Hashem’s help, the efforts of the elders of the generation will succeed, and reminding all that “everything is in the hands of Heaven.”
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6 Responses
People have been wondering and asking for years where the Gedolim were when the hafganos turned violent or when people protesting called the Police terrible names. People have been asking for years why the Gedolim didn’t speak out against the hafganos or at least why the Roshei Yeshiva didn’t asser the lomdei Torah from going. Now, R”L, it took the death of a Yeshiva Bochur to finally have someone speak out against these destructive and useless protests and demonstrations. Better late than never?
Halevi that he will be listened to
REALLY?
You mean the haredi kid who was killed last week at a hafgana wasn’t acting on direct orders from the gedolei hador??
Gee, that’s strange – I always thought that everything done in the name of haredism must be Torah MiSinai!!
After all, haredi propaganda outlets such as Yated Neeman and pashkevilim sure pay a lot of lip service to following the (exclusively Litvish) gedolim, and their sycophant apologists on YWN (HaKatan, ujm, somejewiknow) always rush to their defense, so I was absolutely sure that every knucklehead who showed up at these violent hafganot must have had a handwritten directive from the gedolim (even though none of these supposed gedolim actually got in front of traffic themselves)!!
Looks like I was wrong after all!!
As others are asking – is this the first time the Rav was asked?! If not, why his opinions were not publicly known to the bochurim?
People stick up for big rabbanim because it’s the right thing to do and the price for disrespecting them is forfeiting your world to come, so it’s better not to do it even if you’re not sure that they’re a big Rabbi or not to be on the safe side. There’s not much to gain besides maybe being the champion on a message board of wicked people
Please do not confuse the Yerushalmi faction extremists with the rest of the litwishe world, as they have their own manhigim and Roshei Yeshivos.