DY: I’m not saying that joining the army is more important than learning. I’m not saying that it does more than learning. I’m saying that any community, whether a neighborhood, city, state, or entire country, has a right to impose certain expectations on its members. A neighborhood can strongly request that you join the block watch and take care of your lawn. A city can force you to pay taxes and follow normal building codes and such. A state can force you to show up for jury duty. And a country, if it determines that it is necessary, can obligate you to perform some form of national service, be it army, volunteering, or anything else. So while learning might be infinitely more important than any of these, I do believe that the country, as a community that comprises far more than just Chareidim, has a right to make demands of them. And if the country determines that Limud HaTorah is not enough, then the country has the right to make that determination, whether or not they are correct.
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