Lilmode ulilamaid – I could not agree with you more. I think people living in Chutz LaAretz have difficulty understanding the nuances of learning in kollel/army service in E”Y especially because they currently have so many more options. My nephews living in America come to E”Y to learn in Chareidi yeshivas for 2,3,4 years while accumulating college credits. They can then go to Touro or other programs to finish their degrees and then go on for an M.A. Our sons in E”Y do not have these options – learning full time is the only option – working even part time will result in being drafted. The army is a spiritually challenging place for Chareidi bochurim, even in Nachal Chareidi – most Chareidi parents in Chutz Laaretz wouldn’t dream of placing their 18(!)-year-old sons in this kind of environment – but this is the only option for any chareidi buchor/avreich that can’t or doesn’t learn full time. The result – no college education, no profession, at best a minimum-wage job, etc. Lest we forget, 85% of Chareidi women work so please do not view Chareidim as parasites – we pay taxes, too. And some of us do value the mesirus nefesh of the chayalim – I’m not sure why someone here proposed that that is hypocritical. We need the Lomdei Torah fully emersed in learning and the hishtadlus of an army. If we could only learn to appreciate each other’s contributions…
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