Fighting for Our Bochurim the Torah Way

Matzav Inbox: Fighting for Our Bochurim the Torah Way
2025 September 9 at 10:45 AM

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Dear Matzav Inbox,

There is something deeply troubling about the way the conversation
surrounding yeshiva bochurim and the Israeli army is being conducted.

Time and again, I watch as the defense of Torah learning — our lifeline,
the very essence of Klal Yisroel — gets wrapped in noise, anger,
and rhetoric that may generate headlines
but does little to win hearts or strengthen our cause.

Why can’t we fight for our yeshiva bochurim without resorting to fiery,
bombastic proclamations that alienate the broader public?

Why can’t we fight for our yeshiva bochurim while still
expressing hakoras hatov to those who do enlist?

Even as we state unequivocally that Torah is the ultimate shield
of Am Yisroel and that we will not negotiate over our bnei yeshiva,
can we not also acknowledge that the young men who
put their lives on the line are making real sacrifices?

They are risking their futures, their health, and sometimes their very lives.
Is it really so difficult to say “thank you” for their [military] service,
even as we insist that the Torah learner’s role is irreplaceable and exalted?

Expressing gratitude does not weaken our argument.
It strengthens it, by showing that our worldview
is broad, compassionate, and rooted in truth.

Why can’t we stand up for Torah without turning to protests
that descend into chaos and create a Chillul HaShem?

The sight of angry mobs, blocked roads, and violent
outbursts does not glorify Torah. It desecrates it.

Those images circulate far beyond our own community
and reinforce every negative stereotype that already exists.

Instead of sanctifying the Torah, we degrade it.
Instead of gaining sympathy, we invite scorn.

And instead of strengthening our youth in their mission, we confuse them,
leaving them with the impression that Torah needs to be defended
through outrage rather than through its own inherent power.

Why can’t we follow the example of our gedolim, who for generations
have shown how to fight this battle with wisdom, restraint, and conviction?

Our gedolim all fought tirelessly to protect Torah learning.
They spoke and acted with unyielding firmness, yet they did so
with a dignity that commanded respect even among those who disagreed.

They didn’t need theatrics to prove the truth.
They relied on the eternal strength of Torah,
and the power of reasoned, principled argument.

This is not a call for weakness or compromise.
It is not an appeal to water down our message or to soften our principles.
On the contrary, it is a plea for true strength — the strength to argue our case
in a way that reflects the very Torah we are fighting to preserve.

To speak firmly but respectfully. To insist on the truth of Torah
without dismissing the sacrifices of others.
To advocate with passion, but also with intelligence and derech eretz.

We need to ask ourselves: What is the goal? Is it to make headlines,
to shout louder than anyone else, to prove that we can outdo the other side in volume?
Or is it to safeguard the eternal truth that Torah learning is the lifeblood of the Jewish people?

If it is the latter—and surely it must be—then our methods must reflect our mission.
We cannot fight for Torah by using tactics that betray the very values Torah demands of us.

If the Torah itself is our claim, then our advocacy must be consistent with Torah values.
A message delivered with respect, intelligence, and humility carries
infinitely more power than one shouted in anger.

The world may not agree with us, but at the very least, they should walk away saying:
“This is a people that stands for something sacred.
This is a people whose representatives speak with dignity and faith.”

I am not naïve. I know the pressures are great, the stakes are high, and emotions are raw.
But precisely because this is such a pivotal issue, we must choose carefully how we conduct ourselves.
If we truly believe that Torah is our weapon, then let us wield it — not with noise and chaos,
but with the timeless strength of calm conviction and unwavering emunah.

Is it too much to ask that we fight for our bochurim the way the Torah itself demands
— firmly, passionately, but always with dignity, always with derech eretz,
always with the spirit of Klal Yisroel as one family? That is the way our gedolim fought.
That is the way our message will be heard.
And that is the only way to ensure that our defense of Torah is itself a kiddush Hashem.

Respectfully,
A Yid in Pain
Lakewood, NJ

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FULL DISCLOSURE:

I did not write any part of this article.
I do not know who wrote this article.

By publicizing this article, I hope to reduce conflict among Jews.

If I can reduce conflict among Jews, even by a small amount,
then that accomplishment would be precious to me.

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Once full-scale war broke out after the State of Israel declared
its existence on May 14, 1948 [CE] Reb Shraga Feivel’s [Mendlowitz]
thoughts were never far from Eretz Yisrael.

A group of students saw him outside the Mesivta building one day,
talking excitedly with Rabbi Gedaliah Schorr
and gesticulating rapidly with the newspaper held in his hand.

“If I were your age,” he [Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz] told the students,
“I would take a gun and go to Eretz Yisrael.”

SOURCE: Reb Shraga Feivel: the life and times
of Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz,
the architect of Torah in America
(chapter 26, page 338) by Yonoson Rosenblum
for Artscroll / Mesorah, year 2001, based on
Aharon Sorasky’s Shelucha DeRachmana,
ISBNs: 157819797X, 9781578197972, 1578197961, 9781578197965

Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz was the founder of Torah U’Mesorah
and became principal of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in year 1921 CE.
His career in Yeshiva Torah Vodaas lasted 25 years.
He was known as “the premier architect of Torah in American history.”

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from from the ArtScroll History Series biography
of Rabbi Moshe Sherer, chapter 22, page 545:

“Rabbi [Moshe] Sherer’s summary of a confidential
June 17, 1970 [CE] meeting with Israel’s
Ambassador to Washington[,] Yitzchak Rabin
reflects his lifelong approach to Israel’s security needs.”

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”LerntminTayrah” said this in the YWN Coffee Room:

“Rav Shach zt”l was certainly no Zionist, and the
anti-Zionists here have a slew of quotes from him.

Yet, when Menachem Begin asked for a bracha of success
for the Osirak reactor destruction, Rav Shach zt”l gave it.”

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Rav [Yitzchak] Yosef is also heard emphasizing
that he harbors NO ANIMOSITY toward IDF soldiers:

“There is no hatred whatsoever toward the soldiers
— on the contrary, we deeply value what they do.

….

While expressing admiration for IDF soldiers,
Rav [Yitzchak] Yosef reaffirmed the centrality of Torah learning
in safeguarding Klal Yisroel….

SOURCE: article titled: Rav Yitzchak Yosef Clarifies
His Remarks on IDF Soldiers: “We Strengthen Both the
Yeshiva Bochurim and the Soldiers — I Strengthened Them”
2025 August 23 at 10:00 PM
from www (dot) matzav (dot) com
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