In an interview on Monday night, Meir Porush told Kol Chai Radio’s Noam Zeigman that askanim from various communities have approached him regarding efforts to organize a million man march against the government’s planned law for chareidi conscription.
The daily HaMevaser adds that organizers are conferring with “gedolei and tzaddikei hador shlita” to see if the event will take place and what form it will take, adding the plan calls for a global event.
The original report of such a planned event was released a day earlier by Channel 2, but Porush has now confirmed that efforts to actually arrange such a massive event are underway, possibly to be held on erev rosh chodesh Av.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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14 Responses
If they were gainfully employed they wouldn’t have time for such nourishkeit…a million man march in defense of mass draft evasion. How attractive!
This is a great idea! I totally think the chareidi tzibur should have a million man rally! Of course, as we all know, we can’t have the chareidi avreichim go to the rally. Why can’t they go, you ask? Well, we all know that the only thing keeping the Jewish people and the country safe is the fact that these avreichim are sitting and learning full time. We wouldn’t want everyone to be destroyed while all the avreichim are out of the basei midrashim at the rally. We certainly wouldn’t want to empty out the basei midrashim (that would be a shmad). Hmmm… what are we to do?
Don’t fear – I have a perfect solution! We’ll have all the avreichim stay back and learn, b/c that’s what will really save us from this shmad anyway – not the silly rally. Instead, we’ll ask the non-chareidi tzibur to attend the rally in place of the avreichim. Surely the non-religious and dati leumi will be happy to attend the rally for us! Whew, disaster averted!
who is porush…
sigh… moderators on autopilot
#2, most kollel men carry pocket size mishnayos/gemara.. even chumashim.. so they can still learn.
#1 and #2,
There are many good observant Jews who go to the army, and many more who want to join under a suitable environment. All we are fighting for is that there should be also those who devote their lives to Torah.
If you feel it’s a joky manor turn to your history. These guys go to the UN and lecture how we are connected to this land since biblical times etc. – well, see how King David conducted his army: one Yeshiva student per soldier.
You are making fun of your own ancestry..
I make my comments with full knowledge and belief that we should have (we need) good people learning to back up our soldiers who are fighting. No, I don’t think this is a joke at all. I do think that everyone has gotten out of control with the rhetoric though. I did approach this topic with comments that are in a lighthearted manner for good reason – not b/c I think this is all a joke, quite the opposite.
I also think that the arguments being made are out-of-line. Just b/c the chareidi tzibur is being asked to help serve by EITHER joining the army OR doing some kind of CHESED program for the Jewish people, does NOT mean we need to “empty the basei medrashim” or “close down yeshivas.” The government has suggested only a percentage of the chareidim serve & a percentage be given defferments to learn full time. (Of course, no one wants to acknowledge or report on that in the chareidi world). That provides for many wonderful chachamim who can sit & learn – in keeping with our heritage since Biblical times. By the way, the army has a whole Rabbinate of full time learning guys – it doesn’t just need to be chareidim who do it in their own basei midrashim. The IDF HAS BASEI MIDRASHIM! These wonderful men learn & provide their services to the soldiers. They publish seforim every year to handle halachic issues for the soldiers individually and the army as a whole. Did you know that? For example, I have a friend who learns in a beis medrash in the IDF and he told me of some specific examples of seforim – one that talks about how a soldier should handle himself if he makes an eruv tavshilin on his base but then has to travel to another location due to a security issue in another town (i.e. can the eruv tavshilin on the base cover him where he is now, etc). Another talks about mezuzahs – does the army need to put them up on a tent? on a tank? etc – some situations are obvious while others needs halachic decisors b/c of how permanent the structure is. Bottom line: we should AND DO have Torah learning to back up our soldiers – that doesn’t mean every chareidi man should be exempt from service.
Anyway, just b/c some chareidim will need to do some sort of service does NOT mean the basei midrashim will be empty or that there won’t be any Torah learning or that you need to close all the yeshivas. Hey, here’s an idea – make a decree that the avreichim can’t smoke, drink coffee or shmooze on their cell phones anymore. That’ll make up for the missing Torah hours when they & their friends are called up to serve. Oh, by the way, if someone is called up to serve for 2 yearsm doesn’t mean they can’t learn the years before & after. Doesn’t mean they can’t learn during downtime while serving. That can easily add to the Torah hours so we don’t need to empty the basei midrashim & close yeshivas.
#6 – EXACTLY!! Everyone can carry pocket size seforim & make the time to learn even when they are busy with the rally! And, they can carry the same seforim & learn when they serve in a national service program or the army!
Care free
What you wrote is leitzanus and it seems clear that you dont believe that Torah is what holds up the world. What is a reform jew doing on Yeshivaworldnews?
OK – some good points.
I know that today there are way more learning than in the time of the Chazon Ish – including all the ‘Hockers’… and yes there’s some degree of learning in other circles. However, but we need a good number of those devoted to Torah, and the reality is, out of a thousand learning in Yeshiva you get the handful of real greatness.
No Gadol today is great enough to sit on a panel deciding who should be from those who learn full time and who shouldn’t.
Don’t forget – and for those who talk about being a decent citizen etc. – we did not create this ‘State of Israel’, it was people who don’t believe in Torah. We were asked: “How can we live together? What’s the basics you need so we can call ourselves ‘one nation’?” and one of the things we said was that don’t take our boys out of the Yeshiva.
I believe people like Deri,and many others, who say this isn’t a security issue, and if the IDF would make a Kosher inviroment for those who wish to enter, plus inforce the law on ALL those who illegaly arn’t inlisting (not learning, plus all the thouesends of Chilonim who doudg the draft to go work) – the IDF would have way more then they need. But these guys insist on forcing most of those who want to learn, which will make a big rif in every Yeshiva and every Torah family.
It’s a political game.
Is that supposed to be a jab at me? In fact, I’m a frum Jew who lives in Israel. I work and I learn and I volunteer my time for the Jewish people. In fact, I was involved in Hatzoloh for many years. Just b/c someone disagrees with you, doesn’t make them inferior to you. The reform jew jab is sad & uncalled for – but unfortuantely, that’s what I’ve come to expect from the “frum yidden” who frequent YWN (and even many who don’t frequent this site).
Most importantly, is the point that the chareidi movement deep down recognizes that there comes a time when Jews must get up from learning to rally or serve or do something important. We don’t just sit in the beis medrash and wait for miracles to occur. We need to actually defend our lives in the army. We need to actually serve for the many CHESED organizations in our country. Yes, we also need to sit and learn Torah. Only after we have done ALL OF THE ABOVE can we wait for Hashem to bring along the miracles that make those efforts (going through the motions) successful. In the meantime, let’s lay off the rhetoric and name-calling.
#10,
If you trully believe this is really about a security need, or even about a lack in man power in national sirvice, you are very naive, and I’ll bet you arn’t living in Israel for all that long..
MDshweks:
By the way you’re talking I assume you either don’t live in Israel at all or you live with your head in the sand. You think there’s no need for CHESED in our country? Not a single day goes by in the years that I’ve lived here that I don’t see people begging for help. It could be emails of people saying they need help taking care of their sick family member, an elderly person who needs a ride to the doctors and hospitals, someone disabled who needs help building their succah, a family who can’t afford to feed their family, someone getting married who needs help setting up an apartment and making the wedding, a cheder that can’t afford to pay their rebbeim, a special ed school that needs shadows, etc, etc, etc. The vast majority of these causes that I hear about (b/c I live in a chareidi area) are for chareidi causes.
What can you do about it? Well, the chareidi national service guys can set up programs to help! Take care of the sick and elderly (go shopping, change light bulbs, clean their apt, set up their medications for the week, talk & learn with them) for free or heavily reduced cost, build succahs for free, drive sick and elderly to doctors & hospitals, help them register & fill out paperwork, help set up a newlywed’s apt (moving boxes, assembling furniture, delivering things from Ikea, etc), waiter and work in the kitchen for free at weddings, be a volunteer mashgiach at weddings & bar mitzvahs, be a shadow in a school for special needs children, volunteer as a rebbe in cheders, volunteer as a secretary or maintenance guy or cleaner in a local cheder or yeshiva!!! Volunteer as a dispatcher or responder for Hatzoloh. Help them restock their ambulances and 1st response mopeds. Do I really need to go on??? You are oblivious if you think there’s enough CHESED volunteers or a lack of CHESED opportunities out there!
Most of these things can inccorporate Torah learning for the guys as well as for the recipients. Most of all, it puts into practice our Torah learning! According to the Mishna, only that will make our learning survive. Oh, and: The world stands on THREE things: על התורה, ועל העבודה, ועל גמילות חסדים
The world stands on THREE things: על התורה, ועל העבודה, ועל גמילות חסדים
Yes, it does. What has this got to do with the subject?
um, Milhouse, I thought he was very clear. g’milus chesed is referring to the national service that we can choose instead of the IDF service.
I’ve wondered why we’re fighting this too – as chareidim we love to do chesed service (hatzolo, zaka, shomrim, chaveirim). maybe we need to be the ones to step up to the plate and do that. we can really show them how its done.