HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Zilberstein issued a dramatic p’sak at the historic asifah held on Wednesday evening in Eretz Yisrael against the draft of bnei yeshivos.
HaRav Zilberstein, a Zakein of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, began his speech at the asifah by saying, “Who am I to speak in front of the Gedolei HaDor here in whose zechus our nation exists?”
“But I heard a halacha from Mori V’Rabi HaGaon HaRav Yechezkel Abramsky, z’tl—an astounding halacha—and I asked Rabi: ‘Should I publicize it?’ He responded, ‘Definitely publicize it,’ and he himself publicized it. So with your reshus, with the reshus of the Gedolei HaTorah here, I’ll review the halacha l’maasah that I heard from Mori V’Rabi HaRav Abramsky, z’tl.”
“He told me, ‘There is a gezeirah of conscription to the IDF and we know that it’s very inappropriate. I want to tell you a halacha—if at some point, it proves impossible to be exempted from army service, then there’s a mitzvah on each person to leave Eretz Yisrael and make every effort not to live here.”
“I said to my Rebbe, ‘I’m shocked to hear this.’ He replied, ‘I haven’t told you everything yet. Listen to what I’m telling you: one should be mechallel Shabbos [if necessary] and flee the country!'”
“I asked again: ‘Rebbe, is it possible to say such things in public?’ He responded, ‘If you don’t say it, I will.’ And he said it publicly. ‘If someone is being forced to draft to the army, and there is a concern that he will stray from the path, I command him to be mechallel Shabbos.'”
“No one has said such a thing yet—to get into a car, pay money, and flee the country. Why? It’s a matter of pikuach nefesh. I was shocked to hear these terrible things. I told it over to Rav Elyashiv, z’tl—the p’sak of halacha l’meisah—to take a car on Shabbos and flee the country; I have never heard of such a thing.”
HaRav Zilberstein also spoke words of defense on Am Yisrael: “And yet I want to say something. I meet with people, and I see that there is very great chizzuk. People who seem like haters of Yisrael suddenly want to perform mitzvos.”
“”There is a lot of hope these days. I am in the kollel all day in Holon. People who are so far from Yiddishkeit come to speak to me and I don’t know who is urging them apart from the Shechinah.”
“They come, they request rachamim, they ask me, What do I do first on Shabbos? So I tell them: First of all, don’t drive in a car and don’t use electricity—כי אשמרה שבת קל ישמרני. One Jew tells me, I’m going to do it immediately, and he vowed not to drive his car and use electricity but to sit and sing zemiros.”
“We ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu—please look and see what precious children You have! In the presence of all the Talmidei Chachamim who are here, I want to ask for rachamim from Hakadosh Baruch Hu.”
HaRav Zilberstein also addressed bnei yeshivos facing the conscription decree: “And to the bnei yeshivos: I know that there is a very great hisorerus regarding Shabbos—not to speak a single word apart from learning, and especially hilchos Shabbos, because ‘כי אשמרה שבת קל ישמרני’ as the Ibn Ezra established, of whom the Rambam said that his soul was a spark from the soul of Avraham our father. People seek yeshuos—behold, you have yeshuos: Shemiras Shabbos!”
“We are here in such a wonderful gathering of Talmidei Chachamim. When are we zocheh to see such a sight? I want to ask—please—to receive every person with sever panim yafos—it can work wonders.”
“And may Hakadosh Baruch Hu help us, and may we soon be zoche to see Yeshuas Yisrael and Am Yisrael in all its glory, all of us servants of Hashem!”
It should be noted that HaGaon HaRav Meir Tzvi Bergman has also said several times in the name of his father-in-law, HaGaon HaRav Elazar Menachem Man Shach, z’tl, that if Chareidim are ever forcefully recruited to the IDF, it is considered a gezeiras shmad and bnei yeshivos must give up their lives for it.
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
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8 Responses
Let me get this straight. One should give up his life rather than allow himself to be drafted in the IDF. What’s the worst case scenario?
Option 1: Suicide, chance of death, 100%
Option 2: Serve in IDF: Chance of death, very low. Chance of assimilation low to medium.
What Jewish parent would want their child to choose option 1?
Rav Zilberstein’s ultimatum will receive great support from those clamoring the most for chareidi conscription. They would like nothing more than mass migration of chareidim out of the country. They see the zevulan yissachar partnership as a voluntary agreement they didn’t sign on to but are forced to participate in. The disunity of klal Yisrael is our biggest challenge
Which country would take them in?
How could anyone leave if the airport is monitored. If I was Israeli I would avoid a shower for a week and take a drink of vodka and once I’m at the draft board they would kick me out. I know a guy he came with his mother and he was wearing pajames. They followed him home but they saw the guy walking with his pajames in middle of Bnei brak so they classified him as crazy.
Start eating lots of cake and challah. If you are overweight you won’t be drafted.
I really don’t see large scale emigration over this happening.
Last I heard the “evil” Israeli government funds hundreds of million of USD for Israeli Yeshivot not to mention contributing substantial amounts of funding for Haredi infrastructure – From salaries of Rabbonim to Mikvaot.
Good luck trying to absorb all these many tens of thousands of Haredi students in America and other places. Including the Haredim that do not have the Sitzfleisch to learn full time. Living in Chutz L’Aretz is expensive.
This Psak might capture the headlines but the reality, at least on a large scale, is simply not going to happen.
When the Geula comes (b’meheirah b’yameinu), these fools and their fellow travelers on this blog won’t be included.
chaim_baruch – Rav Zilberstein was not suggesting to commit suicide… Nor is the Israeli government threatening to kill anyone… What it means is that joining the army (in its present form, which it isn’t willing or able to change fast enough to absorb the ridiculous number of Chareidim they claim to want to ‘draft’) is not an option, no matter what the alternative is, up to and including – anything… I think it’s pretty clear to both sides what he meant. Rav Zilberstein is not known as a ‘Kanoi’ AT ALL, and he has extensive contact and interaction with other segments of Israeli society, (posek of Mayanei Hayeshua hospital, shiurim for doctors and medical professionals, work with Baalei Teshuva and kiruv, known to be highly accessible to all types of people, etc.) more so than most other Chareidi Gedolim, so him of all people making such a statement is quite shocking.
ujmNKgibberish said – They see the zevulan yissachar partnership as a voluntary agreement they didn’t sign on to but are forced to participate in.
This has nothing to do with Yissochar and Zevulun. This has to do with ‘Erev Rav’. This is yet another battle in an ongoing war by an aggressive anti-religious minority (progressive leftist post-Zionists) attempting to force their will on the majority and the elected government. These are the same people behind the AG, the ‘Bagatz’, the ‘Rothschild Protests’, threatening to shut down the Israeli economy if there is any limitation put on the ridiculous amount of power wielded by the Israeli judiciary, etc. The Amcha Beit Yisrael could resolve their differences reasonably enough if not for these רשעים who block every attempt to do so.