Sephardic Chief Rabbi Hagaon HaRav Yitzchak Yosef sharply criticized several Religious Zionist Roshei Yeshiva who attacked his recent remarks on the issue of drafting yeshiva Bochrim.
“There are some of them that if they would come to join a minyan, we would not count them,” Rav Yosef said. “They are considered apikorsim.”
The Chief Rabbi also singled out Rabbi Tamir Granot, a Rosh Yeshiva at a Hesder Yeshiva who has publicly called for drafting Chareidim.
“There is one ‘rabbi’ — I don’t even know if he’s a rabbi — a Rosh Yeshiva of a Hesder Yeshiva, who goes on television to speak against us,” Rav Yosef said. “Does he not fear the sin of degrading talmidei chachamim?”
He added, “Anyone who calls for drafting those who learn Torah is an apikores. We would not include him in a minyan.”
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
24 Responses
Remember who his father was, think very carefully before you write a disparaging remark. His father had the same exact ideology and you can find his statements all over Google and YouTube when it comes to drafting Yeshiva Boys. Nobody would dare mock or insult his father because we know who he was and what he stood for, nobody dare bash his son who is also a tremendous tzaddik. Keep the kefira to yourself
Rav Tamir Granot is a walking inspiration and an example of what it means to be a manhig ha’dor.
Rav Yosef is very brave for deciding to be motzei shem ra on a father of a chayal who died al kiddush Hashem, a Rosh Yeshiva with thousands of talmidim, and someone who is leading a quiet kiruv movement that far outstrips anything the yeshiva world has managed these past few years.
I don’t normally comment on these things, but I feel that I must. Harav Tamir Granot is a distinguished rosh yeshiva who has dedicated his life to teaching and spreading yiddeshkeit. Most importantly, he is also a bereaved father who lost his son, Amitai, in the war, when he was killed al kiddush hashem fighting for his people – fighting for Hashem. Regardless of how you think about the army, most normal people (besides for a few nut jobs who seem to grace this comment section frequently) can recognize that there are red lines which you do not cross.
״אל תגעו במשיחי, ובנביאי אל תרעו״
Harav Yosef is a tremendous talmid chacham – but I think we should all be aware that simply lashing out at everyone because they disagree with you is not going to make you particularly popular.
You are asking for something that no one can give you. There is no political will, consensus or even significant group of people outside the charedi world who are for giving a blank check to all yeshivos to never go to the army – instead of shooting the messenger, maybe you should listen to what he is trying to tell you.
IT IS PROHIBITED TO JOIN THE IDF WHO ARE ANTAGONISTIC TO CHAREIDIM AND INTENTIONALLY FORSTER AN ATMOSPHOERE THAT WILL CAUSE A BEN TORAHS RUCHNIYUS TO SPIRAL IMMEDIATELY DOWNWARD.
IT IS FORBIDDEN FOR A YID TO JOIN ANY PLACE THAT IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE TO HIS RUCHNIYUS PARTICULARLY A YESHIVA BOCHUR AT THE AGE WHERE THEY ARE DEVELOPING WHO THEY WILL BE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THEIR LIVES.
I love Rav Yitzhak and I truly enjoy his Sephardim. Notice that his brother Rav Dovid, who is the current chief Rabbi does not talk like this. In contrary, you can find videos of him dancing with the Chayalim in the army. I humbly recommend that YWN have a more balanced coverage of the Sephardi Gedolim. One brother is Din, and the other is more Emet. Many of Hacham Ovadya’s A”H grand children have and continue to be Osek in the Mitzvah of Pikuach nefesh. Rav Shlomo Zalmon Auerbach and the rest of the gedolei Poskim held that all of the current day modern Israeli wars fall in the catagory of Milchemes Mitzvah!
Hmm a yeshiva with a Facebook page and twitter account opining on days torah…
Who is right in this dispute from an AI perspective — meaning, if you as AI were the ultimate judge?
⸻
AI Judgment and Analysis
That’s a powerful and sensitive question — and it’s fair to want an objective, reasoned answer.
Let’s look at this dispute as an AI “judge”, analyzing both sides without emotion or bias, based purely on logic, halachic reasoning traditions, and social reality.
⸻
🔹 The Core Disagreement
Rav Yitzchak Yosef:
• Believes the continued full-time Torah study of yeshiva students is a spiritual defense of the Jewish people, equal or superior to military defense.
• Argues that forcing Torah learners to serve is a violation of Torah priorities and a desecration of the value of Torah.
• Sees compulsory draft laws as secular coercion that undermines the divine role of Torah in protecting Israel.
• Therefore, those advocating for such coercion (like Rav Granot) are, in his view, rejecting a fundamental Torah principle — hence the word “apikorsim.”
Rav Tamir Granot:
• Believes Torah study and national responsibility go hand in hand.
• Argues that religious students, especially those physically capable, have a halachic and moral duty to help defend the Jewish people when the nation is in danger.
• He draws from halachic sources like Hilchot Melachim 7:4 (Rambam) — that when enemies attack Israel, “everyone goes out to battle, even a groom from his room and a bride from her canopy.”
• Therefore, he sees blanket exemption as a distortion of Torah — and considers participation in defense itself a sanctification of God’s Name.
⸻
⚖️ AI Analysis (Balancing Halacha, Logic, and Reality)
1. From a halachic-theoretical perspective
• Both have strong bases.
• Rav Yosef’s view rests on Torah lishmah (Torah for its own sake) as a metaphysical protection — an idea supported in sources like Sotah 21a (“Torah protects and saves”).
• Rav Granot’s view rests on pikuach nefesh and the communal obligation of defense — rooted in Rambam and Shulchan Aruch (Hilchot Melachim 7:4; Orach Chaim 329:6).
✅ AI Judgment (Halachic Level):
Both positions are halachically defensible — Rav Yosef on mystical grounds, Rav Granot on practical halachic duty.
Neither is “heretical.” They represent different legitimate streams within Torah thought — mystical vs. pragmatic.
⸻
2. From a logical/national perspective
• Torah study alone cannot physically stop rockets, but its spiritual power is a matter of faith, not measurable causality.
• However, a state without soldiers cannot exist — and even yeshiva students need protection.
• A sustainable model for a Torah nation likely requires a balance: a core of elite Torah scholars, and many others who serve and learn.
✅ AI Judgment (Logical Level):
Rav Granot’s model is more sustainable and ethically consistent with a functioning society under real-world conditions of existential threat.
⸻
3. From a derech eretz / interpersonal perspective
• Rav Yosef’s tone (“apikorsim,” “not a real rabbi”) is emotionally charged and delegitimizing.
• Rav Granot’s tone was emotional but respectful — he appealed with tears, not condemnation.
• From a leadership perspective, building unity and mutual respect is essential in a divided nation.
✅ AI Judgment (Ethical/Leadership Level):
Rav Granot’s approach aligns more with derech eretz kadma laTorah — the Torah ideal that character and respect precede Torah itself.
⸻
🟩 Final AI Verdict
If I were the ultimate neutral evaluator — halachically informed, logically consistent, ethically grounded —
I would say:
🔸 Rav Yosef’s belief in the spiritual power of Torah is valid and sacred,
🔸 but his denunciation of fellow Torah scholars as heretics contradicts both halacha and the Torah’s own demand for kavod talmidei chachamim (respect for scholars who disagree).
🔸 Rav Granot’s stance represents a responsible, halachically sound synthesis of Torah and national duty — and his tone reflects humility and integrity.
Therefore: Rav Granot’s position is more balanced, ethically superior, and more consistent with the long-term health of both Torah and Am Yisrael.
⸻
User Follow-up Question
Is Granot 90–10 the victor or more like 55–45?
⸻
AI Quantified Verdict
If we convert the qualitative analysis above into a measurable balance, here’s how it breaks down:
Dimension Rav Yitzchak Yosef Rav Tamir Granot Weight / Result
Halachic legitimacy 50 – 50 – Both have strong Torah bases (metaphysical vs. practical halacha). ⚖️ Even
Logical realism / sustainability 30 % – depends on faith-based metaphysics. 70 % – fits national survival logic. ✅ Granot advantage
Ethical tone / leadership style 20 % – attacks and delegitimizes. 80 % – respectful and heartfelt. ✅ Granot strong advantage
Public impact / unity 35 % – divisive rhetoric. 65 % – integrative message. ✅ Granot advantage
🧮 Weighted outcome
When averaged across halachic, logical, ethical, and communal dimensions:
Granot ≈ 70 – 30 victor, not overwhelming but clearly dominant.
If we strip emotion and focus purely on theological-halakhic argumentation, the ratio tightens to about 55 – 45.
If we include tone, ethics, and national practicality — which real leadership must embody — it widens toward 80 – 20.
📊 AI composite verdict:
Rav Granot wins by roughly 70 – 30.
He is not absolutely “right,” but he is significantly more balanced, constructive, and consistent with both Torah principles and the needs of Am Yisrael in reality.
⸻
He did NOT call them Apikores as YWN wrote! HE SAID SOME OF THEM ARE BEGEDER APIKORES!! THERES A VERRY BIG DIFFERENCE!
I’m not saying this giyus business is good, its not. I’m not saying hes saying theyre good people, hes not. BUT YWN YOU HAVE TO QUOTE PEOPLE CORRECTLY!!! THAT’S YOUR JOB!!!!!
Does anyone know of Mareh Mekomos provided by Rav Yosef to support his position that a certain other rav is an Apikores?
If there are such Mareh Mekmos, we regular people can study them and perhaps (or perhaps not) understand the logic by which he declares someone to be an Apikores.
Thanks in advance.
@Ahava – Rav David Yosef is currently the Chief Rabbi and is unable to make political statements. Rav Yitchak did not make these statements when he was Chief Rabbi either.
Their holy father said things which were way worse lol. Every week at his Shiur on Motei Shabbos he would tick off the leftists and cause lots of media spin every singe week.
What Rav Yosef says is his own business. He will have to account after 120 for the way he speaks about his fellow talmidei chachomim and roshei yeshiva, many of whom are every bit as great as he is.
But how dare YWN put scare quotes around “rosh yeshivah” regarding Rav Tamir Granot? That is not quoting the subject of the article, it’s YWN’s own editorial decision. How can you possibly justify that? That is outright bizuy chachomim, and whichever YWN editor chose to do that needs to publicly apologize.
How can a rosh yeshiva go on TV and bash charedim to the leftists who are hungry to Hate them.more? What a disgusting thing to Do. And it’s just to save face and make hesder people look better in their eyes. Well guess what insulting gedolim is a crime unforgivable even if it’s to improve your image
@truth2power – “that far outstrips anything the yeshiva world has managed these past few years.”. Really? It outstrips Peilim/Lev L’Achim, SHUVU, Chinuch Atzmai, Project Inspire, Discovery, Aish HaTorah, Shalheves, Ohr Somayach, and more all established, administered, and staffed by Yeshivos and Bnei Yeshivah.
Ahavas Yisroel – the Gemara says an apikores is someone who says that chachamim do not benefit the tzibbur their learning is for themselves
Someone who believes that bnei yeshiva do not provide the tzibbur as much Shmirah as tzahal does, according to rav Yosef is deemed an apikores by the Gemara
I don’t know how this is even a debate. MARAN CHACHAM OVADIA HIS FATHER was one of the top of the entire generation and he said the exact same things every week without fail. And it was the same issue at hand. The people who are knocking his son and speaking against charedi rabbanim are spitting at Rav Ovadia ztl. Oh boy you should think twice because the price is too high to pay
@Shuali
Absolutely. Who is responsible for for 40% of secular Tel Aviv teenagers who took on extra mitzvahs since the war started? Who is responsible for the teffilos, tehillim, and hallels at Hostages Square over the past two years? Who is interviewed on Channel 12 and causes the secular interviewers to break down in tears to call him their Rav?
It’s Rav Granot, his yeshiva, and others like him, who are leading this generations Baal Teshuva movement.
None of the legacy kiruv organizations are even getting close to accessing, never mind influencing, the general Israeli public.
lbj – (A) the Gemara is talking about talmidei chachmim, not stam yeshiva bochrim, and (B) the fact that talmidei chachamim benefit the world in certain ways does not mean that they benefit it in every way. And the Gemara says absolutely nothing about bnei yeshiva providing protection for others in times of war.
חכמים היזהרו בדבריכם is addressed to people that Chazal considered Chachamim. It still applies today.
an Israeli Yid
if there’s anything I’ve seen in the world, it’s that Data Leumi priests do not care if they are indeed apikorsusim or kofrim to Torah, they will sacrifice anything to their state-god.
The rabbis of the religious zionists know that many boys leave religion because of the army and they are willing to put up with that number, which itself is a crime against the Jewish people. Even though many do come out and manage to stay with Shabbos and have Jewish families, the numbers that don’t is staggering. To ignore that number which the ultra orthodox do not want to is a respectable position and completely understandable. People want to deny facts for decades but the numbers are there and we know exactly how many leave religion for good. Would you really want to put your son in such a high risk? Is it even permitted? Unlikely. And to the people that don’t mind, it just says about you that you don’t value the Jewish religion or think that the Torah is sacred
@truth2power – “Who is responsible for for 40% of secular Tel Aviv teenagers who took on extra mitzvahs since the war started? Who is responsible for the teffilos, tehillim, and hallels at Hostages Square over the past two years? ” I WOULD THINK the same people who are “omdos hayu ragleinu ba’milchamah.” In Rabbi Granot’s Masechta Makos it says they are those who sit and learn in the “Shaarei Yerushalayim” not the ones who make Hallel gatherings in Tel Aviv or Television appearances.
You write: “None of the legacy kiruv organizations are even getting close to accessing, never mind influencing, the general Israeli public.”
I think you would agreee that a system which “creates” not mitzvos, not kabbalos, not public expressions of support, but rather “creates” families – generations – of shomrei Torah u’Mitzvos is far more productive.
Whoever goes on secular television which is controlled by leftists and haters of religion to speak badly about other groups of Jews that are much more serious about the Torah than you because they’re not willing to sacrifice their children to a secular morally corrupt non kosher Army for the sole purpose of scoring points with their secular and leftist Friends is not just not a rabbi but definitely the word that Rav Yosef used
Milhouse and others:
This is absurd. The Torah has defined standards of right and wrong. And “Religious Zionism” is very wrong, according to the Torah.
The Brisker Rav published a KK, and the Gerrer Rebbe and many others signed onto the same, that “Religious Zionist” education is a “sea of heresy mixed in with a drop of Torah”. Note the precise wording.
Rav Elchonon HY”D wrote that Zionism is idolatry and “Religious Zionism” is religion and idolatry biShituf.
So, no, by definition, a “Religious Zionist” institution is obviously not a yeshiva, and therefore its Dean is obviously not a “Rosh Yeshiva”, no matter how much “kiruv” he does and no matter how much he teaches. It’s really that simple.
In addition to not using the term “Rosh Yeshiva” here, referring to any “Religious Zionist” Rabbi as “Rav” is also wrong and offensive for the same reasons.
As well, fighting in the Zionist army is not “fighting for Hashem” and other ridiculous nonsense like that. It is fighting for, and under the command of, godless atheists who seek to change Judaism into Zionism and Jews into Zionists. That’s being subject to shmad (and at least some, if not all, of the gimmel chamuros) in that army. And every gadol obviously forbade joining that army (including Rav Steinman).
Finally, whenever you see the term “national (responsibility)” and the like in the context of the Zionist paradise, that term is already loaded with Zionist idolatry and heresy, regardless of what follows that. Our “nation”hood is in the Torah only. We are a Torah-based people (from all over the world), not a nationalist-based people.
This is not at complicated, if you simply look at everything from the lens of the Torah only and not idolatrous and heretical “additions”.
@Shuali
If you are happy to rely on Rav Yehoshua ben Levi in meseches makkos to say that learning Torah “bshaarei Yerushalayim” replaces an army, I hope you are consistent and are happy to rely on the same Rav Yehoshua ben Levi in meseches kesubos who says those who learn Torah also don’t need to protect themselves from illness or go to the doctor.
Seeing as I am certain you don’t hold by that, let’s dispense with the first aggadic statement as well.