HaRav Tzvi Thau, a leading Dati Leumi Rav and Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivas Har Hamor, published a letter on Wednesday instructing his talmidim to attend the mass Chareidi protest against the arrests and imprisonment of bnei yeshivos in Jerusalem on Thursday.

The letter states: “את אחי אנוכי מבקש. The work of peace—true and encompassing peace within the nation, among all its factions—is a constant, elevated, and noble task entrusted to us as a public and to each and every one of us individually.

“The ruach of Hashem that rested upon Eliyahu—’to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, to bring peace to the world’—hovers over us at this very time and must find expression within our souls. The foundation of peace is the very Name of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, and through it Yisrael shall find salvation forever.

“In this awesome, wondrous, and sacred hour, small foxes from Europe and America come to spoil the vineyards—to sow division in the Kerem Yisrael and divide the nation into fragments. We must take heed of what the end of such divisions may be if, chas v’shalom, the national banner of unity and shared destiny is not raised high.

“Rabbainu, HaRav Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook, z’tl, taught and repeatedly emphasized, ‘There are clear, fundamental, and straightforward matters here: the State and the army belong to all of us. This understanding is held clearly by the overwhelming majority of our nation, across all its layers—that the soldiers and the talmidei yeshivah alike are all ‘servants of Hashem and His people Yisrael.’

“We are not two opposing sides, and it is inconceivable to arrange matters through coercion. Only through true and mutual belonging will matters be arranged. The military cannot interfere in the internal affairs of the yeshivot, just as the heads of yeshivot cannot dictate matters specific to the army—such as issues of pikuach nefesh, which must be decided by physicians. Any attempt at broad coercion would be a disaster for our State.”

“The young men who diligently immerse themselves in limmud Torah are a national and cultural treasure of the highest order for Am Yisrael and its rebirth. They elevate the spirit and strengthen morale in the most essential way—for all our communities, for the entire state, and for our army—not through detachment, but through intrinsic belonging.

“At the same time, it is clear that the severe weaknesses that have crept into the camp of Yisrael—both through military service conducted in a manner conflicting with the kedushah of the machaneh and through the infiltration of progressive, anti-Jewish, and anti-Israeli ideas into the senior ranks of command—must be corrected and eradicated from our pure and precious army.

“The shared interest of all of us, of Kal Yisrael, is the strengthening of both the army and the Torah. The existence of the yeshivot concerns us all. Safeguarding the spiritual revival within the yeshivot—the revival of Israel’s authentic, original culture and the ideal and the necessity of raising geonim, tzadikim, and visionaries—is vital for the entire nation. It is a matter of life itself. This is the collective interest of Klal Yisrael, and from it flows the sanctity and strength of Israel’s economy and defense, upon which the birchas Hashem will rest.

“Therefore, in these days, when young men devoted to their Torah study are held behind bars as if their hasmadah is a crime, our hearts are stirred in protest and awakened to declare powerfully the unifying principle that binds us all—for the sake of the Torah Hakedosha, our source of strength, and for our land, Eretz Hakodesh, the inheritance of our ancestors.

“May the organizers be blessed, and may their hands be strengthened. I call upon all to come and join in the tefillas rabim tomorrow, on behalf of the Torah b’Yisrael, for our people and our cities.

“And even if anyone, chalilah, will rise to challenge the kedushah of our State and our army—his view is null and void in the eyes of all, for surely this is not what unites us. We shall raise our banner in the Name of our G-d.”

The Rosh Yeshivah of Mercaz HaRav, HaRav Yaakov Shapira, also plans on attending the rally.

Earlier this week, MK Yisrael Eichler called for all religious Israelis to join the atzeres, and many are heeding his call, including IDF soldiers. One Datil Leumi reservist, Eliav Turgeman, wrote on social media, “This evening, I’ll take off my uniform, and tomorrow I plan to attend the atzeret tefillah against the persecution of lomdei Torah.”

“We and the lomdei Torah are one—one living body; our Torah is one Torah, a Torah of life.

“The beloved Chareidi community is undergoing important internal processes, and we must not allow the impure coercion of the Supreme Court to interfere in them.

“In the end, our steadfast achdut will prevail.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)