Dear YWN,
I hope you will publish this letter, as I find the situation deeply disturbing.
Recently, someone sent me a letter that was signed by dozens of baalei batim, with an effort underway to collect even more signatures. Part of the letter reads as follows (quoted verbatim):
“Therefore, we make our position explicit. We remain wholly committed to the support of Torah, Yeshivas, Kollelim and Talmidei Chachamim — the very life force of our holy nation. And because of that commitment to the Torah Chaim, we cannot in good conscience support institutions whose public posture undermines those charged with defending Jewish life. Accordingly, we will only provide financial support to Torah institutions that do not publicly speak against, protest, or delegitimize the IDF while they bear the burden of defending Jewish lives. This policy will remain in effect until such positions are reconsidered in a manner consistent with the defense of Jewish life.
This stance takes no position on the current debate regarding the draft. It addresses only the propriety of public opposition to the IDF during an ongoing defense of Jewish life.
We state this position in unity and responsibility, confident that the strength of our people lies in the alignment of Torah, security and mutual commitment. Through achdus, may we merit the geulah sheleimah, b’karov.”
It is not my place to personally attack those behind this letter, despite what I view as breathtaking audacity — publicly threatening Torah institutions and, by extension, Gedolei Yisrael, over matters of hashkafah and public expression. But Chazal already warned us what the period before Moshiach would look like. “Chutzpah yasgeh” is not a metaphor. It is a reality we are living through, and this episode feels like a textbook example.
What shocked me most was seeing the names of two close friends of mine on the letter. I reached out to them directly. Both told me the same thing: they were misled. They were not shown the final text, nor were they told clearly what the letter would actually say.
That raises serious questions about the integrity of every single signature on this document.
Ironically, these are often the very same baalei batim who habitually question kol korehs issued by Gedolei Torah, asking whether the Rabbonim truly signed, whether they were misled, or whether the wording was altered. Yet here, the same tactics appear to have been used — only now in reverse, by private individuals seeking to leverage money and influence.
Is there truly no limit to the chutzpah of this generation, where a small group of people with financial means feel empowered to pressure, threaten, and attempt to silence leading Torah figures by dangling funding over their heads?
I am a real person. I am signing this letter sincerely. I am choosing to remain anonymous — not because I lack conviction, but because I genuinely fear being bullied or intimidated by some of those involved.
That fact alone should trouble anyone who still believes we are having an honest, respectful discussion within the Torah world.
The views expressed in this letter are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of YWN. Have an opinion you would like to share? Send it to us for review.
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31 Responses
I wouldn’t want to be part of such a letter that directly spits in the eyes of so many gedolei yisrael, better to not give and at least shut up. Let’s not forget that the state is already funding those places plenty because of its alignment with military service
a few points;
1. this is the first i hear of this , but since im also a shtikel mechutzaf ; i will comment on what i think is going on ( do we need the facts to comment??)
2. its no secret that there has always been some distance between supporters of torah and the yeshivaleit themselves , even 50 years ago most baaalei batim didnt support rav aron , rav moshe, rav gifter, ytv etc. most shuls boards didnt let them make appeals.. and they were giants-
3. whatever we have today is because of a few handfuls of donors , who saw this as the only hope for a future
4. its no secret that the ey roshei yeshiva and fundraisers are deeply disappointed with US IN AMERICA, they feel that this is the biggest gezaira facing bnei yeshiva in 60 years and most of us DONT GET IT!
5.keren olam hatorah was a handful of donors with ruvain wolf carrying the brunt of it and many saying we will give but “this” really bothers us and most yidden agree at least partially
6. the chidush is that they are even giving at all , so this letter didnt come out of chutzpah its saying i have the right to give everywhere i will prioritise those that are more balanced
quetion if i ask u would you give to the peleg yeshivas? what about the kanoim in beit shemesh, how about the gruss kolel at yu, toldos aaron .. so u too make choices on who to give and how much
Not to mention the tremendous chilul hashem of deliberately releasing something to hurt many rabbi’s feelings, and to get many Jews to question where they send donations, and also to give ammunition and Fire to the many haters like we have here that we shouldn’t respect charedi rabbanim . Whoever was behind it and it’s manipulation will be paying severely
Certainly people have the right to decide which institutions and causes to support financially. With Hashem’s help the IDF is our defense against those who want to murder all the Jews in eretz yisrael, charedim, dati leumi, and chilonim alike. Any institution that comes out publicly against the IDF is showing a lack of gratitude and no hakaras hatov for the yeshuah that Hashem sends through the IDF and which protects them daily. People are free to decide not to support such institutions and there is nothing wrong with that. People who think that the actions of such institutions are correct are certainly free to support them and to answer for their actions after 120 years.
What a well written letter! What clear and Torah-true hashkafah! What balance! Thank you for expressing this.
Unbelievable the chutzpa that even after learning that without a doubt some of the names are there as a result of being lied to and misled, still people run to give honor to those who just called for a rebellion against many charedi rabbabim. The same ones that even the secular hostages after their release ran to to say thank you and cry
Did you ask your two friends what they thought they were signing? What did they disagree with in the final version? Sounds like there could be more to the story.
>>>What shocked me most was seeing the names of two close friends of mine on the letter. I reached out to them directly. Both told me the same thing: they were misled. They were not shown the final text,
Why am I supposed to believe an anonymous claim about what two other anonymous people said?
I’ll stop there.
Really???
1. Everybody that signed saw the letter .. the technology used to sign forced you to read the letter before signing
2. All the people openly put their name as signees … the person writing you doesn’t even mention its own name ….
Is this news ? Journalism? Or Stam trying to create a machloikes … whilst the letter published by as one of unity and kavod Hatorah at once
I’m torn. On one hand, the thing that people are signing is not what it says in the letter. If you scan the qr code, it brings you a vanilla statement about unity etc. The actual letter taking an actual position is not what is seen. So this is dishonest and it is not ok to mislead people like this.
On the other hand, I completely agree with the position that the letter takes. I will go a step further. The Charedi society in Israel is slowly correcting into a more sustainable financial situation, perhaps more akin to Lakewood. This is because they have no choice financially and it is a good thing. However, it is the Gvirim of Lakewood that are holding them back by slowing this correction. I spoke with a nursing home owner who was upset about the amount of Meshulachim that come to him with clearly no interest in bettering their personal situation. Yet he keeps giving…
The thought of giving to those who not only aren’t bettering their situation but are actively against the protection of Am Yisrael is even more horrifying.
“Kavod hatorah” is not publicly declaring that you won’t donate to Rav Lando or Rav Shternbuch for everyone to see that your mindset doesn’t align with them. Can’t you control your bank account from your own house instead of trying to discourage others who do respect them and want to support them? They are gigantic rabbanim even if some secular University educated businessman don’t seem to agree. You can flash your money down here but in the next World it won’t be worth anything you got other people to rile up against big daas torah
“Meshulach” is a misnomer. Nobody sent him. Giving such an individual money is merely perpetuating his poverty.
Over the past half century (or more) there have been many public letters or “kol Koreis” whose signatures were either forced or forged or as a result of misleading information. The number of such letters that were fraudulent probably well outnumber real ones.
Lack of integrity?
Anyone who agreed to have their signature attached to a letter whose final draft he has not read lacks integrity.
Would you sign a blank check? That is what your friends did….not smart.
Did they actually sign it or did they use the Biden auto-pen?
ברך מדינת ישראל ראשית צמיחת גאולותינו
Feel free to deflect your donations to KBY & our other great הסדר ישיבות in order to להגדיל תורה ולהאדירה
The attitude of the OP and many of the commneters seems to be “but the gedolim said…” It is true that there are some radical Roshei who seem to be preaching hatred toward their Jewish brethren in the army. However, many of the Gedolim of the past gave a very different approach toward the soldiers. Daven for them. Cry for them. Give heaps of kakoras hatov for them. Were Rav Chaim Shmuelivitz, Rav Shlomo Zalman and the Steipler hashkaficallly off beacuse they held these hashkafos? Chas Veshalom! Historically, we have always accepted many approaches. If baalei Batim want to follow the approach of moderate Gedolei hador and push back against radical ideas, go for it. They are not saying we will only support the army and not Yeshivos. They are saying tone down the rhetoric.
If the point of the OP is to say we should never trust a kol korei because you never know if the signature is real, OK, point taken. You want to say ALL kol koreis are garbage. Fine, but that is a separate point
“Accordingly, we will only provide financial support to Torah institutions that do not publicly speak against, protest, or delegitimize the IDF while they bear the burden of defending Jewish lives. ”
This is the most shocking part of this letter. These donors are stating they will withhold support from yeshivas or the like if they even dare to “speak against” or protest it?
In other words, no matter what that army does, including shmad and all three of the gimmel chamuros, that army is to be immune from machaah. So, the anti-Jewish godless atheist nationalists get a “blank check” from these people to do anything they want, while the yeshivos get no check at all if they so much as utter a peep of protest. How low they have fallen.
The less shocking part is the basic lack of hashkafas haTorah, which is that when Hashem blesses you with tremendous wealth, the implicit understanding is that you are signing up to be His gabbai tzedaka. No, you have no right to redirect G-d’s money away from an institution that you, in your non-daas nonsense non-understanding manner have determined is not good enough or, more accurately, isn’t minimally Zionist. If you really feel that an institution should not be funded, then you need to ask a competent Rav, and perhaps even a B”D, to rule on that. So embarrassing for these guys.
@nbednarsh:
No, they do not have that right, as mentioned above and, no, the actual protection is only Hashem – as 10/7 and others showed very clearly – not the shmad Zionist army.
@yeshivaguy1:
The chareidim in the Zionist paradise cannot work because the evil Zionists don’t let them work unless they agree to be shmaded in the Zionist army first – and that army is a non-starter no matter the “framework” as per all the gedolim including a recent letter repeating the same. That’s why there are meshulachim – because the wicked Zionists don’t allow them to work until they have passed the army exemption age of 26 or whatever it is, by which point they already are married with children.
Those that support true Torah are intelligent investors who will see tremendous dividends. Like with all financial investments, not everyone spots the good investment.
There are those who sponsor a faculty for Women’s’ Torah studies or a new wing of the Israel Museum, they get their names and photos shined on in the press…. There are those who give monthly donations to Yeshivas and Kollels in a quiet manner without dictating to the Einiei Hoaidoh any conditions…….
Anyone who has had the opportunity to observe the Gedolei Roshei Yeshiva and Marbitzei Torah know they are Emes Lamito. Have you observed Reb Osher Arieli? His taharo, his modesty, his Emes? There are many many Bnei Torah around the world who are living and breathing Torah in modest, true, pure ways. These are good Yisochors to partner with.
History has shown which investments are eternal. Yeshivas and Kollels in Eretz Yisroel, Lakewood, Gateshead and elsewhere were scorned upon 70 years ago, but those who shunned the opportunity presented to them to be a true zevulun have little to show for their alternative investments – perhaps a dilapidated building in a now deserted neighbourhood.
Hashem has ordained it that the supporting of Torah has never been viewed as the glamourous or obvious path, it is part of the nisoyon. These Baal Habatim who support Torah causes have a great test on their hands, its a massive nisoyon, some will pass the nisoyon and others will be less successful. If it was easy to learn Torah with Hasmodoh, or to support true Torah learning, the reward would not be so great. This has always been the case, and remains so.
Readers of this post, whether you have the opportunity to give $10 a month or $10,000,000 a month for true Torah, do whatever you can, in a quiet mehudar way, without conditions or fanfare. Live poshut, be poshut, give poshut – Hashem will reward you in unmeasurable ways.
To echo lochness, I give a monthly donation to a kollel in beitar. I don’t know anyone there but I know the rabbi who runs it is a cousin or nephew of rabbi Moshe meir weiss who distributes it for me. That’s all the information I need and I value what they’re doing and want to be of help. I don’t need them to follow my conditions and I don’t need them to invite me to a dinner. Dividends upstairs
We have to make it clear that we appose the IDF leadership not the soldiers.
Many posters here hold that the authors of the letter are nnot acting appropriately, but at the same time there are enough tzaddikim who can support the yeshivos with propoer kavonos.
I suggest to ensure that the tzaddikim get proper schar for their donations by requesting that Israeli government stop sending their inappropriate shekalim to such yeshivos, so that everyone could rely on their own zechuyos and keep their integrity intact.
I have a problem with the expectation and demand that we fund the Torah institutions in eretz yisroel to the detriment of our Torah institutions in the US. We don’t get any support from the government and many of our institutions are on the verge of collapse. They need to find a better solution for this situation.
Money is given to people by HaShem for a reason. If they aren’t using it for its intended purpose they’ll lose it.
What is the ethical logic in being unwilling to serve in the IDF but willing to violently attack IDF and Israeli forces (https://www.timesofisrael.com/hundreds-of-ultra-orthodox-men-clash-with-cops-at-end-of-anti-enlistment-protest/). Seems contradictory to me. One can’t be a violent Haredi peacenik. All Israelis of fighting age ought bear the burden of defending Israeli lives in some tangible way.
Israel has no need to have 12% of Israel’s Jews exempt under Torato Umanuto. No way 1.4 million are needed. Dozens? Hundreds? 1.4 thousand? Fine. Figure it out.
@InMemoryOfZevZelenko:
Just to illustrate the absurdity of the question, and not to compare, “what is the ethical logic in being unwilling to serve in the Nazi army but willing to violently attack Nazi forces”?
“Hakatan”, I thought I could not be shocked by anything you wrote. You’re already so far away from the Torah that nothing you write should be surprising. But what you wrote now is outright kefirah:
The less shocking part is the basic lack of hashkafas haTorah, which is that when Hashem blesses you with tremendous wealth, the implicit understanding is that you are signing up to be His gabbai tzedaka. No, you have no right to redirect G-d’s money away from an institution that you, in your non-daas nonsense non-understanding manner have determined is not good enough or, more accurately, isn’t minimally Zionist. If you really feel that an institution should not be funded, then you need to ask a competent Rav, and perhaps even a B”D, to rule on that. So embarrassing for these guys.
The Torah explicitly contradicts you. ואיש את קדשיו לו יהיו. Yes, when Hashem blesses you with wealth, you become His gabbai tzedaka. And as such you have the ABSOLUTE RIGHT to direct His money as YOU determine is right and proper.
You have the absolute right to direct His money away from an institution that you have determined is not good enough. If you are unsure, you may CONSULT a rov or a beis din to get their advice, but the Torah says that the decision is YOURS ALONE. Hakodosh Boruch Hu put YOU in charge of His money, not them. If He had wanted them to decide, He would have put it in their keeping, not in yours.
Correction: I wrote “right”. I should have written “DUTY”. It is not only a donor’s right but his DUTY to determine for himself where he should direct the money that Hashem has put in his trust. To defer that decision to someone else is מעילה
1. I don’t get the people who are claiming that supporters of this letter are not giving money to Torah study. They are giving money to support yeshivos that do not denigrate the IDF – or which send their students to serve in the IDF. Isn’t that also Torah that is worthy of supporting?
2. Regarding the claims of fraudulent signatures, I spoke with one of the organizers and this is not true. There were indeed some people who, due to a technical glitch, only received a link to the short version. But those peoples’ names did not appear on the long version. The only names that appear on the long version were those of people who saw it all. So if someone is denying that they signed the long version, and their name appears on the letter, they are not being honest.