At a special event held at Me’or HaTalmud Yeshiva following the arrest of the newlywed avreich Avraham Ben Dayan, HaGaon HaRav Dov Landau declared unequivocally that no ben yeshiva will join the army in any framework.

“The entire Jewish world is shocked by the abominable act in which the wicked authorities imprisoned an outstanding avreich whose entire world is nothing but the four amos of halacha, and this, solely because of his ratzon to learn Torah,” HaRav Landau said. “But the precious avreich has merited that in his zechus, there has been such a great hissorerus for limmud Torah b’rabbim and since merit is brought about through one who is worthy (מגלגלין זכות על ידי זכאי), apparently he has great zechuyos.”

“While he sits behind lock and key, bound in iron chains, the voice of Torah, which grows stronger and stronger as a result of his imprisonment, echoes from one end of the world to the other, shattering walls of falsehood, smashing chains of wickedness, and breaking through to the Kisei Hakavod, and proclaiming the groans of Bnei Yisrael from the suffering inflicted by their oppressors and persecutors.”

“The Olam HaTorah is now undergoing terrible persecution at the hands of wayward brothers. The fears are heavy and shared by many. Their schemes are no longer carried out in secret but openly, and their entire aim is to eradicate the Olam HaTorah, rachmanah litzlan.”

“To those evildoers and plotters of wickedness who seek to break our spirit and to rob us of the delight of our world, we say clearly: Don’t imagine that you will succeed! In complete contrast to you, we are people of noble spirit; our hands will not wreak harm, and we don’t wish to use your instruments of strife. But know that your standing against lomdei Torah is a war against Netzach Yisrael.”

“History is full of those who sought to make the Torah be forgotten from Yisrael. They have vanished from the world, their names were forgotten, and their rule passed like a fleeting shadow. But the Torah stands forever. You have no power to break one whose life is nothing but spirit. Your time will pass and your rule will sink away, but we will continue to cleave to our eternal Torah, which is the Toras Hashem. And there is no one who can stand against the Toras Hashem—against Lomdei Torah and the Heichalei HaTorah. Jailers can imprison the body, but there is no power in the world that can imprison the spirit.”

“We hereby declare loudly: whether the authorities agree to this or not—not even one avreich, not even one ben yeshivah, will go to the army—not in this way and not in any other way,” HaRav Landau emphasized. “The place of lomdei Torah is only within the halls of yeshivos and kollelim. Everyone should know—whether one understands it or doesn’t understand it—this is the fact. This is how it was, and this is how it will be.”

“May it be Hashem’s will that the shlichim of the Olam HaTorah who were imprisoned emerge quickly from darkness to light, and may we all merit all good, to learn Torah in quiet and tranquility,” the Rosh Yeshivah concluded.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)