Israel’s anti-chareidi opposition leader Yair Lapid publicly flipped out after video emerged of Rav Sholom Ber Sorotzkin, rosh yeshiva of Ateret Shlomo, dancing with his talmidim at a wedding to a familiar anti-Zionist song.
The wedding was that of Ariel Shammai, who had previously been arrested for not enlisting in the IDF. His arrest sparked widespread protests before he was ultimately released – during the levaya of Rav Sholom Ber’s mother.
The original lyrics of the song include lines that translate as, “We don’t believe in the government of infidels and we do not recognize their laws.” In the version heard in the viral clip, the words appear to have been adjusted to include a reference to army enlistment, stating, “We don’t believe in the government of infidels and we won’t show up at their recruitment offices.”
Similar videos have previously prompted media outrage and political criticism from secular and anti-chareidi circles.
The latest incident quickly drew a furious response from opposition leader Yair Lapid, who shared the video on X and wrote: “Rabbi Sorotzkin, if not for the Jewish army that you insult and curse, you and your students wouldn’t be dancing — you wouldn’t be, at all.”
Except, of course, the Torah existed long before the IDF, will exist long after the IDF, and lomdei Torah will continue to uphold and protect the world forever.
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30 Responses
If arab terrorists were to massacre his family, would he chase away the IDF? He is not a rosh yeshiva. He is a wild kanoi. Rosh yeshivas behave in a far more dignified manner than this jumping screaming kanoi.
This is disgusting. I’m not in anyway endorsing at all what the government is doing to Bnei Torah, but I’m going to have to agree with Lapid on this one. Chareidi lives are not more important that those of Chilonim. If a Bochur is a Masmid and sits and learns all day, Gezunterheit sit and learn in Yeshiva – that’s your role in helping defend the Yidden and you should be recognized as part of the protection, but if a Bochur doesn’t spend all day seriously learning and spends his day blocking roads and burning trash cans, go to the army. Protecting the lives of Yidden is a responsiblilty and right of all Yidden – regardless of being in Eretz Yisroel or having a Jewish government. Just because the government aren’t Frum, it doesn;t give you the right to flaunt their rules and be so selfish. The army needs to be much more accomodating to frum soldiers.
“If not for the Jewish army… you wouldn’t even exist at all” – עפרא לפומיה
If not for limud Hatorah you wouldn’t be Jewish at all! In fact, you’d be like many others who are members of Hamas!
We never asked, approved or supported the establishment of the Zionist state!
On Simchas Torah 5784 (7th Oct ’23) we saw, that even with the IDF, we are not really safe… and after 2 years of war with hundreds of casualties R”L, IDF has still not managed to defeat Hamas…
We should rethink our position on allowing fundraisers to assume title of Rosh Yeshiva. they can’t become our voice and our thought leaders! It will look bad for all of us(and cause bad results) if people moderately knowledgeable in the understanding of Torah take center stage. Keep him out of the spot light!!
At such a super sensitive time, I don’t know if it’s appropriate to be making public statements like dancing to a song that is quite incendiary. We believe that’s our learning is protecting EY and the Yidden. But I think part of that protection is not doing things that are provocative and upsetting to others who are serving and have lost many loved ones. Hundreds of widows and orphans. Thousands of injured soldiers whose handicaps will forever preclude them from having a normal life. Please change the tenor of your message. When Yaakov placed Dina in a box to conceal her and protect her from Esav, it is said that it should have been done with tears, not relief that she was now safe. Likewise these bochurim. Yes, they belong in the Bais Hamedrash. But they shiukd maintain a low, quiet prifile.
The statement of the gentile Yair lapid is obviously contrary to the Torah
Mr lapid if the people on the Gaza border were shomer Shabbat the idf would never of been embarrassed on Oct 7th
im Hashem lo yishmor ir..
Since Rav Sorotzkin is in the year of aveilus for his mother, how can he dance at a wedding? Is there any Ashkenazi (or Sephardic for that matter, but that crowd doesn’t take Sephardic kulos) maareh makom (with an argument, not just “because he said so”) that doesn’t hold of the year of aveilus this way? Or is anti-Zionism his new religion in which everything is ok to provoke “the Zionists”?
These lyrics are standard fare at chareidi events for decades they are only an outrage to people far from the derech hatorah or otherwise influenced by the machla known as Zionism that includes many people who visit this site and may even include myself to some extent as a person is affected by his surroundings
sad to watch a RY singing such nonsense about a government that has spent more on Torah education than anyone in recorded history
The song doesn’t really attack the IDF and its soldiers, just says WE will not be part of it.
If not for lapid maybe we wouldn’t be punished so much
Sb sorotzkin is a shomer Yisroel he is safeguarding our heritage and our birthright lapid is a rodeif Yisroel
When a group of philanthropists said they would withhold the funds from Yeshivos that spoke against the IDF, this type of rhetoric stopped. The only way to stop this type of irresponsible behaviour is to threaten loss of funds. If these so-called Roshei Yeshivos were truly dedicated to their cause, they would stop taking a penny from the government and move to Biblical Eretz Yisrael under the Lebanese, Syrian, or Hamas governments so they would not have to deal with the IDF. Until that happens, their hypocrisy is on full display.
The above reshoyim sr”y speaking against HaGaon HaRav Sholom Ber Sorotzkin shlit”a will be paying for their apikorsus with a very hot end.
The Rosh yeshiva is right. Had the israeli courts not ruled that Yom Kippur in Tel Aviv davening can only be mixed men and women with no mechitzas than a week later simchas Torah there would not be hundreds of dead Israelis,and raped Israeli women. An army that drafts girls is not a Jewish army.
Whatever your beliefs on current events are one thing is certain making a public spectacle of singing that song is done for the purpose of stirring up hatred. From people on both sides. When you act so gratuitously confrontational don’t complain when they hate you.
Just an FYI for all those whose comments reflect their ignorance. He is the Rosh Yeshiva of Ateres Shlomo which is a network of yeshivos – top rate yeshivos – around the country and they number in the range of 8,000-9,000 talmidim in total. Like him or not, he is a master indefatigable Rebbi and his derech is very different than yours and mine. Oh, and BTW, his talmidim are never, ever at those demonstrations. He is – like it or not – completely devoted to Hashem and to his students. He doesn’t have a selfish cell in his body!
Neither of their behavior promotes ahavas yisroel or brings moshiach closer.
Yair Lapid should flipout like many and get in the BM
Having 0 hakaras hatov to the soldiers is wrong and incendiary.
Rabbis can have poor judgement.
I think this Rav is demonstrating that.
Lapid is a privileged white Ashginazi draft dodging kofer beikar. He is a lowlife shailitz of no consequence. No need to quote the dog.
Bs”d
Does anyone know how the Rosh HaYeshiva Shlita can dance in aveilas? Perhaps it is allowed to give Chizik to the bochurim?
If you wish to cut yeshivah funding, you will only be proving Reb Sholom Ber’s point. The Israeli government (most of them) are anti the concept of dependance on a higher being and wish to be their own guardians and decide for themselves what to do. They say “Hashem, thanks for creating me, I don’t need you anymore, I can with my arms(amazing, marvelous things created by Hashem himself testament to his kindness and awesomeness), take gun(whose process of construction has so much mysteries about the process, of why steel can be made, the trucks to transport it, why gunpowder explodes and so much more mind blowing, incomprehensible things in the process that happen even minute details, and so too with everything hashem made from the tiny atom to the extensive space and more), and shoot a terrorist by myself. I don’t need you anymore g-d. I don’t need to say Shema, put on tefillin, keep shabbos dress tznius. I want to be like the other immoral countries. i also want to have a Hollywood, skyscrapers, and other “cultural” (Read:immoral,greedy,showing off) things. And serving you makes me unable to, because some of the things we want to do/watch/talk about/instate as law/etc. are some of the worse aveiros we must give up our lives not to do.” This is in itself kefirah and apikorsus. I f you wish to cut off yeshivah funding, its as if your saying “I don’t care if these people are the holiest people in the world, cut off from everything with the one purpose of serving g-d, learning the same torah given at Har Sinai, when each and every one of us said “Na’aseh V’nishmah”-“We will do, and we will learn”. What hypocrisy! No! You will not do, you will undo. You will not learn, you will grab people who aren’t even needed due to the extensive amount of people in the army, people who dedicated their entire life to Hashem, and make them into fighters? Which lasted longer, the IDF or the Torah? Were the Romans weaker than Hamas? The babylonians,greeks,crusaders, or inquisitors? I’m not trashing the IDF, I have massive hakaras hatoiv to them. they keep us protected and safe. But why grab bachurim from the Beis midrash, or from sitting shivah over their deceased relative?! why act like a koifar when your own breathing is proof of g-d!? Even “Frum” people in the Knesset and army, how could they have the audacity to walk on the har habayis, promote this repulsive law, rub noses with immoral people for their own personal benefit? it’s disgusting! Reb Sholom Ber is telling them “We don’t agree with your viewpoint being that it is kefirah in one of its highest forms. we don’t even want to associate ourselves with you. however if you somehow do teshuvah, and start trusting in G-d to deliver, to protect, to serve out of thankfulness for creating you, Helping out bnei torah, promoting orthodox Judaism, listening to and getting advice from the gedolim in everything, because they are so full of torah knowledge and it says in mishnayos avos “delve into it, delve into it (the torah) since every aspect of the world Hashem made was with the torah as a blueprint. and because of that, every wisdom, knowledge,thought,concept,invention,Etc is in there; he will be so pro the Israeli government it would be astonishing. But since they are so vehemently opposed to everything I just said, he still publicly tries to convince people not to fall into the deadly trap of apikorsis, and tells the government what they are doing is wrong.
in the above reply, I seemingly wrote serve as in trust in Hashem to serve you. this was accidental, and I apologize. I meant to serve Hashem for creating you. you should also trust in Hashem to serve, but only because of his kindness. he owes you nothing. he is always serving you as a king, for no reason but his kindness, and you must be appreciative because of this. once again, I apologize for the typo.
Oy Vey.
If you act like an immature clown before Purim… at least wear a mask.
Or don’t get recorded.
How come no one defends rabbi Sorotzkin, when in fact, the chosin at that wedding actually sat in jail for his commitment to torah learning???
To:
פשוט ישיבה בחור
דוד הקנאי
“We will not be part of it”
בת אסתר
Flatbush Yid
Thank you all for great comments.
To: Reb Laymun
We are defending Rabbi Sorotzkin.
No revered rosh yeshiva or gadol behaves the way Sorotzkin does. Sorotzkin is a vilde chaya.
All of the above Reshoyim attacking HaGaon HaRav Sholom Ber Sorotzkin shlit”a are apikorsim who lost their cheilek in olam haboah, if they hadn’t lost it before already (as is likely).
שם רשעים ירקב