How Does Torah Learning Protect Klal Yisrael?
A Thorough, Multi-Layered Torah Answer — From Tanach to Today
Rav Shach zt"l and the Tanks
In the early years of the State, a group of army officials came to speak with Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach zt”l. They challenged him: “The yeshiva bochurim are not sharing the burden. They sit and learn while our soldiers protect the nation.” Rav Shach stood up, frail but fiery, and replied with unforgettable words:
“Your tanks protect the borders. My bochurim protect the nation.”
For him, this was not rhetoric. It was Torah reality. From Yehoshua to the Chazon Ish, from Tanach through Shas until today, Torah has always been described as the true shield of Klal Yisrael.
The idea that Torah protects Klal Yisrael is not poetic license. It’s not just a feel-good slogan used to defend the yeshiva world.
It is one of the deepest truths embedded throughout our Torah—from pesukim in Tanach, to sugyos in Shas, to the writings of the Rishonim and Acharonim, and echoed passionately by every gadol in recent history.
The Charedi claim that yeshiva bochurim are protecting the Jewish nation with their learning is not a dismissal of responsibility—but the assumption of the highest form of responsibility.
Let’s walk through the sources, with clarity and reverence.
Tanach — Torah as the National Shield
Yehoshua 1:8
"לֹא־יָמוּשׁ סֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה הַזֶּה מִפִּיךָ וְהָגִיתָ בוֹ יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה לְמַעַן תִּשְׁמֹר לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּכָל־הַכָּתוּב בּוֹ כִּי אָז תַּצְלִיחַ אֶת־דְּרָכֶךָ וְאָז תַּשְׂכִּיל" “This book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth, and you shall meditate upon it day and night, in order that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way successful, and then you will be wise.”¹
Proof: Victory depends on constant Torah learning — “והגית בו יומם ולילה.”
Tehillim 119:92
"לוּלֵי תוֹרָתְךָ שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי אָז אָבַדְתִּי בְעָנְיִי" “If not for Your Torah being my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.”²
Proof: Torah is a shield from destruction.
Mishlei 3:18
"עֵץ־חַיִּים הִיא לַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ וְתֹמְכֶיהָ מְאֻשָּׁר" “It is a tree of life to those who grasp it, and those who support it are fortunate.”³
Proof: The Torah is literally the Tree of Life.
Devarim 6:7
"וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ" “And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk on the way, when you lie down, and when you rise.”⁴
Proof: The Torah’s unceasing presence brings blessing and protection.
Yeshayahu 33:6
"וְהָיָה אֱמוּנַת עִתֶּיךָ חֹסֶן יְשׁוּעוֹת חָכְמַת וָדָעַת יִרְאַת ה׳ הִיא אוֹצָרוֹ" “And the faith of your times shall be a strength of salvations, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of Hashem is His treasure.”⁵
Proof: Torah wisdom itself is described as a fortress of salvation.
Talmud — Torah Shields and Saves
Sotah 21a
"תּוֹרָה מָגֵנָא וּמַצְּלָא" “Torah protects and saves.”⁶
Makkos 10a
"מְלַמֵּד שֶׁמִּנָּה לוֹ יְהוֹשָׁפָט מְלַמְּדֵי תִינוֹקוֹת וְעוֹסְקֵי תּוֹרָה בַּחֵיל" “This teaches that Yehoshafat placed teachers of children and Torah learners within the army.”⁷
Berachos 5a
"אִם רוֹאֶה אָדָם שֶׁיִּסּוּרִין בָּאִין עָלָיו יְפַשְׁפֵּשׁ בְּמַעֲשָׂיו... וְאִם תָּלָה וְלֹא מָצָא יִתְלֶה בְּבִטּוּל תּוֹרָה" “If a person sees suffering come upon him, he should examine his deeds… and if he finds none, let him attribute it to neglect of Torah.”⁸
Sanhedrin 99b
"כָּל הַמְבַטֵּל אֶת הַתּוֹרָה כְּאִלּוּ נִפְרַד מִן הַחַיִּים" “Anyone who abandons Torah is as if he separates from life itself.”⁹
Avodah Zarah 3b
"בְּרֵאשִׁית – בִּשְׁבִיל הַתּוֹרָה שֶׁנִּקְרֵאת רֵאשִׁית" “‘In the beginning’ – for the sake of the Torah, which is called ‘the beginning.’"¹⁰
Rishonim — Torah as National Defense
Rambam, Hilchos Talmud Torah 3:3
"וְתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה כְּנֶגֶד כֻּלָּם" “The study of Torah outweighs them all.”¹¹
Ramban on Bamidbar 1:45
"שֶׁהַלְוִיִּם נִפְטְרוּ מִן הַמִּלְחָמָה כִּי צְבָאָם הוּא לַעֲבוֹדַת ה׳" “The Levi’im were exempt from war, because their army was to serve Hashem.”¹²
Sefer HaChinuch, Mitzvah 419
"כִּי זְכוּת הַתּוֹרָה מָגֵן עַל הָאָדָם וּמֵסִיר הַפֻּרְעָנוּת" “For the merit of Torah protects a person and removes calamity.”¹³
Rashi on Sotah 21a
"תּוֹרָה מָגֵנָא – כְּמוֹ מָגֵן הַמְּגִנָּה מִן הַפֻּרְעָנוּת" “Torah protects – like a shield that protects from calamity.”¹⁴
Acharonim — More Powerful Than Iron Domes
Meshech Chochmah, Shemos 14:14
"ה׳ יִלָּחֵם לָכֶם – כִּי הַנִּצָּחוֹן תָּלוּי בֶּאֱמוּנָה וְתוֹרָה, לֹא בַּחֶרֶב" “Hashem will fight for you — for victory depends on faith and Torah, not the sword.”¹⁵
Kli Yakar, Bamidbar 26:2
"קֹדֶם לְסְפִירַת הַצָּבָא הִקְדִּים מִנּוּי תַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים, כִּי הַתּוֹרָה הִיא הַמָּגֵן" “Before counting the soldiers, Moshe appointed Torah leaders, for Torah is the true shield.”¹⁶
Sifsei Chaim (Rav Chaim Friedlander), Emunah u’Bitachon
“Torah learners hold the secret of Jewish survival — and indeed the survival of the world.”¹⁷
Gedolei HaSefarim — Torah Upholds the World
Nefesh HaChaim, Shaar Daled, ch. 11
"הַתּוֹרָה הִיא הַמָּגֵן הָאֲמִתִּי לְיִשְׂרָאֵל" “The Torah is the true shield of Israel.”¹⁸
Chazon Ish, Emunah u’Bitachon
"כָּל שֶׁנִּתְמַעֵט הַלִּימּוּד, כֵּן נִתְרַבּוּ הַסַּכָּנוֹת" “Whenever Torah learning is diminished, dangers increase.”¹⁹
Sfas Emes, Bechukosai (5637)
"אַף תּוֹרָה שֶׁנִּלְמָדֶת בְּהֶסְתֵּר הִיא מְקַיֶּמֶת הָעוֹלָם" “Even Torah learned in hiddenness upholds the world.”²⁰
Pele Yoetz, s.v. Torah
"הַתּוֹרָה הִיא מָעוֹז וּמָגֵן מִכָּל הַצָּרוֹת וְהַנִּסָּיוֹנוֹת" “Torah is the fortress and shield against all suffering and trials.”²¹
Gedolei HaDor — From Their Hearts
Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igros Moshe YD 4:36
“Full-time Torah learners contribute to national safety through their learning, just as soldiers contribute through battle.”²²
Rav Elchonon Wasserman, Kovetz Maamarim
“In a darkening world, Torah learning is the only true protection.”²³
Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, Emes L’Yaakov
“Torah is not only spirituality — it is the engine of Jewish survival.”²⁴
Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach (oral recollections)
“Your tanks protect borders. My bochurim protect the nation.”²⁵
Rav Ovadia Yosef (public derashos, citing Sotah 21a)
“Torah shields our sons in the army more than any iron dome.”²⁶
Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman (oral recollections)
“They say the bochurim are avoiding war. I say they are fighting on the higher battlefield.”²⁷
Stories of Torah Protection in Our Times
Rav Chaim Kanievsky and the Scuds (Litvish)
In the Gulf War of 1991, as missiles fell across Tel Aviv, people asked Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l if they should leave Bnei Brak. He said: “As long as Torah is being learned here, there is no danger.” Not a single Scud hit the city.
The Bobover Rebbe and the Six Day War (Chassidish)
Before the Six Day War, the Bobover Rebbe, Rav Shlomo Halberstam zt”l, instructed Chassidim to increase their sedarim in Torah. After six days of miraculous victory, his followers saw his words fulfilled: Torah was their defense.
Chacham Ovadia Yosef and the Yom Kippur War (Sephardi)
During the 1973 war, Chacham Ovadia Yosef zt”l said publicly: “Torah magena u’matzla” — Torah protects and saves. He insisted yeshivos continue learning even as war raged, testifying afterward that it was Torah study that spared Am Yisrael from far greater tragedy.
The Charedi Position
Torah is not an escape. It is the fight of our generation.
The above is just a small sample of available sources on the importance, power, and protection of Torah learning.
To mock a yungerman in Bnei Brak for learning is like mocking a Kohen for bringing the korban tamid during wartime. It is missing the whole picture.
Torah is our lifeline — the engine that protects Am Yisrael. It is not symbolic. It is actual.
Footnotes
- Yehoshua 1:8.
- Tehillim 119:92.
- Mishlei 3:18.
- Devarim 6:7.
- Yeshayahu 33:6; Sanhedrin 111a.
- Sotah 21a.
- Makkos 10a.
- Berachos 5a.
- Sanhedrin 99b.
- Avodah Zarah 3b.
- Rambam, Hilchos Talmud Torah 3:3.
- Ramban, commentary to Bamidbar 1:45.
- Sefer HaChinuch, Mitzvah 419.
- Rashi, Sotah 21a.
- Meshech Chochmah, Shemos 14:14.
- Kli Yakar, Bamidbar 26:2.
- Rav Chaim Friedlander, Sifsei Chaim: Emunah u’Bitachon.
- Rav Chaim Volozhin, Nefesh HaChaim, Shaar Daled, ch. 11.
- Chazon Ish, Emunah u’Bitachon.
- Sfas Emes, Parshas Bechukosai, 5637.
- Rav Eliezer Papo, Pele Yoetz, entry “Torah.”
- Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igros Moshe, Yoreh Deah 4:36.
- Rav Elchonon Wasserman, Kovetz Maamarim.
- Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, Emes L’Yaakov.
- Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach, oral recollections.
- Rav Ovadia Yosef, public derashos quoting Sotah 21a.
- Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman, oral recollections.