Maran Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef shlit”a on Drafting the Yeshivah students
From The Weekly Halacha Shiur of Maran HaRishon LeTzion Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef shlit”a
(You can access the full PDF here: https://halachayomit.co.il/en/pdf/6140.pdf)
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Drafting Yeshivah Students
Rabbotai, you must know: the yeshivot and kollelim are what uphold the world.
Chazal teach that the world stands on three things—and first and foremost among them is Torah. What would become of us without yeshivot and kollelim? I do not say this only in a beis midrash, in front of talmidei chachamim. I have said it openly even in military settings—before Air Force and Navy officers, including generals and lieutenant generals, some without kippot: without the Torah of the yeshivah students, the army will not succeed. If there is success, it is in the merit of the Torah world.
I am not saying this as an extremist. I come from the world of Torah and halachah, and the truth must be stated clearly. We must stand proudly for Torah values. In truth, one who is immersed in Torah study all day is exempt from army service. Torah scholars are compared to Shevet Levi, who were not taken into the army, as the Rambam states explicitly at the end of Hilchot Shemittah v’Yovel.
Therefore, government authorities should not imagine that they will draft Torah scholars. If they force us into such a situation, then we would sooner buy plane tickets and leave than abandon Torah. We would go abroad and join kehillos where Torah life can continue uninterrupted. The secular public must understand: without Torah, without kollelim and yeshivot, the army itself would not stand.
And even the army is not always successful. We saw how it “succeeded” on Simchat Torah, when for hours terrorists plundered and slaughtered. Where was the army then? If there is success, it is only in the merit of Torah.
Every ben Torah should say this with pride: Yes, we are engaged in Torah study, and it is the Torah that protects us. As the pasuk says, “If Hashem does not guard the city, in vain does the watchman watch.” I am speaking especially about yeshivah students who have the zechus to learn Torah all day.
A few years ago, I traveled to Moscow for a rabbinical conference, and they asked me to meet President Putin. (The same Putin now waging war and causing destruction—while we, with Hashem’s help, send aid and food to those in need.) In our meeting, he spoke at length about culture and then turned to me and said, “All cultures have been forgotten. Who today knows the culture of Rome, Greece, or Egypt? Only Jewish culture has remained until today.”
I do not speak Russian, and the ambassador translated for me. I was about to answer, but he interrupted me and said: “Rabbi, do not answer—I will answer you. You have survived because of your Torah, and because of your rabbis.” I heard it, but I pretended not to hear so he would repeat it a second time—like shnayim mikra ve’echad targum—and he did.
A gentile understands that the existence of Am Yisrael is because of Torah. At the time, he even sent me with a message for Prime Minister Netanyahu, expressing support for Israel against Hamas. It is a pity that today he is distracted by his own war with Ukraine. But the point remains: even a non-Jew like Putin understood what has preserved the Jewish people for thousands of years—our Torah. He understood what Lapid and even some leaders in the religious Zionist world do not understand.
There is no need to stammer. We can say it clearly: the Torah being learned is what protects the Jewish people, and the soldiers who sacrifice their lives are the messengers who help.
When I visited the Air Force, pilots returning in F-16s from bombing missions came to me for a brachah. I told them: “You are bombing from above, and we are working from below. We sit and learn Torah, we daven for you, and we say Tehillim every day. It is because of this that you succeed. Otherwise, the bombings would go to waste.”
We must be strong in this truth: “No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper” (Yeshayah 54:17).
Chazal state explicitly in Bava Batra 8a that those who study Torah do not need protection, and therefore they are not obligated to participate in guarding the city. This is also discussed in Igrot Moshe (Y.D. 4:33). In fact, those who learn Torah are called the true “guardians of the city” (Neturei Karta) as explained in the Talmud Yerushalmi (Chagigah 1:7). This is also reflected in the halachic discussions exempting Torah scholars from certain communal taxes. We even find in Sotah 10a that King Asa was punished for imposing decrees upon Torah scholars.
The Gemara in Makot 10a says on the verse “Our feet stood within your gates, O Jerusalem”: what caused our feet to stand firm in war? The gates of Jerusalem where Torah was studied. Rashi explains on Tehillim (122) that military success came only because there were people learning Torah within the gates of Yerushalayim.
The Gemara also brings Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi’s teaching on the verse, “I rejoiced when they said to me: Let us go to the House of Hashem.” David HaMelech said before Hashem: people were saying, “When will this old man die so Shlomo can build the Beit HaMikdash?”—and I was glad. And Hashem answered him: “One day in your courtyards is better than a thousand”—better one day of your Torah learning than a thousand korbanot that Shlomo would later offer.
According to Torah law, Shevet Levi, dedicated to Torah and avodah, does not go out to war and does not take on the ordinary national burdens of land inheritance and military service. And the Rambam famously broadens this idea in Shemittah v’Yovel (13:10): not only Shevet Levi, but any person whose spirit moves him to stand before Hashem, serve Him, and dedicate himself to holy service, is elevated and sustained by Hashem in a unique way.
We must strengthen Torah scholars, because the whole world exists in their merit. The well-known story is told of the Chafetz Chaim at a fundraiser for a Jewish hospital. Wealthy men stood and announced how many beds they would sponsor. At the end, several yeshivah students happened to be there, and the Chafetz Chaim approached them warmly. One wealthy donor, seeing this, asked mockingly, “Rabbi, how many beds did these yeshivah students donate?”
The Chafetz Chaim replied: “Each student donated fifty beds.”
Everyone was shocked—together, the wealthy donors had not reached that number. The Chafetz Chaim explained: through the holiness of their Torah, they prevent illness and danger in the first place.
We also see this principle in the Torah’s description of war preparations. The pasuk says: “Arm from among you men for the army… a thousand for each tribe” (Bamidbar 31:3–5). Chazal in the Midrash explain the repeated expression of “a thousand” to mean that in practice there were three groups from each tribe: one thousand for combat, one thousand for logistical support, and one thousand for Torah and tefillah.
Even the great mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisrael, as important as it is, does not override Torah learning in every case. The Gemara (Avodah Zarah 13a) and Shulchan Aruch (Y.D. 372:1) indicate that Torah study takes precedence. This is also discussed by later poskim, including Bet Shelomo and Be’er Moshe. The Ohr HaChayim (Parashat Behar) emphasizes that Eretz Yisrael was given “at Har Sinai,” teaching that the land is sustained in the merit of Torah given at Sinai.
The Maharam of Rothenburg was asked why Tannaim and Amoraim in Bavel did not all return to Eretz Yisrael. He explained that the interruption to Torah learning and the practical burdens involved could make it better to remain where Torah learning could continue. This approach is echoed by additional sources, including Orchot Chaim, Kol Bo, and Yabia Omer. The Meiri even writes that a place of Torah and yiras Shamayim carries a certain status akin to Eretz Yisrael in this regard.
The point is not to diminish the holiness of Eretz Yisrael. The point is this: if a situation arises in which Torah learning in Eretz Yisrael is severely obstructed, while in chutz la’Aretz it can continue in strength, then preserving Torah takes priority. That is what was meant by saying that if yeshivah students are forced into army service, they should buy tickets and leave rather than surrender Torah.
The Yad Ephraim writes that the concept of a talmid chacham going to war is itself a contradiction. The one engaged in the battlefield cannot simultaneously be the one carrying the torch of Torah leadership and teaching. Chazal’s insistence on preserving Torah scholars from war appears repeatedly throughout the Talmud.
And this is the central truth that must be stated plainly: exempting Torah learners from military service does not weaken the army—it strengthens and protects it through the merit of their learning. That merit is what brings victory.
The Midrash teaches that before war, military leaders would seek permission from the Sanhedrin—not only once, but repeatedly, even daily. The commentators explain that although one authorization might have been enough formally, the daily return was needed so that the Sanhedrin would continue to pray for their success.
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