Why Does the Charedi World Frown on “Charedi” IDF Programs?

Last updated on 08 Aug 2025

At first glance, programs like Netzach Yehuda (Nachal Charedi) or Shachar seem like reasonable compromises. They offer separate frameworks for religious soldiers, with promises of kosher food, time for davening, and limited interaction with women. So why has the mainstream Charedi world—including nearly all its Gedolim—rejected these programs?

To answer, we must understand not just the external issues, but the deep hashkafic and halachic principles involved.

1. Torah Jews Must Be Governed by Torah — Not Army Command

A Charedi Jew lives under the absolute authority of the Ribbono Shel Olam, as revealed through halachah and our Gedolim. In the IDF, however, soldiers are bound by military command, not Torah.

The Gemara (Sanhedrin 49a) tells us:

"אין ממנים פרנס על הציבור אלא אם כן קופה של שרצים תלויה לו מאחוריו" — leadership must be pure and accountable. And yet, army commanders often lack even basic Torah observance.

In the military, orders override conscience. A soldier must obey—even if the command runs counter to his values. The commander becomes the final authority. But in halachah, "Lo sasur" — you may not stray from the word of the Torah, right or left (Devarim 17:11).

As Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman zt”l said bluntly:

“A Torah Jew answers to Hashem and His Torah—not to generals or politicians.”¹

This is not just theoretical. Military life demands absolute obedience, even in matters of life and death, and even in cases of questionable ethics or strategy. Political pressure—not Torah—often determines life-or-death missions.

2. Promises of Spiritual Protection Have Failed

In the early years of Netzach Yehuda, some well-meaning askanim hoped that a “Charedi unit” could preserve Torah values within the army. But with time, the results have been heartbreaking.

Hundreds—and perhaps thousands—of young men went into these programs sincerely, only to come out spiritually broken.

Rav Dovid Soloveitchik zt”l once said:

“They say it’s Charedi. But it is Charedi only on paper. The boy leaves his family and enters their world—and their world wins.”²

Reports have shown:

Soldiers placed under officers who mock halachah.
Tefillah time cut or skipped due to exercises.
Separation between men and women compromised.
Yeshiva boys mocked as “parasites” by secular commanders.

These are not isolated mistakes—they are systemic issues, because the army's priorities will always be national security, not religious sensitivity.

3. The IDF Demands Conformity, Not Conscience

Military culture is built around discipline, hierarchy, and sameness. But Torah is built around individuality, spiritual growth, and submission to Hashem alone.

Rav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz zt”l wrote:

“Even in units with leniencies, the soldier must surrender his will to a system that has no fear of Heaven. This cannot produce yirei Shamayim.”³

The soldier cannot say “No.” He cannot say “I must ask my Rav.” He must say “Yes, sir.”

And even in “Charedi” units, this creates a world where halachah must be fit into the army—not the other way around.

Gedolim have expressed concern that when a small number of Charedim join army frameworks—even “Charedi” ones—it becomes harder to protect the majority who are learning. The government then says, “Look, they can do it—why can’t the rest?”

This pressure endangers the entire structure of the Toraso Umanaso system and the Torah world that relies on it.

Rav Shmuel Wosner zt”l declared:

“Even if there are individuals who think they can survive such an environment, they cause a breach that harms the entire klal.”⁴

5. No Gadol in Any Generation Supported Charedim in the Army

This point cannot be overstated.

Not a single universally recognized Torah Gadol—Litvish, Chassidish, or Sephardi—has endorsed military service for Charedim under current conditions.

Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l: “The IDF is not a place for Bnei Torah.”⁵
Rebbe Yaakov Aryeh Alter (Gerrer Rebbe): “We are not looking for frameworks to integrate. We are building frameworks of kedushah.”⁶
Chacham Ovadia Yosef zt”l: “Torah is not to be traded for medals.”⁷

Even those who acknowledged that not every boy will be a full-time learner never said: “Send him to the army.”

Instead, they promoted work, training, or sheltered employment frameworks—not militarized life under secular command.

Summary: Why It’s Rejected

The Charedi world rejects “Charedi army programs” because:

They place religious Jews under secular authority.
They do not preserve Torah values in reality.
They confuse the public and weaken Torah infrastructure.
They have a documented history of spiritual harm.
And most importantly, they go against the unanimous voice of Gedolei Yisrael.

We do not need to build “better” army units.

We need to build better yeshivos, better workplaces with Torah values, and better understanding among all Jews for the unique mission that Torah learners serve.

A Story: The Yeshiva Bochur Who Thought He Could Handle It

Yitzchak (name changed), a serious but struggling 19-year-old bochur from a well-known Charedi family, had been in and out of yeshivos. He loved Torah but found it hard to sit and learn for long stretches. His parents were worried. The mashgiach was worried.

Then came the “solution”:

“Netzach Yehuda is perfect for boys like him,” a well-meaning askan told his father. “Separate from girls, kosher food, davening times. He’ll be with other Charedim. And maybe he’ll get his act together.”

With great hesitation—and no endorsement from his Rabbanim—Yitzchak enlisted.

For the first few weeks, things seemed fine. He had a chavrusa for night seder, a frum officer, and kept his tzitzis out.

But slowly, the atmosphere wore him down.

First, the joking. Then, the music. Then, “chill Shabbos” in uniform. Eventually, he stopped davening with a minyan. He shaved. He laughed at his younger brother’s payos when he came home for a visit.

His father was devastated.

After two years, Yitzchak completed his service, but he was no longer the same bochur. The kedushah, the fire for Torah—it was gone.

It took him years to come back. He enrolled in a baal teshuvah yeshiva—not for beginners, but for those who had once been close, and were pulled away.

Today, Baruch Hashem, he’s a G-d-fearing yungerman, married with a family. But he once said:

“I was never OTD. But I was in a place where Hashem’s voice was drowned out by commands. The only voice that mattered was ‘yes, sir.’ And it took me a long time to start listening to Hashem again.”

This is why the Charedi world pleads not with anger—but with tears.

Even one soul lost to a system that does not live by Torah is too many.

As Rav Shach zt”l said:

“We do not oppose the army because we are weak. We oppose it because we are strong enough to say no to a world that does not answer to Hashem.”

Footnotes & Sources

Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman, Letters to Public Officials, 2004.
Rav Dovid Soloveitchik, quoted in Zechor Davar LeDovid (Jerusalem, 2010).
Rav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz, Igros u’Maamarim, Vol. 3.
Rav Shmuel Wosner, Shevet HaLevi, Vol. 7, on communal breaches.
Rav Chaim Kanievsky, Derech Sicha, Vol. 2, pp. 317–318.
Statements from Gerrer Rebbe to askanim, 2013; documented in Mevaser Tov.
Chacham Ovadia Yosef, Yabia Omer, Vol. 10, and public speeches, 2011.