Opinion & Comment
We Must Protest

The letter from gedolei Yisroel led by Maran HaRav Y. S. Eliashiv shlita is a beacon of Torah truth that pierces the darkness of our times to show us where we stand and in which direction we should proceed.

In many ways it crystallizes the feelings that arose spontaneously in the chareidi community in response to recent events in Eretz Yisroel, removing any lingering doubts there may have been and clearly defining the issues and explaining them from a Torah perspective. But it certainly goes beyond what we understood on our own; it is the fruit of extensive efforts of gedolei Yisroel to provide clarity about our sorry situation and guidance for our response to it.

Some may ask why this letter is published now, when there is a war with Iraq going on. Isn't this a time to emphasize unity and overlook differences?

We agree. Yet it is at precisely this time that the new government is forging ahead at full speed in its attempts to disengage religion from the communal spaces of Israeli society. Not only that, but it is withdrawing its financial support of Torah education based (at least partly) on an ideology opposed to Torah, and not only that but it has proclaimed that its goal is to lower the numbers of those learning Torah, whether by inducing them to enter the workplace and/or by forcing them to serve in the army.

Maybe some of those who are involved in this assault on Torah are misinformed or naive. But some are open, self-declared haters of Torah and Judaism, who ran for election on promises to "Stop the chareidim" and are not shy about declaring their intention to make good on their promises.

This is an attack on the focus and very essence of our lives as Jews and our lives as Israelis and our responsibilities to the Jewish community in Eretz Yisroel.

This program of anti-Torah and anti-Judaism is in itself a terrible threat to the existence of the Jewish people in Eretz Yisroel, not to mention its implementation. Chas vesholom such a thrust can result in "the Land spitting us out." It is not just those who do not themselves keep the Torah who are in danger -- if we do not protest loudly we are also at risk.

It is thus especially at a time of such evident threats that we see it as our obligation to speak out. Led by maranan verabonon shlita, we must do what we can to stop these destructive plans, and what we can do for now is to expose their true nature and to warn of the dangers.

The world is not a physical machine and it is not an economic machine. It is fundamentally a moral system, which means that it is not a machine at all. We certainly must do hishtadlus which requires behaving reasonably in economic terms, but our final success is a function of what is due us as a result of our moral performance according to Torah standards -- and this is especially evident in Eretz Yisroel, the palace of the King.

It is thus our obligation to protest, and our privilege to "strengthen ourselves in devotion and clinging to the way of Torah and mitzvos." Through this, as our gedolim write, "we will merit being among the survivors who will call in the Name of Hashem after the masses have been sieved and refined, and to see the light of the face of the Living King with the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu speedily in our days."

All material on this site is copyrighted and its use is restricted.
Click here for conditions of use.