Rabbi Yehuda Amit, head of the haredi yeshiva in Kiryat Malachi, addressed the issue of the haredi contribution to the state.
"When you study Torah, you are part of everyone more than anyone else. Why? Thanks to the study of Torah you revive the whole world. ‘If I had not made a covenant for day and night the laws of heaven and earth I would not have kept.’ The world would have closed down and you would have revived it," says Rabbi Amit.
He added: "The Holy One, blessed be He, says that He keeps everything going and whoever learns Torah connects with Him to a cable that supplies electricity to the system. So when you study Torah, you give electricity to everyone. Everyone lives because of you. Do you have any idea what you're doing for everyone? No one thinks about that. The guy in Tel Aviv sits and eats ice cream, looks at the ceiling, looks at Mickey Mouse and watches a movie."
"What is Israeliness? I'll wear a dumb Blue and White hat, so I feel that I contributed to the system? In the stupid external system, you are contributing to the system? Whoever sits and studies Torah contributes to everyone."
He added: "Even as someone who sits and does nothing. If you study for two minutes a day, take the Chief of Staff and multiply his contribution by one million – even he cannot hold a candle to your achievements. Have you any idea what you managed to do in two minutes?!"