Rabbi Meir Mazuz, head of the Kisei Rahamim Yeshiva, spoke Wednesday night about the Draft Law, which would see yeshiva students who have until now been exempt from military service required to enlist.
"Say that Torah learners are exempted from enlistment and that was [former Prime Minister David] Ben Gurion's idea - he did it so that he would not be worse than Vespasian, who gave us 'Yavne and her wise men,'" Rabbi Mazuz told Kol Barama Radio.
Currently, yeshiva students "whose occupation is their Torah learning" are exempted from military service so long as they spend their days studying in yeshiva. The controversial set-up has prompted criticism from many Israelis, and the government is working to enact a Draft Law which will satisfy all sides.
On the matter of the hostages, and prayers for their release, he said, "After a person concludes his seder, he should take a cup of wine and say, 'May it be Your will....that You release all of the captives from pitch blackness to light, and from darkness to great light, for we are Your sons, even if we did not walk on a good path, our loving and forgiving Father."
Rabbi Mazuz also said that in his opinion, Israel should respond to the Iranian attack: "The Americans are crazy, they help us after they already fired the rockets. Iran sent rockets and shouldn't respond - we should be like a doll, and they'll send rockets and we'll say 'yes, yes, yes,' and not respond."