Rabbi Re'em Hacohen, head of the Otniel Yeshiva and rabbi of the community of Otniel, sharply criticized the proposed Basic Law: Torah Study, particularly the clause equating yeshiva students with those serving in the IDF.
At the beginning of his remarks, he stressed that he rarely engages in politics but felt compelled to speak out this time.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you know that I very rarely-perhaps never-speak about political matters. But there are things against which I cannot help but protest in the strongest terms."
He went on to address the promotion of the legislation itself, saying: "I am not dealing with the operational aspects or with how Torah observance should be implemented. But I cannot accept a reality in which religious members of Knesset yesterday raised their hands in support of denying the Torah of Moses."
Rabbi Hacohen also criticized the comparison between Torah study and military service: "The very notion that Torah study is a value equivalent to military service is shocking. Nothing can stand alongside the value of Torah study."
He further argued that Torah study cannot be separated from the observance of commandments: "There is no such thing as Torah without living according to it. The Talmud in Talmud Yevamot says that one who claims to have only Torah-even Torah he does not truly possess."
Citing traditional sources, he said that Torah study is considered great because it leads to action: "Study is great because it leads to practice. There is no such thing as Torah without its observance."
He also addressed the question of interrupting Torah study in order to perform a mitzvah that cannot be carried out by others: "Even Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, whose entire occupation was Torah study, interrupted his learning in order to fulfill a commandment."
Concluding his remarks, Rabbi Hacohen criticized the wording of the bill and argued that it distorts the meaning of Torah study: "A Torah-study law that strips away the understanding that Torah is meant to be lived and observed is simply a different Torah altogether."