We are living amidst the crisis of a severe IDF manpower shortage and a resultant crushing burden on the reservists. Meanwhile, there is a rapidly growing charedi community, in which over 90% of the population - which includes close to 100,000 young men - do not serve. Of this group, there are those who are in yeshiva learning Torah, and there are those who are working or enjoying a carefree life.
Almost everyone agrees that something drastic needs to be done. The exception is of course the charedi community itself, which refuses to endorse any enlistment whatsoever, along with some people who are driven by a desire for support from the charedi political representatives. Otherwise, there is broad agreement that at least the many young charedi men who are not learning in yeshiva - which is tens of thousands - should enlist. (The previous generation of charedi leadership itself took this position.)
What about the spiritual risks?
As Rav Eliezer Melamed wrote in this forum (https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/400110), “Even though many justifiably criticize commanders, the secular atmosphere, and military policies, this does not negate the mitzvah to enlist in the army. Despite all criticisms, without the IDF, our enemies would rise to destroy us." Since we all need there to be a large army, then even difficulties and challenges do not allow us to dump all the responsibility on others and thereby increase their burden.
But what about those charedim who actually are learning seriously in yeshiva? Should they be conscripted? I’m not talking here about what might be worthwhile compromising on for the sake of practical reasons such as political cooperation (though even in such a case, one must also take into account the serious long-term economic danger of encouraging a way of life in which large numbers of people avoid army service and are financially subsidized to do so.) I’m talking about whether it is something innately desirable from a Jewish perspective.
There are many people who are under the impression that traditional Judaism mandates that there be a group of people learning Torah instead of serving in the army. But in fact, there is not a single traditional source saying any such thing. (There are a handful of sources that are presented to that effect, but all of them, without exception, fall apart upon closer examination.) There is no tradition that any of the Tribes of Israel were exempt from military service for defensive wars; there is no traditional belief that learning Torah protects others in times of war; there is no traditional concept that learning Torah or praying is ever a replacement for worldly endeavor.
There was an exemption for 400 yeshiva students when the State was founded. But that was in order to rebuild the yeshiva world after the losses of Europe. Today, you could draft every single charedi young man and there would still be more Torah study (including full-time Torah study) going on than ever before in the history of the Jewish People.
Certainly in the Religious Zionist community, the vast majority of rabbis are of the view that it is a great mitzvah to serve in the IDF and an obligation to help protect the nation. As Rav Aharon Lichtenstein put it, it is the most relevant expression of gemilat chassadim, which is a foundation of Judaism. They say that a yeshiva student should be all the more passionate about fulfilling such an important mitzvah, and that taking on such a responsibility enhances his growth as a Jew. That’s why hesder yeshiva students tend to take on the most difficult army roles, in combat positions.
And what if charedi young men avoid serving and instead learn Torah, are they thereby at least contributing in some way? No, because such Torah does not bring any merit to the nation. It’s like learning Torah when it’s time for shul, or on Tisha B’Av when it’s time to mourn, or on erev Shabbat when your wife is desperate for help. The primary purpose of Torah study, as the Sages and the Rishonim made clear, is to educate and motivate one to live life properly as a Jew, with all its obligations. Torah study which negates these obligations has no value, and is in fact a desecration of Torah.
Should any yeshiva students at all be exempt from army service? It is commonly said that it’s appropriate to exempt a few thousand elite students. Rav Melamed (https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/371395) writes that “when the war effort does not necessitate drafting all Torah students, it is appropriate to defer the enlistment of outstanding students destined to become great rabbis and educators." However, there are two very important caveats that Rav Melamed stresses.
First is that the exemption is not for students who will be learning in kollel forever, as is the expectation in the charedi world. It’s for those who are on a track to become leaders and educators - who will be contributing to society with their Torah.
Second is that, for the same reason, such a deferral is only for students whose approach to Torah is consistent with the traditional concept of Torah involving societal obligations. As Rav Melamed writes, “It is important to note that this contribution of Torah students can take place on the condition that the students treat with great respect the mitzvot of the soldiers who stand guard over our nation and our country, because only Torah learning stemming from this position can contribute to uplifting the spirit and heroism of Klal Yisrael. On the other hand, Torah study that denies the sanctity of the mitzvot of the soldiers is fundamentally unfounded, similar to the study of one who does not believe in the mitzvot of Shabbat."
In other words, the “Torah" of people who are fundamentally disconnected from the real nature of what Torah is all about - living the Torah, with responsibilities to the entire nation - is not a Torah that helps the nation in any way and is not traditional Judaism. A rabbi who makes clear that he does not care about the plight of reservists is not the kind of rabbi that is an honor or asset to the Jewish People. We might not be able to force universal enlistment, and we might have to allow for some people to engage in such “Torah" study, but we should never fund it, and we should certainly not think that this has any connection to authentic Judaism.
“Rabbi Eleazar said: What was the blessing that Moses first blessed upon the Torah? Blessed are You, God our Lord, King of the Universe, Who chose this Torah, and sanctified it, and desired those who fulfill it. He did not say ‘those who toil in it,’ and he did not say ‘those who contemplate it,’ but rather ‘those who fulfill it’-those who fulfill the words of the Torah." (Midrash Rabba, Devarim 11:6)
Rabbi Dr. Natan Slifkin is the executive director of the Biblical Museum of Natural History adjoining Beit Shemesh, and writes about Torah and society at www.RationalistJudaism.com