The recruitment issue › Interview with Elhanan Zelikovich: "Yeshiva students carry a burden all their lives"

The recruitment issue from the perspective of the ultra-orthodox world:

The High Court of Justice ruled at the end of March 2024 that as of the beginning of April, a third of the yeshiva students will no longer be budgeted, because they lost the status of deferred service. That is, a yeshiva student whose status is not regulated, is not entitled to a budget.

This means that some yeshiva are already receiving a reduced budget because they have fewer yeshiva students who are eligible for budgeting and there are also yeshiva that do not have a sufficient threshold of yeshiva students to be eligible for budgeting at all, but due to the intervention of the legal adviser to the government Gali Beharev Miara, they will still receive budgeting , whose recruitment date has been postponed. In May, the High Court of Justice is expected to convene again with a composition of 9 judges and discuss the recruitment of yeshiva students.

The meaning for the meetings

In order to understand what it means for the yeshivas that their budget has been damaged and whether the ultra-Orthodox feel that they are carrying the burden and they have been wronged, we contacted Elhanan Zlikovich, an ultra-Orthodox, who studied at ultra-Orthodox yeshiva.

Elhanan Zelikovich, Haifai, 43, married and father of 7. Number of Lahi Fe News Corporation:
"I was born into an ultra-orthodox family. I studied at the Hebron Givat Mordechai Yeshiva, but most of my years I grew up in a decidedly mixed environment - thanks to the fact that my father taught at "Midrashit Noam" in Pardes Hana, which was for decades the "flagship" of religious Zionism. Among his close students were the commander of Squadron 13, Brigadier General Golani, pilots and many other officers. An interesting anecdote is that once my father was invited by the commander of the Shakedi Air Force to a flying wing ceremony, it turned out that each pilot was asked to recommend his inspiration figure and that former student chose Babi".

"The reason I mentioned this is that all of this disrupted and shaped the path of my life and made me shape my world view and everything I grew up with.
I don't pretend to convince anyone with my words, but it's important to me to present a world view and get to a point where the readers understand even if they don't agree. I think that a respectful discourse is such that each side knows and is able to accurately present and express the position of the other side in front of them."

What is the significance of learning in yeshiva for the ultra-Orthodox public?

Elhanan Zlikovich"The populist claims that have been repeated for decades: the ultra-Orthodox don't enlist because they are afraid of dying, they fear the seculars in the army, their politicians want to preserve their power through them, because they are just parasites and the Torah verse that is pulled out at every opportunity is: Your brothers went to war and you sit here? ".

"The context of this verse is so wrong as to be ridiculous: it was said by Moses, the head of the tribe of Levi - the only tribe that received an exemption from the Israeli army due to being a servant of God and teaching his Torah to the people, and it was said when Moses mistakenly thought that the tribe of Dan and Reuven wanted to stay beyond the Jordan and not enter the land because Being shepherds with huge herds, he said to them, "The brothers went to war and you will sit here", but the Levi tribe was always the spiritual force that remained.

"And regarding the question: it is difficult to explain on one foot the importance of studying the Torah for many years and what exactly is learned there (a subject in itself, spoiler: not "praying and reciting Psalms")

It is important for me to clarify one basic premise that is critical to this entire story of the recruitment issue: the issue is not the IDF yes/no IDF, and studying the Torah in the format known in the ultra-Orthodox world is not an invention of the ultra-orthodox parties in the establishment of the state. It is about something much deeper in principle: is there real meaning and value to the study of the Torah, and in particular the concept as it exists in the ultra-orthodox world."

Elhanan Zelikovich points out several additional points:

• There are hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox people living in the world who study Torah with the exact same concept. For the sake of comparison, in the town of Lakewood (Lakewood) in New Jersey, there are about 30,000 or more Yeshiva students, including Avrachi, who study Torah in exactly the same format as there is in Israel, this number alone is about half of all Torah students subject to conscription in Israel. This is an amazing figure and it's only in one city in the USA. In almost every city in the world where there is a Torah community you will find institutions that include Jewish people in the same format as here.
• For many years before the establishment of the state, the study of the Torah and its enormous value within the people of Israel was conducted in the same format, exactly as it is today. For hundreds of generations and thousands of years, Jews fought to learn Torah with typical dedication and tenacity. In all generations, our ancestors literally gave their lives for the right and the possibility to simply study Torah: starting with the Maccabees, who fled to the caves and went out to fight the Greeks only because of the desire to observe mitzvahs and study Torah contrary to the decrees of the Greeks, through Rabbi Akiva, who was murdered by the Romans only because he taught Torah in public against the law, continued Through the persecution of the Talmud in the Crusades to the period of Communism and the Holocaust, when Jews risked their lives just to gather and study Torah together. And again, even without explaining too much why, it shows us that this is not an invention of an ultra-orthodox party, but a founding value that has existed in the nation since time immemorial.
• In the Bible and the Talmud there are dozens of references to the fact that studying the Torah is a physical defense and contributes no less than any fighting force. In the Talmud it appears how the contribution of the soldiers on the battlefield, and those who studied the Torah in Jerusalem, were treated equally. Jerusalem at your gates? Who made our feet stand the war? The gates of Jerusalem that dealt with the Torah." It may be difficult for a person who does not believe to accept this, but for people who live their whole lives according to the Jewish faith and the tradition of Israel, it is a matter of course. We will only mention a quote by Ben Gurion in this context: "In the Land of Israel, a person He who does not believe in miracles is an unrealistic person" (Zerif Ben-Gurion).
• And more about the historical and national contribution of Torah scholars to the State of Israel: the Declaration of Independence opens with these lines: "The Jewish people arose in the Land of Israel, in which their spiritual, religious and political image was shaped, in which they lived the life of a state commune, in which they created national and all-human cultural assets and bequeathed them to the entire world The eternal book. After the people were exiled from their country by force, they kept their faith in all their scattered lands, and did not stop praying and hoping to return to their country and renew their political freedom within it. From this historical and traditional connection, the Jews strove to return and hold on to their ancient homeland."

"This is a country for Jews"

Elhanan Zlikovich: "Can anyone explain what exactly caused the people to keep their faith for 2,000 years in all its scattered lands? What factor united, united and preserved the prayer and hope? Certainly the study of the Torah was a very significant factor in this regard. Can it be used and then thrown away? If so, what who kept hope for 2,000 years, doesn't he have an honorable place, both in relation to the past and in relation to the future?"

"Even those who do not believe, base their right to live in a Jewish state in the Land of Israel on the fact that it is the state of the Jews. We will recall Ben-Gurion's words before the Peel Committee (January 1937): "The Bible is our mandate", and I would like to comment: Is it possible to take the The Bible and extract from it what you want? Every morning, in every synagogue in the world, in every prayer arrangement, in all the testimonies and versions, you can find the following statement that already originates in the Mishnah (about 2000 years ago): There are a number of very important areas, among others: Respecting parents, giving kindness, helping the needy, making peace in the world, but, in short, we did not invent this. This is a belief and a way of life that is passed down from generation to generation, this is the core of Judaism that sanctified the value of learning the Torah. The highest in Jewish life, and it is about the same Torah and the same things that have been taught continuously for thousands of years, and it crosses eras and places."

Studying the Torah as a value in itself

Elhanan Zlikovich: "The story is learning the Torah as a value in itself. A value on which the ultra-Orthodox community grows and is educated all over the world, from its birth to its death. Learning the Torah is a supreme and sublime value, only about which it is said in the Bible: "And you recited it day and night", I do not know of any system Knowledge of a world where one is commanded to study all one's life and with which one dances and rejoices in an almost inexplicable way every year, except for studying our Torah."

"It is possible to expand on the meaning of learning in yeshiva, but I think it might be interesting to see what the author Amos Oz writes about it in his book "Jews and Words": "Who guarded whom? Is the Torah about the Jews or are they about it? We have one answer and the believers have another answer, but it is also worth noting that after the destruction of the Second Temple, the Shekhinah also remained in the books, only they remained sacred and thus, when you experienced a massacre and pogrom from a burning house and a synagogue on fire, you took the children and the books with you, a Torah book in one hand and children in another hand. This detail in our social history is in our opinion the most important fact in the history of the survival of the Jews, even non-believers like us remain Jews thanks to the reading. If there is a chain of words that connects us to Abraham, it is made of written words. We are still bound by the written word, and the written word binds us with our ancestors, we are the atheists of the book."

"Well, is it enough if we accept the contribution of the Torah scholars in this aspect as well? Isn't that reason enough to allow a national project of an appropriate size?"

Another claim is that military service may harm the ultra-Orthodox way of life. Does serving in battalions for ultra-Orthodox only make it easier for ultra-Orthodox?

Elhanan Zlikovich: "In principle yes, although there are other challenges that need to be taken into account. Adaptation and adaptation of the orders of the Ministry of Defense to the values ​​of Halacha, not precisely in the context of kosher and women, but also like when and how decisions are made regarding actions of risking and saving lives, and other questions of this kind."

"The absurdity is that the very factors that are running campaigns to recruit ultra-Orthodox are the ones that are running a war of attrition in everything to do with making this possible. For example, what happened in recent years in cases where soldiers were forced to listen to soldiers' songs - something that, by all accounts, has no security value."

The fact that the ultra-orthodox do not enlist causes anger in the secular public. Do you think there are things that the seculars don't know and that if they knew they would understand why Haredim don't enlist?

Elhanan Zlikovich: "It's quite difficult to explain, because as mentioned, everything is based on faith and a lifestyle that adapts itself to faith. I mean, faith is not just an abstract concept, but something that creates a whole lifestyle, and a secular person has a bit of a hard time with that.

At the same time, it's clear that if people understood that the ultra-orthodox don't enlist, not because of a desire to evade, but because of an understanding that this is the most significant role they can play, maybe the anger would look different."

Do you understand the desire of the seculars for equality in the burden?

Elhanan Zlikovich: "Definitely yes, at the same time let's not forget: on the assumption that learning the Torah contributes and protects, a son or mother in physical safety (according to the believers) or whether in other ways (allowing the historical right to our existence here, as in the aforementioned example of Amos Oz) then there is definitely equality here Bental is very respectable.

In addition, the topic is trite but it should be said: most of the charity, aid and giving organizations in the country were founded, donated to and operated by ultra-Orthodox. A really short list: Zaka, Ihud Hatzla, Ezer Mezion, Rabbi Pirer, Yedidim, Yad Sara, Rabbi Haber's gift of life (kidney donation) and dozens more, more and less well-known. We benefit from these organizations in equal measure. And a point for thought, why is all this growing precisely from the ultra-orthodox sector?'

Do you think ultra-Orthodox would prefer to do national service rather than military service?

Elhanan Zlikovich: "It is less significant in accordance with all of the above. The question comes from the assumption that the ultra-Orthodox do nothing and the whole issue is what they would prefer to do."

Do you think there are things that can be done to reduce the gaps between secular and ultra-Orthodox?

Elhanan Zlikovich: "True conversation out of a desire to understand and not necessarily to win the debate, a physical acquaintance with the ultra-orthodox world, one time of Torah study in the format held in yeshivot, will clarify much more than any explanation what this thing is and why it is so important, these things will inevitably reduce many gaps."

Are yeshivots bothered by the fact that starting at the beginning of the month they receive a reduced budget? Is this a significant difference?

"Certainly, but now we understand the far-reaching evidence of Rabbi Shech, the leader of the Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox community, that during the upheaval of former Prime Minister Menachem Begin, who wanted to completely equalize the budgets, Rabbi Shech was adamantly opposed to depending only on this. The gap is approximately 30% of the yeshiva's total budget, and they will deal with it with God's help through fundraising, just as they deal with the constant gap of about two-thirds throughout the years.''

Does the attempt to recruit ultra-Orthodox anger the ultra-Orthodox population or the yeshiva students? Do they feel wronged?

"Definitely. In particular, the army boasts that it is a melting pot and an education system. the people's army There is a feeling of interference and an attempt at secular coercion. of unconsciousness, in what we do not only for 3 years of regularity but for a lifetime, for decades, by choice and by giving up many other rights. If we had seen them coming towards ultra-Orthodox soldiers who are serving, maybe it would have been encouraging, but when we see the opposite (for example cases where soldiers were forced to listen to women's singing completely against their will) we understand that the goal here is not necessarily just "defense of the state", unfortunately.''