The Winter Zeman Begins
It’s hard to decide where to begin this week’s column. Fortunately, I don’t have to struggle to decide how to end it, since we will be marking the yahrtzeit of Rav Ovadiah Yosef this week, on the third day of Cheshvan, and it makes sense to round off this week’s column with a fascinating story about him. But where to begin? President Trump’s recent visit to Israel certainly deserves serious attention; in fact, I wrote a separate article about it. But perhaps I should add that while I mentioned the intense competition for invitations to the event, there was one thing I did not mention: the minor tempest that was created due to the fact that invitations were not extended to Supreme Court Chief Justice Yitzchok Amit and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. Even President Yitzchok Herzog saw fit to protest their exclusion, but that only triggered a counterattack from the Knesset speaker and several government ministers. “Mr. President,” they said, “don’t expect us to honor a man who shows contempt for the Knesset. We have no interest in inviting someone who appointed himself chief justice.” Regarding the attorney general, they had an even easier excuse: The government has already dismissed her, and she is no longer the attorney general.
But we’ll put this issue aside for now and turn our attention to other news.
The return of the hostages, which took place on the same day as Trump’s visit, is one thing that deserves our attention. In fact, Trump appears to have delayed his own visit to Israel by one day for the purpose of being here when the hostages had already returned. Their release from captivity evoked a record-breaking cascade of excitement, and for good reason. We had all been davening fervently for their release for two years; we beseeched the Master of the Universe to have mercy on them and free them from their confinement. The chareidi community did not participate in the demonstrations in the streets, but we certainly shared the pain and suffering of the families, perhaps even more so than those who were protesting primarily against Netanyahu and whose concern for the hostages was secondary to their animosity toward the prime minister.
Then there is the issue of the draft law. On Monday, the Knesset returned to work for the beginning of its winter session. The occasion was marked by a festive Knesset sitting complete with the usual celebratory speeches, and the mood was buoyant in light of the recent return of the hostages. It is certainly going to be a dramatic season in the Knesset, as it is quite possible that the government and the coalition will dissolve by the end of this winter, long before the next election is supposed to take place. Some believe that Netanyahu has already decided for himself that the next election will take place in the middle of 2026; he has already announced (in an interview with the right-wing media outlet Channel 14) that he plans to run again and that he has no doubt that he will win. The constantly changing political map, incidentally, deserves to be examined at much greater length.
The overriding factor that may either hasten or delay the government’s demise is the draft law. If the draft exemption for yeshiva bochurim isn’t advanced, everyone will be in trouble — Netanyahu, his government, and the country’s many Torah learners, who are currently classified as criminals. We hope, and we have reason to believe, that while Yuli Edelstein didn’t succeed in passing a draft law, that was due to his lack of interest in doing so, and Boaz Bismuth will succeed where he failed. Bismuth hopes to craft some sort of arrangement that will satisfy the demands of both sides, although it’s clear that the Supreme Court justices will eagerly embrace the inevitable petitions against any law that is passed. It’s been reported that Bismuth has already formulated an initial version of a new law, which was transferred to the legal advisor of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. If the legal advisor has no objections to the bill, then it will be brought to the Knesset very soon.
Let us hope that we will soon return to the days when we struggled with smaller issues instead of demonstrations on behalf of hostages languishing in Gaza or against the ongoing warfare, or protests over the imprisonment of Torah learners and the starving of chareidi children. May all this soon be behind us, and may the animosity and hatred fade away.
Appreciation for Yeshiva Bochurim
After a fairly short bein hazemanim break that consisted of a series of Shabbosos and Yomim Tovim in rapid succession, the winter zeman has now begun. I am not familiar with the mood in America at this time of year, but here in Eretz Yisroel, the chareidi community feels a tremendous sense of relief with the onset of the zeman, as we know that our spiritual defenses will be manned once again. Every bais medrash bustling with activity is essentially a spiritual Iron Dome shielding us from hostile enemies. The pictures of thousands of yeshiva bochurim flocking to bus stops or boarding chartered buses around the country to return to their yeshivos, toting suitcases and hat boxes, are perhaps the most beautiful images that exist. And then there are the sights of yungeleit dropping off their children at school early in the morning and then gathering at bus stops to await the buses to their kollelim (or boarding the designated buses to Yeshivas Mir). Can there be any sight more refreshing and exhilarating?
Last Thursday, a special event was held in Yerushalayim to show appreciation to the country’s yeshiva bochurim, filling them with a strong sense of their elevated status, and encouraging them with the recognition that the entire world owes them a huge debt of gratitude. The event was organized by the Ichud Bnei HaYeshivos, an umbrella organization with branches in every chareidi neighborhood in Eretz Yisroel. The demand for tickets was enormous, and the venue, which contains 12,000 seats, was packed beyond its capacity, with many would-be participants forced to remain outside after showing up in the hope that they would gain admission even without a ticket.
The keynote speeches were delivered by Rav Dov Landau, Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, Rav Meir Tzvi Bergman, Rav Dovid Cohen, and Rav Aviezer Piltz. All of these illustrious roshei yeshivos spoke highly of the community of Torah learners, and some discussed the current persecution of bnei Torah as well. Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch remarked, “Bochurim are being thrown in jail; we are being punished, perhaps because we have things on our minds other than learning Torah. There are bochurim who learn Torah and even generate chiddushim, but they think that they can also lead lives focused on pleasure, fashion, and following the news. They might be lomdei Torasecha, those who learn Hashem’s Torah, but they are not yodei Shemecha, those who know Your Name. Every bochur must invest thought in determining how he can become more connected to Hashem, whether it is through learning mussar, focusing with kavanah on the Divine Names in the brachos of the Shemoneh Esrei, or increasing his involvement in Torah learning.”
The Heart of Yiddishkeit
It is tragic that the State of Israel does not recognize the harm it is causing itself. By harming the country’s Torah learners, the state is attacking the source of its vitality and survival. Unfortunately, there are individuals within the dati leumi (national religious) community who actively assist the enemies of the Torah world.
Several publications have recently written about Rav Avrohom Yitzchok Kook, in honor of his 90th yahrtzeit, to demonstrate his true views on the subject of Torah learning and army service. The hope is that these excerpts will disabuse the members of the national religious community, who consider themselves his talmidim, of their mistaken notions. Here is one relevant quote from Rav Kook’s writings, “Just as no enlightened government would dare pass a law requiring us to lay waste to our shuls or to burn our sifrei Torah, they must not impose any law on us requiring us to destroy our yeshivos…. If the government suspends our yeshivos, it is tantamount to decreeing spiritual destruction on us…. The talmidei chachomim who study the Torah are the ones who protect this country, no less than any combat soldier and even more so.”
In a different passage, Rav Kook went even further: “The talmidei chachomim who learn Torah are the reason that the war is won. They benefit the state more than the soldiers who fight in the army.”
This week, I received a copy of a book titled Rabbanut B’Saarat HaYomim. This book discusses the life of Rav Yitzchok Isaac Halevi Herzog, who passed away on the 19th of Tammuz, 5719/1959 — the grandfather of the current president of Israel and the father of Chaim Herzog, the former ambassador and Israeli president. At a time when a demand was made to draft some of the country’s bnei Torah into the army due to a great perceived need, Rav Herzog wrote to Chief of Staff Yaakov Dori, “The holy yeshivos of Israel deserve special treatment. After the destruction, they are all that remains of the great institutions of Torah learning, and their talmidim are only a small minority in contrast to the talmidim who were annihilated in the Holocaust. The heart of Yiddishkeit depends on the existence of these institutions. Requiring their talmidim, or even some of them, to enlist in the army is likely to undermine them, and we must not do such a thing.”
Six years after the State of Israel was founded, an attempt was made to alter the arrangement whereby anyone who claimed the status of Toraso umnaso (literally, “Torah is his profession”) was exempt from army service. At that time, Rav Herzog wrote a long letter to Prime Minister Moshe Sharett, expressing his shock and horror over the proposed “destruction of Yiddishkeit.” He explained to Sharett, or at least tried to explain, the importance of keeping yeshiva bochurim in their institutions: “A talmid in a yeshiva develops in a certain spiritual atmosphere. Experience has shown that if his learning is halted for any reason, even the most sacred, he will not return to the bais medrash. I am confident that you desire to preserve the embers of Torah within Klal Yisroel.”
Bar Kuperstein’s Message
The released hostages from Gaza are dominating the country’s attention this week. Hashgocha pratis dictated that they would be freed on Hoshana Rabbah, a day of salvation, just one day before we marked the second anniversary of the Simchas Torah massacre, when they were first taken prisoner. These men spent two years in the Hamas tunnels. Each of them has his own story, and each was held under different conditions. Some were isolated while others were held together; some have returned to their parents, while other hostages returned to Israel and discovered that their spouses were murdered. But there are certain things that they all have in common. First, they all appear gaunt, emaciated, and ill. Second, they all have stories of faith to share. The chareidi media reported on a wealth of stories told by the returning captives. One of them related that he received a siddur from his captors, while another revealed that he had worn tefillin every day. A third hostage related that he fasted on Yom Kippur for the first time in his life this year, and a fourth hostage revealed that he had recited the brocha of mezonos on everything he ate. It was the only brocha he had ever heard, and he was certain that it was the brocha required for every food. Bar Kuperstein, one of the returning hostages, wrote on a small board provided to him in the helicopter, “How good is Hashem.” This, of course, was reminiscent of Agam Berger’s message on her own helicopter ride: “I chose the path of emunah.” Virtually all the returning hostages had stories to share about their growing emunah, and every one of them asked for something Jewish to be provided for them. Bar requested tzitzis, Yosef Chaim Ochana asked to hold the arba minim mere moments before shkiah, and Eliya Cohen asked for tefillin. This is yet another phenomenon that deserves to be covered at greater length.
This week, I learned about the psychological reason for the whiteboards provided to the returning hostages on the helicopters. I had believed that they were given the boards simply because it’s impossible to converse on a helicopter due to the deafening noise (which is also the reason that the passengers wear earphones), but I discovered that there is a different reason: This is a means of helping the former hostages internalize that they are free. For the first time, they are given the opportunity to write anything they desire, without having to fear that they might be beaten or deprived of their exceedingly meager food rations. This is also the reason that they were offered many options of fruits, vegetables, and other foods — to drive home the point that they are now free to choose what they wish to eat. But no one doubts that it will take a long time for them to regain their emotional stability — if they ever truly regain it at all.
Every one of these hostages has a story to tell, and the story of Bar Kuperstein could easily fill an entire volume on its own. For instance, Bar’s mother, who became a baalas teshuva and often used to sing “Va’afilu B’Hastarah” at events for newly religious women. When Bar returned from captivity, he asked for that song to be sung in the hospital, without being aware of its significance to his mother. And when his irreligious father, sang the words “ani omeid, ani omeid,” he stood up. This was much more momentous than it sounds; Bar’s father is confined to a wheelchair after being injured several years ago in a traffic accident while tending to a patient in the course of his volunteer work as a paramedic. He has been paralyzed ever since, but underwent strenuos rehabilition so that he would be able to stand up to greet his son.
Parting in the Tunnel
Personally, I felt a close connection to several of the returning hostages. One of them was Alon Ohel, whose mother I interviewed for this newspaper while she was visiting Washington in March. I also met Alon’s father in the Knesset, and I saw the sefer Torah that had been placed in his bedroom in Moshav Lavon for safekeeping. Alon’s parents captivated everyone who met them. I also met Kobi Kalfon, the father of Segev Kalfon, in the Knesset, an encounter that I wrote about in February, and we developed a friendship. Like everyone else, I was also amazed by Tzvika Mor, the father of Eitan Mor; I met him on several occasions, and I felt close to him as well. It was hard to hold back my tears on Hoshana Rabbah when these three men were reunited with their families. Then again, there was no reason to suppress those tears.
Another hostage who was mentioned in my articles was Uriel Baruch of Givon, whose body was retrieved last week. Immediately after the Simchas Torah massacre, I attended a hachnosas sefer Torah in his merit at the shul in Givat Zeev. I was deeply saddened when I was informed that he was presumed dead; this week, his body was one of the first to be returned, and I participated in his levayah.
Let me dedicate a few words to Alon Ohel. Eli Sharabi, a previously released hostage who once met with President Trump in the White House, authored a book titled Chatuf (or Hostage in English). The first copy of the English edition, in fact, was sent to President Trump last week. It is a fairly short book, but the content is quite heavy. The word count may be low, but it evokes many tears. I couldn’t help but cry when I read his description of his parting with Alon Ohel: “‘You,’ the terrorist said, pointing to me, ‘and you,’ he said, pointing to Or, ‘will be freed on February 8.’ Pointing to Eliya, he said, ‘You will be freed on March 1. And you,’ he said, turning to Alon, ‘will be released on March 8, but that is the second wave of releases, and it hasn’t been signed yet.’ I looked at Alon; the color had drained from his face, and he was pale and trembling. After the Spear [the hostages’ nickname for their Hamas guard] left us, Alon collapsed on the floor. He was hysterical; he was barely capable of speaking. All of his fears were coming true; his dread of being left alone was becoming reality. He was the last one scheduled to be released, and his freedom depended on a signature that hadn’t yet happened. There was a chance that he would remain behind much longer after we were freed. He couldn’t calm down. I sat with him, gave him water, and hugged him. I searched for words to give him strength and comfort, words that could help him breathe.”
One can barely imagine this terrifying situation. Sharabi continues, “I worried about Alon. These were hard days for him, a time of tears and fear and darkness. I tried to sit with him for a long time, but it pained me to look at him. I don’t know what I would have done in his place and what sort of despair I would have felt. I managed to calm him slightly and to give him the confidence that everything would be all right and that he would ultimately go free as well.”
He went on to describe the terrible moment when they were separated: “It was time to go. I said goodbye to Eliya and then approached Alon. We stood facing each other for a moment, and then we embraced again. I repeated to him, over and over, what I had told him all the time: ‘You are strong. You are capable. You can do this. You can get out of here.’ Alon wept and was unable to speak. ‘I’ll find your parents right away,’ I promised him. ‘I’ll talk to them and tell them about you. I’ll strengthen them, and I will fight for you. I won’t forget you. You will get out of here; don’t stop believing it.’ I repeated this to him over and over, but he couldn’t respond; all he could do was cry silently.”
Sharabi and Or Levy were released on February 8, along with Ohad Ben-Ami. Sharabi’s book was written shortly after his release. When I read this chilling description of Alon Ohel remaining alone in captivity, I was deeply concerned for him. And I was therefore even more overjoyed when I saw him back in Israel, smiling and reunited with his parents, albeit still broken and wounded. Of course, Eli Sharabi hurried to visit him in the hospital.
As Bar Kuperstein put it, how good is Hashem! Even when He decrees suffering on a person, He sustains them as well.
The Latest Media Lie
Reams of articles were written about the hostages this past weekend, especially about their newfound emunah. Nevertheless, we must move on to other topics. I will briefly touch on three topics of interest. First, the conflict between the Supreme Court and the government is continuing, and the latest issue at hand this time is the investigative commission that is supposed to be established to probe the events of October 7, 2023. Everyone agrees that a commission must be formed and that an investigation must take place; the question is who will be tapped to serve on the committee and who will be responsible for choosing its members. A choice must be made between two different types of committees, and the difference is significant. If it is a state commission of inquiry, then the committee members will be appointed by a Supreme Court justice, and one of the members will be a judge. If it is a government commission of inquiry, on the other hand, then the members will be chosen by the government, although the committee will likely be chaired by a retired judge even in that scenario. Opinions on this matter are divided along party lines based on the desired outcome of the investigation. Those who want to see Netanyahu and his government fall have been pushing for a state commission of inquiry, which will surely be biased against him, but everyone who wants the inquiry to focus on the army and its top brass, which is probably what should be done, has been calling for a government commission of inquiry. This week, in response to petitions calling for the commission to be established, the Supreme Court gave the government 30 days to submit its response. The judges also made it clear that they favor the formation of a state commission of inquiry, which came as a surprise to no one at all.
Another topic of interest is the boycott against Israel in Europe and other countries, which began to crumble after Trump rallied the Arab states to support the agreement with Hamas. According to Trump, this is only the beginning of a process; he is convinced that more Arab states will soon join the Abraham Accords as well. Of course, this has completely reshuffled the deck. Macron and France, for instance, took firm anti-Israel positions in recent times to ingratiate themselves with the Arabs, but now that the political mood has changed, they are scrambling to reposition themselves and sound sympathetic to Israel. The change has reached numerous airlines as well; many carriers had already decided to stop flying to and from Israel, but are now announcing the resumption of flights to Tel Aviv.
The third issue is the media’s fearmongering. The following report recently appeared in the news: “A new law advanced by MKs in the Likud in conjunction with the chareidi parties has stirred fierce opposition in the judicial system and the civilian populace, in light of certain clauses that will require complete religious adherence to Orthodox law. Its provisions include guidelines for prayers in the public sphere, an obligation to install mezuzos, and tests on halacha for judges.” These claims triggered a fierce backlash of outrage and scathing criticism. It is amusing to observe how journalists tend to distort the facts, whether out of genuine confusion or deliberate malice, and thus create panic. The law in question has been on the Knesset table for the past half a year (and I wrote about it when it was first introduced) and was drafted in response to several instances in which groups of people, who were not necessarily Orthodox, were harassed over prayer in the public sphere. For instance, the Tel Aviv municipality and the court claimed that segregating men and women was considered illegal religious coercion, and secular youths who wished to don tefillin in public faced opposition. The proposed law makes no effort to change anything; it is simply designed to prevent erosion of the status quo. Nevertheless, the media paints a black picture of the law and its provisions, making it sound as if it would require every house in Israel to bear a mezuzah. The actual text of the law, however, tells a different story: “Every place in the public sphere and every institution funded by the government shall be required to have a mezuzah on every door required by Jewish law, or to allow anyone who desires to install a mezuzah to do so himself within one month of the request, if mezuzos were not installed during that month by the manager of the site.” Now, what could be wrong with this? If a government-funded institution is required to have a flag, why shouldn’t its doorways feature mezuzos as well? Personally, I might not have chosen to include this clause in the bill, since all public facilities have mezuzos in any event. But perhaps Galit Distal opted to include it because she plans to remove it from the bill during the committee session.
Attacks on Yiddishkeit
The opposition has been regularly slamming the coalition, especially during meetings of the Knesset Finance Committee, for allocating funds for the country’s domestic needs during wartime. They seem to be implying that the country should shut down completely on account of the war in Gaza, even though life hasn’t exactly ground to a halt in Tel Aviv.
Here is a quote from an Israeli newspaper: “One especially infuriating clause presented for the approval of the Finance Committee would add 80 million shekels in coalition funds for the benefit of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and not for the first time. This includes 30 million shekels for new religious councils, 33.5 million shekels for renovations of holy sites and funding hilulas, and 25 million shekels for administrative costs, including a tender for perpetuating the legacy of Rav Ovadiah Yosef.” This passage is both malicious and foolish, and I am not sure which is worse. First of all, the Ministry of Religious Affairs serves the entire country; what is wrong with earmarking funding for its activities? And why would religious services for the citizens of Israel be any less important than other services provided for the citizens, such as garbage collection? The renovation and upkeep of holy sites is the government’s basic responsibility to visitors, and these sites receive millions of visitors, both Israeli citizens and tourists, throughout the year. What, exactly, justifies this complaint? When a site isn’t made accessible to the disabled, there is an outcry; why should there be complaints when it is refurbished to accommodate all visitors? And what is wrong with the ministry providing funding for hilulas? These are cultural events for the religious community, and the government spends millions of shekels on cultural events for the secular community. Aren’t religious Jews equal citizens of the state? As for Rav Ovadiah Yosef’s legacy, the Knesset passed a law requiring his life to be commemorated, just as it required commemorations for certain other people who are barely remembered by anyone, and whose funerals weren’t attended by even one-tenth of the million people who escorted Rav Ovadiah to his final rest. Tens of thousands of Israeli citizens are thirsting for a connection to Rav Ovadiah’s legacy; are they any less deserving than other members of society?
My impression is that the war in Gaza isn’t the real reason that these allocations of funds are coming under attack. Rather, this antipathy stems from the implacable hatred for anything Jewish. And that is a truly sad phenomenon, not to mention a perverse display of hypocrisy.
Two days before Yom Kippur, the Knesset convened to approve a request from the government for an addition to the state budget to cover wartime expenses. Yair Lapid, who was scheduled to conclude the discussion along with Finance Minister Smotrich, wasn’t present. In fact, he was out of the country (and his vote had been offset by the prime minister, who was in Washington). The coalition may be unstable, then, but the opposition barely exists. More to the point, the opposition voted against the government’s request, even though the goal was to allocate funding for a wartime budget. For all their pretense of being concerned about the current crisis, it seems that that is all talk.
The Light in the Closet
I promised at the beginning of this column to conclude it with a story about Rav Ovadiah Yosef. Here is an account shared by one of his grandsons after his passing: “About twenty years ago [presumably in the year 1994] Rav Ovadiah traveled to the United States and stayed at the home of Rav Dovid Ozeri in New York, who provided a private room for the rov and rebbetzin. On erev Shabbos, Rav Ovadiah asked his host if there was a light somewhere near the room that he could use to learn for a short time during the night. ‘Of course,’ Rav Ozeri replied. ‘We turned on a light in the large closet in your room. When you open the closet, the room will be illuminated, and when you close it, you will be able to sleep.’
“The next morning, Rav Dovid asked the rebbetzin if the accommodations had been satisfactory. ‘It was excellent,’ the rebbetzin replied. ‘The rov sat on a chair in the closet and closed the door behind him, and he was able to learn there throughout the night!’”
