This week, as the Elul zeman begins and the bnei yeshivos return to the bais medrash for forty days of rachamim and ratzon, we should ideally be focusing on writing about this special time of year and the opportunities these days present for aliyah, tikkun hamiddos, and teshuvah.
Unfortunately, recent developments in Eretz Yisroel demand our attention and contemplation. As the Israeli government has begun gradually arresting some yeshiva bochurim, and as Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to hesitate and send mixed messages regarding the draft of yeshiva bochurim, it has become painfully clear that he has no intention of resolving the issue.
The leading gedolei Yisroel, both Ashkenazim and Sefardim, have spoken out forcefully, insisting that this situation cannot continue. Official protests have taken place outside the jails where the bochurim are being held, and this past Thursday, Yom Kippur Kotton Mukdam, was declared a yom tefillah by many kehillos, with some communities even designating it as a half-day taanis.
Clearly, the situation is serious. And just as clearly, the government has escalated the matter by imprisoning a small but not insignificant number of bochurim.
Gedolei Yisroel across the spectrum have emphasized that shevet Levi must be allowed to continue learning Torah without government interference. This is not a luxury. It is a dovor shehaneshomah teluyah bah. The very future and spiritual survival of Klal Yisroel as the Am Hashem depend on shevet Levi.
Furthermore, the gedolei Yisroel have declared that the army, as it currently operates, is fundamentally incompatible with maintaining a chareidi lifestyle. Therefore, our bnei yeshiva will continue to resist serving, regardless of any laws the government enacts.
They have also urged the community to stage peaceful protests to show, unequivocally, the outrage at this attempt to breach the Kodesh Hakodoshim and to demonstrate that we stand united and will not be intimidated into surrender.
Learning from History: How a Yid Should Protest
This raises an important question: How do we protest?
From the earliest years of the State of Israel, when protests became necessary — such as during the parsha of giyus banos, she’eirit leumi, and autopsies — many leading gedolei Yisroel called for demonstrations. But they were always highly sensitive to the manner in which protests were to be conducted.
Above all, they absolutely rejected violence. I am not a historian, but from everything I have studied regarding the protests that the Chazon Ish called for during the giyus banos crisis — which he ruled was an issue of yeihareg ve’al yaavor — he never called for violence. Whenever violence occurred, it was the police and army who used force to suppress the protests, not the demonstrators who engaged in violence.
The only ones who engaged in civil unrest were a small, isolated faction associated with Neturei Karta, who acted independently and without the sanction of the leading gedolim. In fact, the Brisker Rov openly expressed his displeasure with some of their tactics.
Most protests held thus far — including those in front of the jails — have adhered to the sensitivity and restraint advocated by gedolei Yisroel. They have been conducted with permits and in an orderly manner, expressing pain and suffering while making it abundantly clear that nothing will cause us to abandon the bnei yeshivos, the shevet Levi of our times.
Bnei Torah Protesting With Violence?
There is, however, a relatively small — though not insignificant — group of bnei yeshiva who, tragically, have gone well beyond the boundaries set by the gedolim of previous generations. They have engaged in dangerous and at times violent actions, running onto major highways and busy thoroughfares, endangering their lives and those of drivers by hurling themselves in front of moving cars and buses to block traffic.
Aside from recklessly risking their own lives — which is unconscionable, especially for a ben Torah who should know better — they have caused severe backlash. In their efforts to force the issue into public consciousness by paralyzing traffic nationwide, they have alienated much of the wider population, eroding any goodwill towards lomdei Torah and making it even harder to repeal these laws.
If there were a legitimate gadol b’Yisroel who explicitly endorsed and encouraged such conduct, then the logical arguments above would not apply. Chazal teach in this week’s parsha that even if they tell you that right is left or left is right, you must follow them.
Yes, I understand that even if there were such a gadol, most other leaders would still disagree. But for those who follow him, they are permitted to do so, even when “left is right and right is left.”
That said, I have not seen any legitimate gadol advocating for these chaotic and dangerous forms of protest. These spontaneous, unsanctioned demonstrations — causing disruption and harm — are not aligned with the daas Torah of our leaders.
Rav Ezriel Auerbach: “Protests Should Be in the Way That the Chazon Ish Paskened”
The great gaon and tzaddik, Rav Ezriel Auerbach, regarded as the spiritual leader of that protesting faction, issued a public letter urging the community to stand strong and unwavering against the gezeiras hashmad. Yet, in his letter, he emphasized that protests should be conducted in accordance with how the Chazon Ish paskened and organized demonstrations during his time.
Anyone familiar with history knows that during the era of the Chazon Ish, these reckless, confrontational forms of protest were never used. There are still individuals alive today who can testify to this firsthand.
There are countless bnei Torah, ehrliche Yidden, who vehemently oppose the Israeli government’s position and follow the guidance of the gedolei roshei yeshiva and admorim in Eretz Yisroel. These individuals are deeply troubled by the actions of this relatively small group of young yeshiva bochurim. Sadly, many have been intimidated into silence, afraid to express their disapproval for fear of being labeled “soft on the giyus.”
But they are not soft on the giyus. They care just as passionately as anyone else. What they cannot understand is how anyone can act ostensibly lesheim Shomayim, on behalf of Hashem and the Torah, in ways that are not al pi Torah — in ways that Hashem Himself does not sanction. On the contrary, when someone engages in a form of protest that the gedolei Yisroel do not approve of, he is, in fact, acting against Hashem’s will.
How can we possibly expect yeshuos from Hashem while engaging in conduct that directly contradicts His ratzon?
Pursuing Tzedek…With Tzedek
There is a well-known vort shared by the admorim of Poland on the posuk in this week’s parsha of “tzedek tzedek tirdof.” They ask: Why is the word tzedek repeated?
The answer they give is profound: A person must pursue tzedek with tzedek. Even if the goal is righteous, the path to that goal must also be righteous. You can only achieve tzedek in a way that is itself tzedek.
Not every good intention is truly tzedek. Sometimes, the opposite is true.
