These So-Called Leaders --- Not One Dollar For The 895 Fallen IDF Soldiers' Families - Not One Prutah For The 3795 IDF Soldiers Who Are In Hospitals With PTSD - Not One Shekel For the some 5000 Soldiers Who Were Maimed Or Permanently Disabled - Not One Penny For The Thousands Of Children Whose Fathers Will Never Say Shema At Bedtime With Them Or Attend Their Bar-Mitzvas or Weddings!

At least 50% of eligible yeshiva students should engage in some form of national service—be it military, civilian, medical, educational, or social service—by the end of the 2025-2026 academic year.

 Originally written May 29, 2025

Dear Esteemed Supporters of Torah Learning from The London Kehilla

I write to you as concerned members of the broader Jewish community—grateful for your commitment to supporting Torah study, but deeply troubled by a growing imbalance that undermines both our moral fabric and national unity.

For decades, you have extended extraordinary generosity to yeshivas in Israel, empowering thousands of young men to immerse themselves in sacred learning. This is a noble and time-honored cause. However, it is now imperative to recognize that unwavering support without accountability has fostered a system that exempts an entire population from the shared responsibility of national service.

The burden of defending the State of Israel—physically, emotionally, and spiritually—falls disproportionately on those who serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and other national service roles. This includes not only secular Israelis but also many religious Zionists, women, and immigrants, all of whom contribute to the collective good while risking their lives.

Meanwhile, a substantial segment of the Haredi community remains exempt from this burden. This is not sustainable, nor is it just.

We respectfully urge you: Do not host or support rabbinic delegations visiting London - September 2025 unless their institutions commit to a new standard. Specifically:

At least 50% of eligible yeshiva students should engage in some form of national service—be it military, civilian, medical, educational, or social service—by the end of the 2025-2026 academic year.

This is not a call to weaken Torah. On the contrary—it is a call to strengthen it by reestablishing a Judaism that balances study with sacrifice, rights with responsibilities. A Torah that inspires collective duty will be stronger and more respected by the next generation.

Philanthropy is a powerful force. Your influence can encourage a model of Jewish life that honors both spiritual devotion and civic duty. Let us move together toward a future where Torah scholars are also national contributors, where the yeshiva world is not isolated from the fate of the country, but an integral and respected part of it.

In love for Torah, people, and land,

Paul Mendlowitz

אייר תשפ"ה / מאי 2025

לכבוד תומכי התורה היקרים,

אנו פונים אליכם מתוך הערכה עמוקה למחויבותכם ללימוד תורה ולחיזוק עולם הישיבות בישראל, אך גם מתוך דאגה כנה לחוסר איזון הולך וגובר המאיים על אחדות עמנו ועל ערכיו הבסיסיים.

במשך עשורים רבים, נדבתם בנדיבות רבה למוסדות תורה בארץ, ואפשרתם לאלפי תלמידים להקדיש את חייהם ללימוד. זהו מעשה נשגב וראוי לשבח. אולם כיום עלינו להכיר באמת כואבת: תמיכה ללא תנאים יצרה מערכת שלמה המאפשרת לחלק גדול מן הציבור להשתמט מהחובה הלאומית המוטלת על כולנו — שירות למען הכלל.

הנטל של הגנה על מדינת ישראל — בנפש, בגוף וברוח — מונח כמעט כולו על כתפיהם של המשרתים בצה"ל ובשירות לאומי, מכל המגזרים: חילוניים, דתיים-לאומיים, עולים חדשים, נשים. הם נושאים בעול — תרתי משמע — תוך סכנת חיים. לעומתם, חלקים רחבים בציבור החרדי ממשיכים להשתמט.

ומה אומר הרמב"ם?

במשנה תורה, הלכות מלכים ומלחמות (פרק ז, הלכה ד), כותב הרמב"ם:

"במלחמת מצוה... הכל יוצאין, אפילו חתן מחדרו וכלה מחופתה."

הרמב"ם אינו משאיר מקום לספק — במצב של סכנה לקיום האומה, אין פטור. לא לתלמידי חכמים, לא לעוסקים בתורה, לא לאיש ולא לאישה. מדינת ישראל, המוקפת אויבים ונלחמת על קיומה, נמצאת במצב של מלחמת מצוה מתמדת.

אמנם במקום אחר (הלכות שמיטה ויובל, פרק יג, הלכה יג), הרמב"ם משבח את מי שמקדיש עצמו לעבודת ה' בלבד, אך הוא אינו קובע שזו סיבה להשתמט מהגנה על העם בשעת סכנה. קדושה אמיתית כוללת גם אחריות ציבורית.

קריאה למעשׂה

מתוך אהבה לתורה ומתוך דאגה לעתיד העם והארץ, אנו פונים אליכם בקריאה ברורה:

אל תתמכו באירוח של משלחות רבנים מחו"ל ביוני 2025 אלא אם כן ישיבותיהם מתחייבות כי לפחות 50% מהתלמידים ייטלו חלק כלשהו בשירות לאומי או אזרחי — עד סוף שנת הלימודים תשפ"ו.

אין זו קריאה להחלשת התורה — אלא לחיזוקה. אנו מאמינים בתורה המחברת בין לימוד למסירות נפש, בין זכויות לחובות, בין קדושה לערבות הדדית. תורה כזו תעמוד איתן בפני אתגרי הדור ותהיה למגדלור מוסרי לעם כולו.

לתמיכתכם יש השפעה עצומה. בידיכם הכוח להוביל שינוי — לעצב דור של תלמידי חכמים שאינם רק לומדים, אלא גם משרתים, מגינים ותורמים. הגיע הזמן לשוב לאיזון הראוי בין רוח לחומר, בין קודש לחול, בין תורה לאחריות לאומית.

בברכה ובאהבה לתורה, לעם ולארץ

שרגא פייוועל מענדלאוויטץ

 *

 VISITING RABBIS 

• HaGaon Rav Dov Landau shlit”a, Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka

• HaGaon Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlit”a, Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka

• HaGaon Rav Yaakov Hillel shlit”a, Rosh Yeshivas Ahavas Shalom

• The Sanzer Rebbe shlit”a

• HaGaon Rav Avraham Nissim Salim shlit”a, Rosh Yeshivas Me’or HaTalmud

• The Rachmastrivker Rebbe shlit”a

• HaGaon Rav Dovid Cohen shlit”a, Rosh Yeshivas Chevron

• HaGaon Rav Shimon Galai shlit”a

 

 PUBLISHED IN THE TIMES OF ISRAEL: 

Attention London Kehilla – Condition Your Giving!

 https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/attention-london-kehilla-condition-your-giving/

 

 

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/to-all-philanthropists-supporting-yeshiva-students-who-do-not-serve-in-the-idf/

https://trinitymedia.ai/player/share/ddff51ce84054100a0246a78e2fb16f9bb77

 

The War Against Israel From the Haredi Rabbis

 

HAREDI RABBIS - COURTESY WIKIPEDIA

The Jewish people are at war. But not just with Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, or the ever-hostile international media. A quieter, more insidious front runs through the streets of Bnei Brak and Meah Shearim—an ideological and theological war waged not by outsiders, but from within, by segments of the Haredi rabbinic leadership. And while the IDF faces rockets and tunnels, the State of Israel must also contend with an entrenched rabbinic opposition that undermines its legitimacy, rejects its sovereignty, and sows confusion among the very people it claims to protect.

At the heart of this rabbinic opposition lies a fundamental belief: that the modern State of Israel is not the atchalta d’geulah (beginning of the redemption), but a dangerous, secular rebellion against God’s plan. Many Haredi rabbis, influenced by the teachings of the Chazon Ish, the Brisker Rav, and others, argue that only the coming of Mashiach can herald true Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel. Until then, they claim, any Jewish state established through human effort—especially by secular Zionists—is spiritually illegitimate.

To this day, prominent Haredi leaders refuse to recognize Yom HaAtzmaut, omit prayers for the state or the soldiers defending it, and openly deride Zionist ideology in yeshiva classrooms. When the IDF calls upon them for shared sacrifice, they respond with protests, pashkevilim, and mass draft dodging under the banner of Torah protection.

The problem isn’t simply that the Haredi rabbis disagree with the secular founders of the state. Disagreement is the Jewish tradition. The danger lies in how that theology has been weaponized against the Jewish people. While Israeli soldiers fight and die in Gaza to prevent pogroms in Sderot and Tel Aviv, these rabbis portray the army as a spiritual danger to their youth. 

While the state funds their yeshivot, subsidizes their communities, and protects their cities, their spokesmen describe the state as an existential threat to Judaism itself.

This is not theological purity—it’s theological sabotage. And in wartime, it’s treachery.

Imagine a secular Israeli citizen refusing to pay taxes because he doesn’t believe in the Torah. He would be condemned—by the same Haredi leaders—for endangering national unity. And yet, these same leaders claim a right to opt out of national defense, national mourning, and national celebration because of their religious views.

This is not just hypocrisy—it is a dangerous double standard. The state exists to serve all its citizens, but it cannot survive if whole sectors reject its legitimacy, its laws, and its burdens while demanding its funding and protections.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy is that the war waged by these rabbis is done in the name of Torah. They claim that their separation from the state is holy, that their refusal to serve is for the sake of Torah study, that their protests are righteous defiance. But true Torah, as Rav Kook taught, cannot be separated from the fate of the Jewish people. True Torah demands that we defend our brethren, that we share responsibility, and that we sanctify God’s name not by retreat, but by engagement with the world.

There is nothing pure about a Torah that watches Jews die and calls it divine punishment. There is nothing holy about studying Daf Yomi while the soldier next door buries his son. Torah that ignores the suffering of klal Yisrael is not Torah—it’s self-preservation dressed in black and white.

The war against Israel waged by some Haredi rabbis is not just a matter of policy—it is a spiritual distortion that must be confronted. Those who love Torah and love Israel must say so clearly: Torah is not an excuse to avoid sacrifice. Torah does not belong to those who flee the fight. And Torah cannot be the voice of silence when Jewish blood is spilled in defense of our homeland.

This is a time for courage—not only on the battlefield, but in our batei midrash as well. The future of Israel depends not only on tanks and drones, but on reclaiming the soul of Torah from those who use it to undermine the Jewish state. This is a war Israel must win, too.

 

REPUBLISHED

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-war-against-israel-from-the-haredi-rabbis/

“This Is Not Emunah—It Is a Chillul Hashem”

COURTESY WIKIPEDIA

We were raised on Emunah. We were raised on the words of the Chazon Ish, the Brisker Rov, the Steipler Gaon. We were raised to believe that Torah protects, that Hashem is our Shield, and that nothing moves in the world without His will. And all of that is true.

But somewhere along the way, we began confusing Emunah with irresponsibility. We began calling passivity “bitachon” and turning our backs on danger while saying “Hashem will help.” This is not Emunah. This is negligence. Worse—it is a chillul Hashem, because the world sees religious Jews unwilling to defend their brethren, and wonders: What kind of Torah is this?

The Torah tells us “הבא להורגך, השכם להורגו”—if someone comes to kill you, you must rise early to kill him first. The Rambam writes in Hilchos Melachim that war is sometimes a mitzvah chiyuvis. The Netziv, in Ha’amek Davar, explains that “Torah learning alone” cannot replace the mitzvah of physically defending the people.

Where did we get the idea that Torah requires us to avoid military service, no matter the circumstances? Yes, a yeshiva bochur is doing holy work. But is the blood of a secular soldier less red than ours? Do we dare say, “You go die for us while we say Tehillim”?

What would Rav Shach zt”l say if he saw that nearly all the korbanos of Tzahal come from chilonim or dati leumi boys—while we carry on as if this is the natural order of things?

The entire Torah is about achrayus—responsibility. Avraham Avinu goes to war to save Lot. Moshe Rabbeinu kills an Egyptian to defend a fellow Jew. The Hasmoneans, whose mesirus nefesh we celebrate every Chanukah, picked up swords when Torah was under threat. They didn’t say “miracles will come.” They fought—and then miracles came.

Where are we?

If a fire broke out in our yeshiva, we wouldn’t say “Hashem will protect us”—we’d grab water buckets. But when Jewish blood is flowing in the streets of Sderot, we shrug and say, “Not our role”?

The Torah of Sinai is not a license to ignore the pain of Acheinu Bnei Yisrael. We are one body. When soldiers die while protecting Torah neighborhoods, and we treat them like strangers, it is not just a failure of gratitude—it is a desecration of the Name.

Let us not pretend this is about mesirus nefesh. True mesirus nefesh would be raising boys who are both bnei Torah and anshei ma'aseh. Who learn all day—and know that one day, if the hour requires it, they’ll carry a stretcher in Gaza or stand guard on the border.

We do not need to become Zionists to know the difference between kefirah and achrayus. This is not about political ideology. It is about human decency, Torah values, and not making a mockery of the Torah haKedosha by hiding behind it.

If we do not wake up, we risk losing the soul of our community. Torah will not survive on falsehood. Torah thrives when it is built on truth, on yashrus, on emes. And the emes is this:

We cannot claim to be Shomrei Torah if we will not lift a finger to protect Shomrei Torah. We cannot claim to love Eretz Yisrael and sit idly while others die to protect it. We cannot cry “Hashem Yilachem Lachem” while refusing to show up for His people.

Rabbosai, let us not confuse a lifestyle with a legacy. Our grandparents in Europe cried tears of blood to reach Eretz Yisrael. They would have walked barefoot to defend it. Will we be the generation that learns Torah while ignoring the blood that waters its soil?

Hashem should bless us with true Emunah—not the kind that avoids responsibility, but the kind that embraces it. That fights for Am Yisrael. That learns Torah and stands up for Torah Jews everywhere—even if it means picking up a rifle with a Gemara in our backpack.

Because if we don’t—others will. And we will have no right to call ourselves their brothers.

* 

P.S. - To paraphrase R' Shmuel Kamenetzky on the Polio vaccine (May he have a refuah shleima)...charedi -ism, another ISM that's a hoax and big business! The major yeshivas are privately owned family enterprises. All the income and real estate from EY to America are worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars! Who wants their inventory of income to be destroyed by what's right and true? These "giants" are merely protecting their family enterprises. 

 

REPUBLISHED

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/this-is-not-emunah-it-is-a-chillul-hashem/

Israel has to go in and possibly lose the remaining hostages, so as to win the war decisively. Israel cannot allow itself to be blackmailed again. I believe if it was any other country that had its citizens kidnapped, they would have gone in swiftly and hugely and Gaza would have been turned into rubble in days from the air and Hamas utterly destroyed.

Time to make a decision in Gaza, hard as it is

 

Someone has to call an end to this situation where Israel is being blackmailed with the hostages. Israel has to go in and possibly lose the remaining hostages, so as to win the war decisively. 

---

"The IDF Spokesperson in Arabic, Avichay Adraee, issued a statement this morning (Sunday), for the first time, demanding that Gazan residents in the southwestern area of Deir al-Balah evacuate the region in preparation for a potential ground maneuver.”

The IDF has so far avoided operating in the southwestern area of Deir al-Balah out for fear of the safety of hostages being held in the area.

Obviously not to harm civilians, the IDF has no option other than to alert Hamas. Israel’s decency is quite extraordinary and I doubt any other country would do the same at a huge cost to its soldiers and itself.

I have thought for a long time someone has to make a hard decision and take responsibility. King David wasn’t allowed to build the Temple, but he was not prohibited from planning for it and assembling materials needed for when his son Solomon would build it. In other words, he made the decision, aided, but couldn’t fulfill it. The decision wasn’t left for Solomon.

Similarly, someone has to call an end to this situation where Israel is being blackmailed with the hostages. Israel cannot allow itself to be blackmailed again. I believe if it was any other country that had its citizens kidnapped, they would have gone in swiftly and hugely and Gaza would have been turned into rubble in days from the air and Hamas utterly destroyed. The hostages may or may not have survived, but Hamas certainly would not have. Ideally that is what Israel could and possibly should have done, but it is a far too decent and humane society.

No one wants to harm the hostages, but the arithmetic and logic is against continuing as we are. In excess of 888 soldiers have died in this war plus thousands injured and maimed. There are apparently twenty hostages still alive. The hostages are innocents caught up in this war.

The current negotiations are an attempt to get at least ten hostages out, but as usual at a great cost. I hope and pray we can get them all out, but if ten come out, I think Hamas will not budge on the remaining ten and if the IDF get close, will murder them out of pure viciousness. They already murdered others in cold blood.

Israel has to finish this war and destroy Hamas. There isn’t a single righteous Arab/Islamist in Gaza who has come forth with information in spite of a $5 million reward. They are all Hamas.

Israel therefore has to go in and possibly lose the remaining hostages. There but for the grace of G-d go all of us, both hostages, families and decision makers.

King David couldn’t build the Temple, but Solomon could and look what came as a result and the glory of finally building and having a Temple. It will be a very sad and painful day if we lose the hostages and the left wing and its media will take full advantage of it, but the war will end, Hamas will be no more, Gaza emptied and the beginning of a new era and a new Middle East.

Israel has a unique opportunity as a result of this war to substantially rid itself and the Middle East of the uncivilized Islamic terrorist savages. All of them including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Houthis, all internal terrorists, dismantle the Palestinian Authority and also rid Iran of the medieval and evil Ayatollah regime.

In doing so Israel will not only set a great example to a feckless Europe, but the whole world and will do the whole world a great favour. By the whole world I include China and especially Russia whose future actually lies with Europe and will move in that direction as soon as Putin is gone.

The world, especially Europe right now, cannot go on with the threat of Islam in its midst. Islam has taken advantage of the West’s democracy, liberalism, laws et al and these now have to be changed as not doing so endangers Europe and Britain where the useless and weak governments are pandering to the Islamists for votes and the Islamists are using these countries’ ruling parties to take over their countries.

Hard decisions have to be made in Europe and Britain as well.

History has proven over and over again that some incident somewhere, neither big nor small, can and often does lead to far bigger consequences and revolutionary changes. The assassination of the Grand Duke Ferdinand lead to WWI. One man’s death lead to the deaths of millions.

Weak, bad and stupid decisions lead to awful consequences. History is full of examples including the most recent history. Take the stupidity of Jimmy Carter throwing his ally, the Shah under the bus in his misguided self-righteousness and stupidly, in the name of spreading democracy, supporting Ayatollah Khomeini and look what happened to Iran and the threats it has presented as a result over the last forty six years. Jimmy Carter owned what happened to Iran, but I can presume it didn’t bother him or play on his conscience. (What an inappropriate man to elect as President. And the American repeated the stupidity again in electing Obama and Biden. )

Israel is fortunate it is currently blessed with the best Prime Minister for dealing with the situation. I doubt any other of the candidates and wannabes could have achieved what Netanyahu has achieved, navigated the international threats, survived and managed Obama and Biden, these Presidents’ deliberate attempts at undermining and unseating him, spurious political arrest warrants from the ICC, horrendous internal politics not only from the opposition, but the ever present stress and danger of the parties in his coalition. Add to that military decisions, the madness of the court cases against him, an Attorney General appointed by the opposition when they briefly held power who undermines him, an unelected Judiciary that has staged a judicial coup and doesn’t know its place in a balanced democracy and much much more….. and all of this whilst at war on seven fronts.

It is Netanyahu with his cabinet who have to be decisive, brave and wise and have to make the difficult decision to destroy Hamas and unfortunately decide the fate of the remaining hostages. Not easy with the pressures of the hostage families. May Hashem guide Netanyahu and his cabinet, aid our military and save our hostages. A very hard decision has to be made.

There is no other choice.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/412111

“Better To Die Than Enlist!” Nu!

“Better To Die Than Enlist!”  Nu!

 

Sections along Highway 4 have also been shut down due to the protests, and police have been working to maintain order as haredi rioters yelled insults including "Nazis," "terrorists," and "butchers."

Haredi demonstrators against the haredi draft law threw bottles at police and assaulted them, forcing Jerusalem traffic to grind to a halt on Wednesday.

Hundreds of protestors blocked the roads near Chords Bridge with signs saying "Enlistment = Genocide," "Death before conscription," and "War on the draft law."

Concerns deepen over military’s mental health system after series of soldier suicides

 

As lawmakers demand transparency from the IDF, experts urge deeper understanding of war’s psychological toll on troops

 

 IDF soldiers hold a wreath at the funeral of soldier Ron Sherman at the Lehavim cemetery

 

A string of suicides among Israeli soldiers over less than two weeks this July has reignited concerns over the military’s mental health system, with experts warning that the war’s prolonged psychological toll is pushing troops past their limits.

The first case to draw national attention this month was that of Daniel Edri, a reservist who died by suicide on July 5 after struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his combat service in Gaza and Lebanon.

His mother, Sigal Edri, told the Ynet news site that Daniel would describe vivid flashbacks — seeing flames, smelling bodies — and often awoke in the middle of the night in a panic, convinced he was back on the battlefield. In his final days, he spoke openly about ending his life, fearing that living with PTSD would be unbearable.

In the days that followed, two additional IDF soldiers were found dead in separate incidents of suspected suicide — one on July 9 at a base in southern Israel, and another on July 14 at a base in the north.

On July 15, Cpl. Dan Phillipson, a paratrooper in training, was seriously wounded in an apparent attempt to end his life at a training base in southern Israel. Phillipson, a lone soldier from Norway who had moved to Israel a year ago to enlist, was hospitalized but ultimately succumbed to his injuries on Sunday.

Dr. Leah Shelef, who served as a mental health officer in the IDF for 20 years and researches the field of suicide among soldiers and reservists, told The Times of Israel that this isn’t the first time the military has faced a sudden spike in suicides.

Family, friends, and fellow soldiers attend the funeral of Cpl. Dan Phillipson, a lone soldier from Norway, at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, July 20, 2025.

 

“Suicides have a contagious effect,” she said. “There have been months in the past in which three soldiers died by suicide in close succession.”

Suicide data sparks debate

The most recent wave of tragedies prompted nine members of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to issue a formal letter, demanding an urgent discussion on the issue and warning that the IDF’s current approach risks eroding public trust and failing vulnerable soldiers in their time of need.

 

READ MORE: 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/concerns-deepen-over-militarys-mental-health-system-after-series-of-soldier-suicides/?

Haredi political parties are rooted in a worldview that views national tragedies such as October 7 as simply part of God's plan

 

The dangerous theology behind Israel’s coalition partners 

 

 

Chairman Aryeh Deri attends a meeting of the Shas party Council of Torah Sages in Jerusalem

 

 

 

 

 

 *(Slightly edited to conform with my personal views) Who dares to argue with God's plan? PM*

 

“The October 7 massacre saved the Jewish people,” declared Shas leader Rabbi Aryeh Deri in a recent interview, igniting widespread outrage. But to anyone familiar with Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) discourse, Deri’s words were no surprise. They reflect a deeply rooted theology, rarely exposed to the broader Israeli public, that views national tragedy as divine intervention. This worldview demands close attention, not just for what it says about Haredi society, but for what it means for the future of Israeli democracy.

At the core of this belief system is the conviction that Hamas acted as an agent of God. While Haredi politicians avoid saying this explicitly, it is a common theme in Haredi media and internal discourse. Public-facing messaging focuses on “open miracles” and emphasizes that all events, good or bad, occur solely by divine will.

Take, for example, Bnei Brak, the ‘City of Torah.’ In previous conflicts, rabbis, including Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, promised that missiles would never strike the city. Yet in the current war, not only was Bnei Brak hit, but a Haredi school was destroyed, leading to strained efforts by rabbinic figures to reconcile past reassurances with present reality.

A recently published book recalls a similar incident from the 1991 Gulf War, when a missile landed on the Ramat Gan-Bnei Brak border. The Haredi public rejoiced that it fell just outside Bnei Brak, but Rabbi Elazar Shach dismissed the rejoicing as foolishness and asked why most missiles were falling on Friday nights, concluding that it was divine punishment for how the community was observing Shabbat.

This theological outlook is anchored in a Talmudic principle (Hullin 7b): “A person only injures his finger if it is decreed from above.” According to this view, all suffering, however extreme, is intentional. 

"Leading"? Pathetic rabbis applied this belief immediately after the Simchat Torah massacre, insisting that every drop of blood spilled was foreseen and intended by God. This is not a fringe belief, it is the mainstream view of both Ashkenazi and Sephardi Haredi leadership, repeated regularly since October 7.

This is how they explain the Holocaust. It’s how they explained COVID-19. It’s how they understand every tragedy in Jewish history. According to Haredi media, such events are either meant to prompt repentance or serve some hidden spiritual benefit. Maimonides is frequently cited to support this view: in his ‘Laws of Fasts’, he warns that if people fail to recognize suffering as divine punishment, God will respond with greater severity.(Yet, in his Moreh Nevuchim, he disavows any way of knowing god or his intentions)PM

Shortly after the October 7 massacre, Rabbi Dov Lando, one of the rabbinic leaders of the Lithuanian (non-Hasidic) yeshiva world, called it a divine punishment intended to awaken the people to repent. He applied the same logic to the Holocaust: “The Holocaust was divine judgment. God brought the Holocaust.” Similarly, Rabbi Avraham Salim, a member of the Shas Council of Torah Sages, said that “the Holocaust also started this way. The terrorists were just messengers of the Almighty… Just like with Covid, although it was a global pandemic, it was also meant specifically for the Jewish People.”

A recent editorial in Yated Ne’eman, the daily newspaper of the Degel HaTorah faction, took this even further. It argued that God occasionally performs “open miracles” for Israel’s enemies to help them strike Jews. According to the editorial, the failure of the IDF and intelligence agencies wasn’t a failure at all; it was divine blinding, so as not to interfere with God’s plan.

While there is broad agreement in these circles that the massacre was orchestrated by God, there is debate over its purpose. Rabbi Deri believes it prevented a greater tragedy. Others see it as heralding the coming of the Messiah: God, they claim, stirred “the Ishmaelites” to attack as a call for repentance and spiritual preparation. Still others see it purely as punishment: “If such a decree came upon us on the happiest day of the year,” wrote Rabbi Shlomo Machpud, “our sins must have caused it.” Elya Brudny from the Agudah " All tragedies are with God's will" PM

A fundamentally foreign worldview

A newer theological thread has also emerged, invoking Satan. A Shas-affiliated newspaper recently suggested the war is not truly between Israel and Hamas, or Israel and Iran, but a cosmic battle between God and the forces of evil. According to the editorial, this is “not a war of missiles and tanks, but of Talmud pages, Psalms, and good deeds.” Everything else, they claim, is just stagecraft in a divine drama.

This is the religious worldview guiding Deri and his Haredi partners in Israeli politics. He didn’t misspeak. He voiced a belief deeply rooted in the religious worldview of the Haredi world and its spiritual leadership.

But it is a worldview fundamentally foreign to most Israeli and Diaspora Jews, and it is vital that Israelis – and especially the heads of the non-Haredi political parties – understand what kind of ideological ‘package deal’ they’re accepting when they rely on Haredi and messianic factions to form governing coalitions.

Understanding the theology behind October 7 is important in its own right. But it’s also essential for grasping the broader challenge Israel faces. Far from being ‘natural partners’ for a governing coalition, the Haredi political parties are rooted in a radically different worldview.

For too long, political parties across the spectrum have played a cynical game, ignoring the long-term interests of the State and its citizens.

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-dangerous-theology-behind-israels-coalition-partners/

Top Blogger In Shock That Meshugoyim Are Still Yeshiva Deans!

 

Top haredi yeshiva in shock after students announce IDF enlistment

 

Wolfson Yeshiva held an emergency assembly after three students, including two Kol Torah alumni, declared plans to enlist in the IDF, sparking sharp rebuke from the dean.

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HaredimDraft LawHaredi Yeshiva

Wolfson Yeshiva, a highly esteemed haredi yeshiva in Jerusalem, was struck by turmoil over the past day.

According to Channel 13's Yoely Brim, three young students from the yeshiva announced their decision to enlist in the IDF, leading to an emergency assembly at the establishment on Tuesday.

Two of the students are expected to join the IDF's "Kokod" program for programming and development, and another student will probably enlist in a combat unit.

The announcement surprised many in the yeshiva, among the reasons being that two of the young men were alumni of Kol Torah, one of the oldest and most respected yeshivas in the haredi world.

During the emergency assembly, the Dean, Rabbi Daniel Wolfson, stood before the students and expressed opposition to the move.

The rabbi claimed that there are no programs in the IDF that could protect a haredi lifestyle and added that he feels great sorrow and pain for the students' decision to leave the yeshiva.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/412070

Time for Israel’s Haredim to Make the Real Aliyah—to Brooklyn or Lakewood - Where Hashem Provides For Real, Not The Goyim in the Knesset!

 

Where The Rosh Yeshivas Are The Knesset

 

Israel has become a difficult place for certain communities—especially those who seek the rare freedom not to serve in the army, not to study math, and not to work. It’s a national tragedy that this holy lifestyle of maximal holiness with minimal contribution is under threat. That is why, with a heavy but practical heart, I must propose a radical solution: The Haredim of Israel should make aliyah—to Brooklyn, New York, or Lakewood, New Jersey.

You see, these are places where a man can live his best life: state-funded yeshiva stipends, Section 8 housing, SNAP benefits, and zero pressure to serve in the IDF or learn how to multiply fractions.  

Let’s face it. The Haredim of Israel are misunderstood, mistreated, and worst of all… occasionally asked to get a job. How dare this Zionist enterprise, which was built on the ashes of pogroms and Holocaust survivors, have the chutzpah to ask a 22-year-old yeshiva bochur with a full beard and no diploma to… serve in the army?

Enough is enough. It’s time for Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community to pick up their shtreimels, pack their gemaras, and make the long-overdue pilgrimage to the real promised land: Brooklyn, New York—or for those who like cul-de-sacs, Lakewood, New Jersey.

In Israel, the state expects its citizens to contribute. Whether through military service, national service, or—brace yourself—employment. What next? A basic high school education? Personal hygiene standards on buses?

But in America, especially in select zip codes of Brooklyn and Lakewood, these kinds of expectations are considered aggressive microaggressions. Want to have 12 kids, no income, and opinions on geopolitics? Welcome to Borough Park, sir. We’ve been expecting you.

Lakewood has perfected the economy of divine dependence: tuition discounts, HUD housing, free school lunches, tax credits, and a divine promise that “Hashem will provide”—usually via the federal government.

In Israel, politicians whine about “budget deficits” when 13% of the population doesn’t work. In Lakewood, that’s called a Tuesday.

In Brooklyn, nobody cares if you’re learning Torah all day and have never seen the inside of a tax-paying office. You can open a yeshiva in a basement, register it as a nonprofit, and teach nothing but Gemara and how to avoid jury duty. No one will stop you—not the mayor, not the IRS, not even your neighbor who moonlights as a Medicare consultant.

In Israel, Haredim constantly battle over IDF exemptions. It’s exhausting. One day it’s “Toraso Omanuso,” the next day it’s “civil service for everyone.” Meanwhile, in Lakewood, the only draft is the gust of air from a badly installed air conditioner. No army, no pushback, no protests—unless someone tries to change the size of a Kollel check.

Why fight over an overpriced apartment in Beit Shemesh when you can overpay for a mold-infested duplex in Flatbush with four illegal kitchens and a bonus room for your shvigger?

Or better yet—move to Lakewood, where your house is a 4,000-square-foot mansion built on a swamp, with five bathrooms, zero bookshelves, and a one-hour commute to your chavrusa’s dining room.

If you're worried about giving up your influence on Israeli politics—don’t be! With today’s advanced technology and robust Israeli absentee ballot systems (funded by secular taxpayers), you can still vote for the party that believes the internet is Avoda Zara… online!

In Brooklyn or Lakewood, no one bats an eye when a 35-year-old with 11 kids doesn’t know what a W-2 form is. That’s not neglect—it’s culture. Try pulling that off in Petach Tikva, and some secular Israeli with a startup and a chip on his shoulder will start ranting about “sharing the burden.” Sharing! What chutzpah.

Brooklyn has cholent delivery on Uber Eats. Lakewood has more shtenders than Starbucks. And neither has mandatory army service, a math requirement, or a coalition crisis every three weeks.

So come, dear brethren. Escape the oppression of expectations. Say goodbye to the land of milk and honey, 

 

 and say hello to the land of  -"bribe your governors, senators and congressman via the Agudath Israel of America, where conventions are the only thing you have to worry about paying for!"

 

REPUBLISHED

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/time-for-israels-haredim-to-make-the-real-aliyah-to-brooklyn-or-lakewood/

A community in which widespread sexual abuse has taken place for years under a veil of secrecy, while at the same time, strong communal mechanisms suppress and sweep things under the rug, all in the name of “honoring the Torah” and keeping “dirty laundry inside the home.”

 

Behind yeshiva walls: The hidden sexual abuse in haredi communities - opinion

 

It seems that every time a new scandal erupts, the deep fracture within the haredi community is exposed once again. 

 

HAREDI YESHIVA students: These 135,000 boys, and then men, and then senior citizens, who will also not pay health tax, will place a heavy burden on the health care system in around 60 years’ time.

 

Approximately one in five men and boys in Israel experiences sexual abuse in childhood, with some 63% of children treated belonging to the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community, according to a study by the Ne'emanei Torah Va'Avodah movement using data from the Welfare Ministry.

Paradoxically, in a society that seems to protect its own, the danger happens behind closed doors, in yeshivot, mikvehs, synagogues, and other exclusively male spaces where men ostensibly have nothing to fear. 

While daughters in the community are heavily guarded, the boys are left less protected, with the abuse they endure buried in silence, and the victims become invisible.

Most do not find the courage to speak until an average of 20 years has passed. Only then are they able to overcome the fear of lashon hara (gossip), of becoming the subject of rumors, or of destroying the reputation of the abuser, who is often a figure of authority like a rabbi, educator, or “community policeman” like Chaim Rotter from the “Shomrim” organization, who was supposed to protect but instead became the perpetrator.

It seems that every time a new scandal erupts, from the cases of Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, Chaim Walder, Yaakov Stern, and now Rotter, the deep fracture within the haredi community is once again exposed. A community in which widespread sexual abuse has taken place for years under a veil of secrecy, while at the same time, strong communal mechanisms suppress and sweep things under the rug, all in the name of “honoring the Torah” and keeping “dirty laundry inside the home.”

 

Haredi children return to school amid the coronavirus crisis

Sexual abuse of religious men is not just a physical violation; it is a spiritual one that tears apart the victim's inner world. Unlike in the general public, victims in the Haredi community feel a triple betrayal: spiritual or communal leaders are the ones who betray and harm them. The father did not see or protect. God did not guard me. And the abuser, often a father figure or authority in the victim’s life, exploited and shed their blood.

The shame and guilt wrap the physical trauma in deep spiritual pain, sometimes leading to abandonment of religious identity or severing ties with the community. Many speak of despair, suicidal thoughts, and above all, a sense that there is no place and no one to talk to.

The national helpline for haredi men

The national helpline for boys and men from the haredi sector who have been sexually abused was founded for this exact reason: to offer a safe and discreet place for victims to be heard.

The line is staffed by volunteers who share the values, cultural language, and faith of the callers. They undergo thorough training that enables them to conduct complex conversations and provide services from the support center, including assistance sessions, accompaniment through criminal and legal proceedings, referrals to individual or group therapy, and assistance in exercising their rights.

Often, the challenge is not just to listen, but to hold the pain without being overwhelmed by it. Each story reveals a reality in which an entire world is quietly crying out for help, against a community that sometimes doesn’t want to hear, and a broader society that doesn’t always understand.

As long as those in power are sometimes also the perpetrators, our responsibility is to be their voice, to remind everyone that they deserve validation, protection, and healing.

This silence has already claimed too many victims. Now is the moment to choose not to remain silent, but to stand with them, to see them, and to begin to repair.

For confidential assistance

02-5328000 | Sunday–Thursday, 8 p.m.–11 p.m.

1203 | The national helpline for men who have experienced sexual assault (available 24/7)

The author is the Coordinator of the Hotline for Men from the Religious-Haredi Sector Affected by Sexual Abuse, part of the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-861175

 *

13 complaints filed against Haim Rotter, including from US

 

Complainant from US files complaint, together with FBI, against sex abuse suspect Haim Rotter, chairman of Hashomrim organization.

 

CHAIM ROTTER

 

READ: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/411809

See more on:

Haredi|

Ultra-Orthodox|

sexual abuse|

abuse|

child sexual abuse|

child abuse

Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz's Soldier --- From His Deathbed in 1948 To His Son In-Law Rabbi Alexander Linchner - "Save The Sephardic Children From Secularism" --- Meet Amitay Cohen | BTJ Alumni & IDF Hero

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boys_Town_Jerusalem

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3717860931779020

“To the extent that a person lacks knowledge of the sciences, he will lack one hundred-fold in understanding of Torah.” The Vilna Gaon

Portrait Of The Gaon From Wikipedia

The Vilna Gaon (Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, 1720–1797), widely regarded as one of the greatest Torah scholars in Jewish history, is often portrayed as the embodiment of pure Torah devotion—immersed day and night in Talmud, halakha, and Kabbalah. Yet this image only tells part of the story. For while the Vilna Gaon indeed held Torah wisdom as supreme, he did not dismiss the value of secular knowledge. On the contrary, he saw wisdom outside the Torah—particularly in fields like mathematics, astronomy, linguistics, and philosophy—as vital tools in understanding God's world and enhancing Torah study.

The Gaon maintained that all wisdom ultimately flows from the Torah. In his view, the Torah is the blueprint of creation, and thus any truth found in the natural world reflects its divine origin. Yet he acknowledged that secular disciplines possess intrinsic value, especially when they serve to illuminate Torah concepts. For example, he is quoted as saying:

“To the extent that a person lacks knowledge of the sciences, he will lack one hundred-fold in understanding of Torah.”

This stunning statement reveals not just a tolerance for secular study, but a demand for it—when it serves to deepen one's grasp of Torah. The Gaon was particularly drawn to mathematics and astronomy, which he believed were necessary to fully understand complex Talmudic discussions (e.g., eruvin, kiddush hachodesh, zemanim). In this, he echoed earlier authorities like Maimonides, who integrated Greek logic and Aristotelian philosophy into his Torah worldview.

The Vilna Gaon’s openness to external wisdom was rooted in his fierce opposition to what he saw as shallow religiosity. He warned against those who hide behind a façade of piety while remaining ignorant of both the broader world and deeper Torah. In his commentary on Mishlei (Proverbs), he rebukes those who dismiss all forms of secular wisdom as “foreign” or “profane,” insisting that such attitudes stem from laziness, not sanctity.

One of the most underappreciated aspects of the Gaon’s genius was his interest in languages. He emphasized the importance of mastering Hebrew grammar (dikduk), and even encouraged knowledge of other languages such as Greek and Latin, to better understand ancient texts and interpretations. He believed that linguistic precision was not a luxury but a necessity in unlocking the depths of Torah.

As a kabbalist, the Gaon saw all disciplines—whether sacred or secular—as part of a unified divine order. In his Kabbalistic writings, particularly Safra de-Tzeniuta and his commentary on the Zohar, the Gaon wove together mystical teachings with scientific ideas. He believed that the study of creation—ma’aseh bereishit and ma’aseh merkavah—required an understanding of the natural sciences, which are not external to Torah but expressions of it in physical form.

The Vilna Gaon’s approach to wisdom outside the Torah was neither defensive nor apologetic. He did not view secular studies as a concession to modernity, but as an authentic extension of Torah itself. To him, the world was not divided between the sacred and the profane, but between the true and the false, the deep and the superficial. In an age when Jewish life often feels caught between isolation and assimilation, the Gaon’s vision offers a powerful model: a fearless pursuit of truth, rooted in Torah but open to all wisdom, wherever it may be found.

Sources: 

1. Even Shleimah – This is a collection of the Vilna Gaon’s teachings, compiled by his student Rabbi Shmuel of Shklov. It includes many of the Gaon's philosophical and ethical ideas, and hints at his broader intellectual openness. While not focused exclusively on secular knowledge, it reflects his integrated worldview.

2. Kol HaTor – Attributed to the Gaon’s student Rabbi Hillel Rivlin, this mystical work discusses the Gaon’s messianic ideas, including the importance of understanding the natural world as part of the redemptive process. It includes references to the role of scientific knowledge in bringing the Geulah (Redemption).

3. Ma’aseh Rav – A biographical collection of customs and teachings of the Gaon by Rabbi Yissachar Ber, which includes testimonies about his interest in sciences like mathematics and astronomy.

4. Introduction to Sefer Eliyahu (Pe'at HaShulchan) – Written by Rabbi Yisrael of Shklov, another of the Gaon’s students, this introduction describes the Gaon’s mastery of multiple disciplines, including algebra, geometry, and other sciences, and how he used them in his Torah learning.

   If you're looking for just one place to see his view most directly, start with his commentary on Mishlei 1:7, often found in traditional printings of Mishlei with Biur HaGra. That's where his most famous quote on secular knowledge is located.

    

   

   REPUBLISHED

   
    

   https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-vilna-gaon-was-open-to-all-wisdom-wherever-it-may-be-found/  

חֵרֵשׁ שׁוֹטֶה וְקָטָן אֵין מוֹצִיאִין אֶת הָרַבִּים יְדֵי חוֹבָתָן. זֶה הַכְּלָל

Rosh Hashanah is Approaching - Attention All Kehillas:

A deaf-mute, an imbecile, or a minor who sounds the shofar cannot discharge the obligation on behalf of the community. 

Talmud Rosh Hashana: 29a - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiot

 

An untenable religious perspective

חֵרֵשׁ שׁוֹטֶה וְקָטָן all in one - Looking For A Job To Blow Some More Vicious Hot Air!

Hamas succeeded in planting an improvised explosive device (IED) in Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza, during a lull in air force and artillery strikes, where the Netzah Yehuda Battalion was set to pass through.

 As a result, on July 7, five soldiers were killed and 14 injured in a roadside explosion. All five who perished were in their 20s. Such news strikes at the heart of the Israeli nation. These soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice and deserve the highest level of praise for their service, but that’s not what they received.

Before the soldiers were even buried, the Shas Party’s spiritual leader made comments that tarnished their legacy.

In an open letter, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the former Sephardi chief rabbi of Israel, claimed that “we are to blame” for their deaths. “Weakness in Torah study leads to disasters,” such as this, he said. His concern was that yeshivah students tend to lose focus in the summer months and hoped to motivate them to press on with their learning.

At first glance, this message seems productive. Whether or not you believe that Torah learning offers protection, study is a Jewish value. If the intention of the former chief rabbi was to motivate his community to increase learning in the memory of the fallen five, then I would have had no issue with that. But he went further, claiming that the soldiers died because others weren’t studying Torah.

This religious perspective is untenable.

When I was learning to be a rabbi, the popular book of the day was called The Garden of Emunah (emunah meaning “faith” in Hebrew). One teaching I recall is not to become angry with someone who offends you because they’re actually delivering a message from God. The author offered a metaphor to elucidate the point. When a slave is being beaten, he doesn’t blame the stick the master uses; that makes no sense.

This is the point where I stopped reading the book. According to this philosophy, when angering a friend or colleague, I’m not to blame. I had no control over my actions. God needed to teach that person a lesson, and I was just a tool—the stick—in the Divine plan.

This viewpoint is counterproductive because we’re not meant to listen to messages from God while ignoring the world around us. When someone angers us, we need to inform them so that they—or the angered person—learns better behavior. Even if we were to seek meaning from tragedy, how could we ever discern God’s intent? Rav Yosef seems to connect lapses in Torah learning to the deaths of the five soldiers, but how could anyone know such a thing?

As we learn from the book of Job, there is no rhyme or reason to this world. Although a core Jewish tenet, we cannot understand how reward and punishment work. Job was devoid of sin, yet God still made him suffer. The story teaches us that we cannot know why God does anything and that attempting explanations is futile.

However, there are times when claiming knowledge of God’s will is insensitive. We’ve all heard someone give reasons for the death of a loved one. When a child dies, for example, and the devastation is unbearable, people say things like, “God must have needed him for something” or “God needed someone unblemished by sin.” Or worse, it happened because “You are strong enough to handle it.” I doubt mourners find comfort in such statements.

The rabbi also missed an opportunity to unify the citizens of Israel. The divide between those who serve in the IDF and those who don’t is only growing. The government’s attempt to enlist 50,000 Haredi soldiers will certainly exacerbate the issue. Instructing the Haredi community to intensify their learning will most likely lead to more resistance in joining the rank-and-file of Israeli society.

If he truly wanted to honor these five young men, then he should have called for his followers to stand with them—in uniform, in unity and in shared responsibility for the nation’s safety. That would have been a message worthy of their sacrifice.

https://www.jns.org/an-untenable-religious-perspective/?