-
Shalom to you all,
-
I was asked to give a talk
someplace in the country
-
but when I arrived the organizer explained
that although the subject was supposed
-
to be about Torah and sciences,
-
I could change the subject as the people
who the subject was chosen for
-
had decided not to come as they
can't see how the two align together.
-
So, I change it.
-
Starting tomorrow, I said
-
there will be a tremendous
and unprecedented change in Israel
-
which is unparalleled
in the country's history.
-
And of which thousands of citizens
will immediately transform
-
decent citizens to criminal
who belong in prison.
-
Hens, I would like to talk
about this issue,
-
The public didn't quite understand
So, I explained:
-
You could like it or not,
-
but since the establishment
of the country, it had exempted
-
the Torah learners from military services
officially and practically,
-
as long as Torah is their profession.
-
But starting tonight
this agreement is cancelled,
-
and from tomorrow every yeshiva guy
who doesn't go to the army
-
will be considered a deserter
and sentenced to prison,
-
even if not actually got arrested.
-
"Finely," said one of the participants,
"there is justice."
-
"It should have been done
along time ago."
-
"Very true," added the man
who sat in the first row.
-
"this is how it should be,
-
"is this fair that my son serves
for 150 days in reserves
-
while your children don't? and all of this
even before mentioning
-
how because of it I don't sleep at night
while you can?"
-
"This is your turn now, I can see how you
consider this a disaster
-
as you were used not to but for us
it represents justice and equality."
-
"This is democracy, Aharon,
there are rights and obligations,
-
with no obligations
there are no rights,"
-
"This is the only way
you would learn,"
-
"Your loss is democracy gain,"
-
this is not a disaster, Aharon,
this is a blessing"
-
I understand that this is your belief
and it's your prerogative., I said
-
but regarding the Haredim loss
and democracy gain
-
I am not sure that you are right.
-
"Why not?" asked the man,
-
"Don't you believe that equality
improves democracy?"
-
Sure, sure it does,
I said,
-
but in case
-
might be that the damages to
democracy are far grater then its benefits
-
Instead of advancing its growth,
-
the opposite will happen
and it will actually regress.
-
"How? the man asked,
-
It's very simple , I said,
-
First lesson in democracy we learn
that a democratic state
-
founded upon several components:
-
Legislative branch which function
is to legislate laws
-
that majority believes
to be right and just.
-
Executive branch is responsible
for enacting and managing state
-
according to those right and just laws.
-
and of course, the judicial branch
that is responsible for determining
-
who violates the correct and just laws.
-
Now, I would like to ask
you a question, I said,
-
Would you regard a country without
a strong and independent judiciary
-
to be a democratic country?
-
"Of course not,"
said the man
-
"A weakened judicial authority
could lead to non-compliance with laws,
-
when values are removed from
the law this will results in anarchy."
-
"It's clear that democracy
can't exist without a strong
-
authoritative and
independent judiciary."
-
Very nice, I said. Now, please
just one more question:
-
Do you believe, by the law,
-
could a civil disobedience
happen in a democratic state?
-
"It depends," the man said,
-
"not everything minut that happens
permits calling for civil disobedience."
-
"But when democracy is endangered,
-
although, civil disobedience is illegal,
-
it is morally right,"
-
Well, I said,
why civil disobedience isn't legal?
-
"It's very simple,"
said the man,
-
"we all understand that
the authority of the legal system
-
is the heart and soul of democracy,"
-
"and it is measured by
the power of its influence."
-
"We also know that a legal system
has the power to deal with individuals,
-
but large groups of people."
-
"But if in the name
of civil disobedience
-
it is possible to disobey the laws,"
-
"then the judicial system
will revel its weaknesses,
-
and lose its power."
-
"And we had agreed that without
a strong and healthy judiciary
-
there is no democracy."
-
"Civil disobedience Aharon,
is like an electric shock,
-
it is used only when
there is nothing left to lose."
-
"Only when democracy
is compromised."
-
I agree with you,
I told him.
-
This is why I claimed that
drafting the Haredim
-
will harm democracy
even more then not drafting them at all.
-
Listen, I said,
-
anyone of us; religious people or those
who don't declare themselves religious,
-
have a system of laws and values,
-
which form our lives.
-
The difference between us
is only in the question
-
which is the highest authority
in our lives?
-
What factor will
cause us to limit our will?
-
Human law
or the Torah of Israel?
-
Non believer often view
the state laws as the ultimate authority,
-
while believers consider the Torah laws
to be the ultimate authority.
-
Therefore, any group
will break the law
-
when they believe that
their highest authority is in jeopardy.
-
This one; when democracy is in jeopardy,
-
and this one; when the Torah is.
-
Their differences
is not the system,
-
it's only a matter
of which authority.
-
Accordingly,
-
when heavenly law
and human law clash,
-
this will reveal their difference.
-
Non believing citizen
will obey the human law
-
and break the heavenly law.
-
The believing citizen
-
will listen to the heavenly law
while defying the human law.
-
This is why I claimed that
attempting to draft the Torah learners,
-
will in dangers the democracy
because
-
if the Torah learners
will be forced to go to the army,
-
but the greats of Israel rule
this action is in violation of the Torah,
-
even if government budgets will be denied
or threatened with imprisonment,
-
they will refuse to obey that law,
-
In huge numbers,
prosecution is not possible.
-
However, if they are not convicted,
the legal system will show its weaknesses.
-
when this happens,
-
human law will show its shortcomings,
-
and when this happens,
it will destroy democracy,
-
which in its name you
wanted to draft the Torah learners.
-
This is why is said
that drafting the Torah learners,
-
is disastrous to democracy
more then drafting them.
-
"Okay," said the man,
"what I don't understand is-
-
how is it relevant to army
service of Torah learners?
-
Why does army service conflicts
with the heavenly law?
-
It's very simple, I said,
-
they don't have to collide,
but if they do,
-
it won't just harm the democracy,
-
discipline could also be compromised,
and discipline-
-
is the heart and soul of any army.
-
We both know that according to the law
a soldier can disobey an order
-
when the order is unlawful
or illegal.
-
Imagine for a moment that a soldier
who follows the law of heaven
-
is told to do something that seems
-
to go against the law of heaven,
which he is obeying.
-
what do you think
his behavior will be?
-
Much the same when a soldier
is confronted with a command,
-
that goes against the human law
and screams illegal.
-
Then he will call his rabbi
and not the judge,
-
to ask if he could obey that command.
-
Now imagine that his rabbi
rule that he couldn't obey the command?
-
Will he obey the command?
-
Of course not.
-
Now, tell me, do you think that
an army could survive
-
when the serving soldier is under
someone that is not his commander?
-
This is exactly what will happen
-
if the Torah learners
will be drafted to the army.
-
They will turn the army
to a beit hamidrash.
-
And in beit hamidrash the Torah rules
and not the commanders.
-
If the ones asking to draft
the Torah learners,
-
agree the army
be under the halacha,
-
this will imply
religious indoctrination,
-
This is apposed by the army
and so on and on.
-
If the Torah learners
won't go to the army
-
that will compromised democracy,
-
but if they will be drafted
then it will hurt the democracy,
-
Hens, even if it's not
in the value aspect,
-
which is debatable,
-
even from the practical view
-
this thing to draft the Torah learners
in the name of justice and morality,
-
my sound good,
-
but if we dig a bit deeper
we could see-
-
that this will threaten democracy
rather than strengthen it.
-
"So," he said,
"how do you explain,
-
how is it the national religious
people do go to the army?
-
They are not subjected
to the halacha?
-
They don't put the heavenly law
at the top of their priorities?
-
After all, they are religious.
-
This is a very good question, I said
-
The national religious serve
in the army but they also believe
-
that when the laws of the Torah
clashes with the human laws,
-
they will choose the first one.
-
The disapprovement
between them and the Haredim
-
is not the question of how
to behave when
-
there is a contradiction between
army commands and the heavenly law,
-
it's about:
-
which cases arises this question,
-
but when it will accrue,
they will react just as the a haredim will
-
and I have a proof.
-
when the common service came up,
-
and its definition is to share female
fighters next to male ones,
-
in the army, the heads of
the religious mehinot,
-
and the heads of the hesder
yeshivot, were shocked
-
by the idea and determined,
that it collides frontally
-
with the DEVINE law, and
therefore they worded
-
their statement exactly as the hareidy.
-
"that's a destruction decree,"
said one of the heads
-
of the mehinot, whose many of his
students were killed in the war,
-
actually what's written in
this command is
-
if you decided to go to
the officer course,
-
from that moment the head of
the ak"a will determine
-
if you'll keep the Shulhan Aruh.
-
that's a command, that says,
that if you want to be an officer
-
in the army, you have to
give up the tora.
-
that's a thing that didn't
happen" he says ,
-
"since the establishment of
the state in no area"
-
"and only to make sure that there's
no doubt" i tald the man in front of me
-
"one of the senior rabis of
the national religious,
-
determined and i cyte: "the command
for the mutual service
-
in the IDF is get killed and
don't transgress!"
-
clear, now that the argument between
the national religious
-
and the hareidy" i tald him
"isn't the principle ..
-
both they and them think that
the DEVINE law is prior
-
to the human or military
law, and therefore
-
when they collide, both those and those
will respond in the same way.
-
and both those and those will
refuse to keep the law
-
or the command. and agree
with me, that this
-
doubtlessly is a ruin of both
the democracy and the army.
-
therefore i tald you, that
drafting of the bney yeshivot
-
more than it's a disaster to
the tora, it's a disaster
-
to the democracy,
-
"ok," tald me the man "nu so
what is the solution?"
-
do you have at all one?"
-
of course" i tald him, "the problem,
that the solution
-
appears in the DEVINE law and to my sorrow
-
not everybody sees in it
the highest authority
-
and therefore this solution
will work only if everybody
-
will recognize it as such.
-
in the portion of Tzav after that
Moshe rabeinu teaches
-
Aharon and his sons the
laws of the sacrificies
-
and after the inauguration
of the tabernacle,
-
is written "and made Aharon and his sons
-
all the things, that G-D
commanded by Moshe"
-
and about that writes Ramban
"it will be sayd in every place
-
as commanded G-D by Moshe, but here
-
becouse it was added to the
mitzva, didn't say so,
-
becouse they didn't do as
G-D commanded Moshe,
-
but did all the things, that
G-D commanded
-
and additionally was added what was said,
-
the foreign fire that wasn't commanded"
-
didi you understand? from
the words of Ramban
-
it looks here, that it was
hard for him why in all
-
the places in the tora is written
"and did Aharon
-
as G-D commanded by Moshe
and here the tora changes
-
the text and writes "and did
Aharon and his sons
-
all the things, that commanded
G-D to Moshe.
-
and he answers, that here,
not like in other places,
-
the sons of Aharon didn't do exactly as
-
commanded G-D, they added
from their own mind
-
to the command, they
sacrificied foreign incense,
-
which he didn't command
them and for that they
-
were punished and died.
-
but that here raises a question
why does the tora
-
emphesizes it specifically here?
-
we deal now with the rejoicing of the
construction of the tabernacle.
-
what for is needed to remind,
that the sons of Aharon
-
didn't behave as G-D commanded.
-
and besides, even if they
sacrificied insence,
-
in spite that they were not commanded,
-
for that one has to die?
-
what is so serious in doing a deed
in the honour of G-D
-
even if HE didn't command?
-
after all they do it in HIS honour,..
-
and the answer is simple,
-
in these verses the tora wants to teach,
-
that the whole existance of
the tora depends on
-
"as commanded G-D" and therefore
-
the moment one changes the
"what commanded G-D,"
-
even if it's in the honour of G-D.
that's the begining
-
of the ruin of the wish of G-D.
-
becouse the addition to
"as commanded G-D"
-
teaches, that, again, the wish of
G-D isn't the source of authority,
-
but our wish is.
-
fact, G-D commanded and we added.
-
and the moment, that our wish turns
to be the source of obligation,
-
there's already no difference
between the human law
-
and DEVINE law, and if
there's no difference,
-
why not defer the DEVINE law
before the human law?
-
and if it will be defered,
so why not totally?!
-
so it would be totally canceled....
-
therefore emphasizes the tora,
that the sons of Aharon
-
didn't do as "all that commanded G-D "
-
to teach that whoever wants
to design his wish
-
according to the wish of G-D,
-
has to suit his deeds to the wish of G-D
-
without shortage but also not
less important than that
-
also without additions. both
in regular days,
-
but mainly in days in which the human law
-
collides with the wish of G-D."
-
"nu" tald me the man, "so where
is here the solution?
-
how after all we will be able
to get to a compromise?"
-
"very simple" i tald him
-
"if we'll understand the weight of
the different sources
-
of authority, we'll be able to go on,
-
as one, who is under the
human law, agree with me,
-
that it's given to changes..
after all the mouth that
-
forbade is the mouth that permitted,
-
and therefore agree with me,
that you are allowed
-
to permit what you forbade,
-
about the DEVINE law, on the
other hand, the situation
-
is totally different, the whole
essence of the DEVINE law
-
is the command, that
commanded them.
-
the acknowledgment that we are not
the ones who formulated it,
-
but G-D. therefore becouse
we are not the mouth,
-
which forbade, we also can't be
the mouth that permits.
-
and out of this reason we won't
be able to compromise
-
even on the tip of the yod,
of the wish of G-D,
-
becouse after all if we compromise,
we'll transgress
-
on "that G-D commaned Moshe,"
-
and if we'll transgress, already
won't be that G-D commanded
-
and if there's not going to be
that commanded G-D,
-
we agreed that will be
cancelled the authority.
-
therefore after we understood
that only one side
-
can compromise, that side has to recognize
-
this fact and when he'll recognize
it, becouse it's
-
the mouth that forbade, we expect of him,
-
that he'll find the way to permit,
-
and will word it in such a
way that he won't
-
hurt the democracy in which he believes,
-
and a word for the end.
-
when the head rabi of Israel,
rabi Ytzhak Yosef, said,
-
that if the tora learners will be
forced to be drafted to the army,
-
they'll leave the country, he
not really meant
-
that that's what they'll do,
from a simple reason.
-
the students of the Gaon form Vilna
-
and the students of Baal Shem
Tov came to Israel
-
much before the halutzim and therefore
-
the grandchildren of those who came first,
-
won't leave Israel only becouse
the grandchildren
-
of those who came last,
want to draft them.
-
they'll remain here becouse
of them being the first
-
proves how much they love
the land of Israel,
-
and therefore when the head rabi of Israel,
-
who loves the land of Israel
very much said,
-
that the tora learners will
leave Israel, he ment
-
to say, that we'll remain bonded to
"all that commanded G-D"
-
at any price, and by whom who
loves the land of Israel
-
with his whole heart and essence,
-
to leave Israel is the highest price
-
and therefore he used this example.
-
to say the opposite, to announce,
that we'll remain here
-
in Israel at any price and will
be willing to pay it,
-
shabat shalom
