Libi BaMizrach

I recently published a lengthy response to Eli Paley’s Mishpacha article, “A Manufactured Deadlock,” in which he portrayed the Chareidi draft crisis largely as the product of courts, secular activists, philanthropists, and ideological organizations seeking to undermine lomdei Torah . My central objection was not only to several of his factual claims, but to his repeated use of the terms “the Torah world” and “Olam HaTorah” as though they referred exclusively to the Chareidi community. Just as I was preparing to publish that response, Mishpacha released a new issue with another article by Mr. Paley, “ Friend or Foe ?”. Unfortunately, rather than reconsidering that framing, he doubles down on it. Mr. Paley expresses surprise and dismay at the vehement opposition within the Religious Zionist community to the new Basic Law: Torah Study. He regards that opposition not merely as a disagreement over the draft or constitutional law, but as evidence of a growing campaign against “ the ...

 A Letter to Mishpacha Magazine that was not published Like many others, I have had several heated discussions with friends and family about the growing crisis between the Chareidi community—which often refers to itself as the “Olam HaTorah”—and the rest of Israeli society. One of my relatives sent me an article by Eli Paley in Mishpacha, telling me that it had “finally, once and for all, presented the truth of the Chareidi side of the argument.” I read the article carefully and concluded that it required a serious response, which I submitted to Mishpacha as a letter to the editor. Aside from an initial acknowledgment, I have received no indication that the magazine intends to publish it—which, I must admit, did not come as a great surprise. Here, then, is my response in full, together with detailed notes and sources. I offer it in the hope that it will speak to the hearts and minds of the many people who are deeply pained by this issue and who believe that the present situation de...

In this week’s Sidrah, Matos, the tribes of Reuven and Gad approach Moshe with what must have seemed to them like a reasonable request. The land east of the Jordan was particularly well suited for their livestock. Why not allow them to settle there rather than receive their inheritance together with the other tribes in Eretz Yisrael? Moshe’s immediate response (Bamidbar 32:6) is devastating: הַאַחֵיכֶם יָבֹאוּ לַמִּלְחָמָה וְאַתֶּם תֵּשְׁבוּ פֹה “ Shall your brothers go to war while you sit here? ”  Moshe does not begin by discussing military manpower or asking whether the other tribes can manage without them. He raises a much more basic moral question: How can you allow your brothers to place themselves in danger while you remain safely behind? That question is impossible to read today without thinking about the crisis tearing Israeli society apart. The issue is not whether Torah study is important. Its importance is beyond dispute. Torah is the heart of the Jewish peopl...