Soaring enlistment of hareidi religious men bodes well for the IDF and for society in general, according to the army’s Human Resources branch director, Brigadier-General Amir Rogovski.
In the past six years, the number of hareidi soldiers has grown from 300 to 3,000, allowing them better job opportunities in the future and encouraging their integration into the general work force, Rogovski added.
“I think that the first place of tension between the hareidi religious community and general society is in the IDF,” he said. “Despite the tension, we see a lot of success, and 90 percent of the hareidi religious men who serve in the IDF enter the force after they are discharged.”
He also noted that contrary to popular opinion, most of the hareidi religious soldiers enlist under the age of 24.
Moreover, Rogovski pointed out that accusations that the IDF makes special concessions for the hareidi religious community are totally wrong when taking into consideration, it changes its standards and demands for other sectors of society.
“We also make changes for olim [new immigrants],” he said. The IDF also has special units for young men who come from broken families and also for those with criminal records.”
“I don’t hear any complaints about special conditions for them,” Rogovski said.
dweller
The violating of any commandment can be considered sinful. That said, what made not moving to Israel a sin was the opportunity to do so and not doing it. “IN A BLINK OF AN EYE”
I have so established it. Saying I haven’t with no further rebuttal of my postulate is intellectual cowardice and disingenuous on your part but I have observed that you are prone to cut and run when you can’t refute an opinion you reject.
Most Jews will agree that G-d has a redemptive plan for the Jewish people and the nations of the world. Most observant Jews and some non observant Jews believe that the Jews are the instruments, the main characters if you will in enacting the plan. That’s our purpose and thus it hardly matters how individually any of us worship Hashem. Since Sinai we are judged collectively.
At some point G-d must have decided ENOUGH and in-spite of the lack of merit of the Jews G-d has decided to end the exile. As the ultimate manipulator of history cause and effect becomes apparent mostly after the fact.
We have predictions, statements and prophesy that the Jewish people would be exiled from the land for many days (a long time) and we have others that say we will be returned. All have materialized in our lifetimes. Was our return and reestablishment of a sovereign Jewish politi after so long a product of Hashems discontent with Jewish worship? Was our miraculous victories a product of G-d’s discontent with our worship?
Finding gas and oil a sign of his discontent with our worship? In a world teetering on the brink of economic collapse; we are an Island of economic stability and even substantial growth, a sign of Hashem’s discontent with us? I commented above the following that you ignored or discounted. I repeat:
“And I will sanctify My great Name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have desecrated in the midst of them; and the nations shall know that I am the L-rd, says the L-rd G-d, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.”
Always happy to oblige (I think?).
Consider me Sancho to your Quixote.
dweller
I sometimes wait to insert attribution for the editor, two things happened I pushed post comment prematurely and my comment disappeared so it was impossible to insert after the fact. Thanks for your correction, I always look foreword and appreciate your fact checking my comments. It’s like having my own personal literary editor, I am humbled by your interest and concern.
It’s not at all clear that Moses had more than one wife.
“Nubian,” “Cushite,” etc., needn’t necessarily refer to an ethnicity/nationality.
It can just mean “dark.”
In all of Tanakh, the only wife of Moses’ who is ever NAMED is the daughter of Yitro, the Midianite priest — Tzipporah — and she was apparently dark.
But this whole essay is not yours, Yamit — but, rather, the work of the characteristically uneven “Ovadyah Shoher” (SAMSON BLINDED website).
The mere fact that you may agree with every single thing he said in the piece (however inconceivable that may be) does not relieve you of the duty to cite him when you print him.
I’ve little doubt that GOI’s been prepping for this for a couple of years now (probably longer).
Obviously BHO is going to have make a decision of his own pretty damned soon too.
When US leaves Iraq (whatever that leaving will consist of), there will be nothing standing between Iran & the Mediterranean; nothing betw Iran & Lebanon, nothing betw Iran & Sunni Sa’udia, nothing betw Iran & Sunni Jordan.
Actually, nothing betw Iran & Sunni Egypt (well, nothing except Jewish Israel).
But have you heard of female IDF soldiers captured in wartime?
I’m telling you, Bland, that if they are captured, it will be gruesome and deadly for women, given an Arabo-Islamic enemy.
The latter will take out on these women not only his accumulated resentment against Israeli refusal to continue the historic dhimmi-Jew relationship with Islam, but also his extended adolescent resentment of Israeli women taking to the battlefield (pushing their way into the “boys-only” treehouse).
This in addition to all the other resentments, petty or gross, that he has ever harbored against any of the women in his own life.
Yes. Captured IDF men face horrific treatment. Arabs are big on torture.
And I don’t mean “water-boarding” — I mean torture.
The deliberate application of pain. Physical pain.
Torture as Noah Webster defined it.
And not just torture for coercion.
Torture as punishment.
Torture for the sheer pleasure of the torturer.
It’s always been an integral part of the Arab way of combat, and of life.
In the Israel War of Independence, Bland, ammo among those on the Jewish side was often in very scarce supply — every shot had to count — however (and though it’s rarely acknowledged openly), a lot of guys made a regular practice of always saving one bullet
— to avoid capture.
But not because they suspected any likelhood of being raped to death.
With this enemy, I have no doubt that this is INDEED what an Israeli woman soldier faces.
And, with all due respect, I do not think I’m being ‘sensationalist.’
1. I suggest you investigate the draft dodging rate and numbers of the Israeli left. You will be surprised – not pleasantly.
2. Plenty here don’t give otherwise Torah observant draft dodgers a pass.
3. At the end of the day, much of the most highly motivated in the IDF are Torah observant Jews, from all walks of life. This has really been getting under the skin of the self-loathing Israeli elite, who have no choice but to start letting in more observant Jews into higher officer ranks than ever before.
Dweller,
I think you are being sensationalist. I have actually never heard of a female IDF soldier being raped, though I imagine it has happened during wartime (a girl was raped and killed in the movie “Exodus” — which was fiction, but based on reality). As for the IDF men, you only need to see the pictures of those hapless soldiers who took a wrong turn into Ramalla and were disembowelled and had their eyes put out, then were mutilated while still alive and tossed out the window to cheering Arabs who, I am told, proceeded to eat them.
If a woman is to learn to protect herself from attack by men, either in combat or in the street, there is no better place than the military. Before I went into the military, I was not so hot as a street fighter. By the end of basic training, I was a trained killer.
Neither my wife nor my children (one girl, one boy) have ever been in the military. I told them at a young age, long before I knew beans about Judaism, that if they found the need to join the military, they should join the IDF. If they had to fight, I reckoned, I wanted them to be on the right side.
Most of my family line, clear through the U. S. Civil War, were in the military, usually as officers. During WWI, one of my grandparents was Austrian-American (He registered for the draft, but probably did not serve because of his nationality) and the other was fifty years old. In WWII, my father appeared several times to get drafted, but his boss always got there ahead of him and had him exempted (He was an electrician at a factory that made battleship engines, etc.). I enlisted during the Vietnam War, and was not deployed in my MOS as a linguist. Up until the Civil war, where my great-grandparents fought at Shiloh and Petersburg, fighting in a war literally meant fighting in your own back yard. Even during the American Revolution, my ancestors fought against the Indians — my white ancestors, that is — except one that was a spy for the British and worked to arrange a parlay between Burgoyne and Ethan Allen. Other ancestors were Indians. For all of them, war was a matter of protecting your own family against immediate danger. EVERY war Israel fights is of this nature, which is why the Haredim should put aside their pie-in-the-sky religion, come down to reality, and make sure their wives and children are protected. I don’t give a damn what their halacha says.
Good, dweller.
Hey, how come everyone’s clicking on these religious posts? Israel’s in a real tight spot just now. Netanyahu needs to make a decision quickly about attacking Iran, and has to do it with the assurance that the US will DEFINITELY NOT (Read Panetta’s lips) back her nor clean up after her.
Washington (read, “Obama”) is really sticking his head out here. Iran will certainly attack Israel through its surrogates HAMAS and Hizbullah, and possibly also Syria. I have every confidence that Israel can make quick work of them when they do, and that Obama has nothing to fear here. What Obama DOES have to be concerned about, is protecting US assets in the Persian Gulf. His refusing to help Israel, and Israel’s consequent need of going it alone, will cost him dearly when the Iranians take out their anti-Jewish ire on him. This is really important stuff to me. These pointless squabblings about religion, you can keep; but this seems to be the only place I can find people to talk to.
Not so.
They might rape a man, to humiliate & ’emasculate’ him, etc.
But unlike a woman, he wouldn’t be subjected to repeated & continual rapings.
If he were, what would that say about the sexuality of the “rapers“?
Islam takes a dim view of homosexuality.
That doesn’t mean the religion isn’t plagued by faggotry — only that it’s not out in the open
— and REPEATED rapings by an Islamic enemy force couldn’t occur except out in the open.
I’m never sensational, Bland.
I do make a point of being frank. And down-to-earth when necessary.
It’s a mistake to leave people to their illusions — at least until you’re sure they’re determined to cling to them, and are not just the unconscious victims of custom & familiarity.
Regrettably, yes.
Agreed, 100 percent — if they can be trained as well. (There’s nothing more dangerous — to himself or his friends/family — than an armed ignoramus, male OR female.)
However, if you’ll re-read the sequence, it will be evident that the comment of yours to which I was specifically responding pertained expressly to women in the military:
“IDF women are better equipped for fighting, and more difficult to rape….”
And it is specifically female soldiers who, upon capture, are most likely to be treated as field whores — until they’re. . . . “all used up.”
I noted that. Didn’t suggest that you did.
Their failure to uproot themselves & relocate to Eretz when the time was right was myopic & imprudent — and ultimately catastrophic.
To call it ‘sinful,’ however, just sounds to me like another Yamit stretch. (With a bit of Torquemada ever-watching from the wings.)
Sorry, but I don’t think we can discern such ‘intent’ — from either comment.
If there IS indeed a ’cause-&-effect relation’ — between the Almighty’s ‘discontent’ with Jewish worship on the one hand, and your “1/3, 1/3, 1/3” scenario [above] on the other — then you’ve yet to establish it.
Why is it low. Michele Nevada is a great writer married to a very jewish orthodox rabbi and her sons have served in the IDF. I believe they will eventually make aliyah and her opinions are mostly mine except she says it better but if you want to know where I differ? I would cut you all off of public funds. I think it quite immoral on your part to accept money mainly from those you despise, refuse to support or defend.
“By the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread”
2 Suggestions 1- Study Tanach 2- Study Jewish history. Your opinions re: our Biblical fore-bearers have little relation to fact or the narratives of Tanach. What we have today re: Jewish unity, Torah learning is as good and better than it’s ever been.
The last thing Moses was commanded to do before retiring from this world was to exterminate the Midianites. Hebrew relations with the Midians were uneasy: Moses took a wife from among them and recorded Jewish laws on the advice of his father-in-law, a pagan priest. The Jewish attitude toward the Midian wife, Zipporah, was negative: Moses had to send her away before embarking on the Exodus mission. Likewise, Moses’ family rejected his other wife, a Nubian. His children by Zipporah did not inherit his authority and do not figure prominently in the Tanakhic chronicles. Even converted gentile women were not good enough for Jewish leaders.
There was a continuous intermingling between Jews and Midians. Some Midians lived among Jews and were so intimate that Moses refused to let them go, lest they reveal significant military information to enemies. Many Jewish men had relations with Midian women, prompting Pinchas to assassinate one of them along with his Midian wife. Pinchas’ action, the murder of a nice interfaith family, earned him eternal blessing from G-d himself.
why were the Midians singled out for prosecution? By this time, Jews had plenty of violent enemies, and the Midians were friendly to the point of readiness to intermingle. It is this intermingling that the Jews were commanded to avenge. Not surprisingly, the genocide was made Moses’ business: he had started interfaith relations with Midians by marrying Zipporah, and he had to expiate his sin by killing his unsuspecting relatives. The sin of interfaith marriage was great: when Moses did not abandon his pagan wife immediately after hearing God speaking from the burning bush, G-d sought to kill him in desert, and savvy Zipporah averted divine wrath by circumcising their child.
The transgression was Jewish, so why kill the Midians? Here lies a concept of immense importance for modern Israel: Other nations are exterminated for their transgressions, but not Jews. The Torah is explicit that the Canaanites lost their land because of their transgressions, but Jews would return there after having been dispersed. The Exile has ended and Israel reestablished not because of Jews’ merits—we don’t merit that much—but only because G-d has a purpose for Jews. We’re his instrument. He realizes his divine plans through us. Whatever happens to our enemies is not for our sake, but for his. On that, I believe, Satmar is wrong: even ruled by crooks and socialists, Israel is not an accident, but a part of the divine plan laid out in prophecies.
The participation of Levites indicates that the affair was a slam-dunk—Hebrews did not normally risk their priests. The fighting was lopsided: the Jews numbered more than 600,000 males, but thought it enough to send just a 12,000-strong mob against the Midians. Not a single Jew was killed in the expedition, but among the prisoners were 32,000 virgins. Evidently, the Midians were a large and peaceful nation exterminated by the Jews on G-d’s order. As if the genocide was not enough, Moses lashed out against the Jews: “How dare you to leave all women alive?… Now kill all the male children, and every woman who knew a husband.” Still, the Torah calls Moses “the humblest man”.
The angles story is a nice midrash but it is still midrash.
I can make a case that most Haredim and their Rabbanim are as atheist and lacking in values as the IDF you mention.
Remember for example that no Jew should be a burden on their community unless of course they have a physical or medical disability.
I seem to recall the students of R Akiva fighting and dying for the cause of Judaism. Some 20,000 I believe and they had no problem with fighting and studying.
When fighting a defensive war even against terrorism it is a Obligatory War (Milhemet Mitzvah) a war in which Jews are commanded to fight. G-d commanded the Israelites to fight wars in Biblical times. Obligatory wars also include defensive wars. When the Jewish nation is threatened, Judaism permits a war to be fought in self defense. Self-defense can include a making a pre-emptive attack when anticipating an upcoming attack by an enemy. Some Biblical commentaries state that any capture of the land of Israel is reason to wage an obligatory war.
In a Milhemet Mitzvah no able bodied male is exempt.
Halacha 14 Din Rodef:
Whenever a person can save another person’s life, but he fails to do so, he transgresses a negative commandment, as Leviticus 19:16 states: “Do not stand idly by while your brother’s blood is at stake.”
It is possible to pray and fight at the same time.
Eitan, thank you for your response. I cannot find fault in anything you write. I do see a middle ground where more Haredim in the IDF have the potential to transform it to what we want it to ultimately be, just as more Orthodox Jews making aliyah would go a great deal towards helping to shape the entire country. Anyway, keep up the good work!
I have never heard of the post-Zionists that you refer to. If you mean the leftist zionists, they haven’t changed, and I would like to correct you, they don’t want do destroy Israel, they want to take it over from the “religious nationalists” that you refer to, and eradicate all signs of religion as stated in HaTikvah “To be a free nation in our land”
The “Truest of all Jews” in your opinion of course.
A rebellion is very unlike in the current situation. For that to happen something very drastic must occur. The soldiers serving in the military are to idealistic for that to happen. The IDF invests a lot in imbuing it’s soldiers with “Values”. Unfortunately, most people buy everything they say. In my opinion, they lead largely atheistic lives greatly lacking values which the IDF happily fills.
I continue dweller. Let’s see what matters to G-d. Judaism is based as no other religion or ideology on national revelation. We trace our ethnic lineage through Abraham and through Jacob specifically. What then was G-d’s first command to Abraham?
Lech Lecha:
The Lord said to Abram, Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
Not Shabat, kashrut, nothing except pick up and go to where G-d has directed and Chosen for the Family of Abraham/jacob to live. Nowhere else.
The perfection of the Nation of Israel, in its physical body, and in its observance of Torah and mitzvoth, develops and steadily reaches completion. Not in one day, but little by little. “May our eyes behold Thy return in mercy to Zion. Blessed art Thou, O L-rd, who restores Thy Divine presence to Zion.”
The Shechinah is returning to Zion more and more each day. With every Jew who arrives, with every new house that is built, with every new settlement, and factory, and acre of farmland, the Divine Presence is returning to Zion. We only need to open our eyes and see it!
36:19 and I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries; according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.
36:20 And when they came unto the nations, whither they came, they profaned My holy name; in that men said of them: These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of His land.
36:21 But I had pity for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations, whither they came.
36:22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel: Thus saith the L-rd GOD: I do not this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name, which ye have profaned among the nations, whither ye came.
How? How does Hashem erase the terrible desecration of His Name and Chillul Hashem of the exile, where the gentiles see the Jews as weak minorities in foreign lands, instead of their being a strong independent Jewish Nation in the Land that G-d gave them, as if G-d is too weak to bring them there, or doesn’t exist all together?
“And I will sanctify My great Name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have desecrated in the midst of them; and the nations shall know that I am the L-rd, says the L-rd G-d, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.”
I think it is safe to assume that among the nearly 7 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust were many many observant and pious Jews including many Hareidim. Their ritual piety didn’t save them from the collective punishment on most of European Jewry.
“Up, up! Flee from the land of the north,” says the LORD; “for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven,” says the LORD. “Up, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.” Zack 2:6
‘Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east And from the land of the west;
I will bring them back, And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people
And I will be their God, In truth and righteousness.’ Zechariah 8:7-8
The generation of the Exodus likewise died before entering the Promised Land.
European Jews committed the incredible sin of refusing to move to the Promised Land as soon as they had an opportunity in the early twentieth century. They posed a tremendous threat to Judaism, they perverted the Torah centered on the Holy Land, and made it into a bunch of petty rituals and arcane knowledge which could comfortably be practiced in the Exile. Judaism is the Jewish way of life, and that includes Jewish statehood, Jewish army, and Jewish isolation; but they made Judaism into a religion, and you can observe it in Boro Park today.
The perversion had to be removed. I understand all that. G-d is undoubtedly wise and acted correctly—but he is not merciful, as the generation of the Holocaust can testify.
I think we might discern G-d’s intent from what I have expressed here and the comment precedeing this of mine.
The IDF and American militaries:
The IDF was first composed of atheistic nationalist Israeli “Jews” (the original Zionists). The officer corps was drawn from the kibbutzim (militant communist nationalists living in collective farms). Over time, these original Zionists transformed into liberal “post-Zionists”, who believe that ultimately, Jewish Israel was born in sin and is illegitimate. The “post-Zionists” now stay in Jewish Israel in order to help destroy it from within, in full collaboration with the Jew-hating gentiles outside of Israel.
The post-Zionists now hate the IDF, and enlist as little as possible. Their ranks within the enlisted men has been taken over by the Religious Nationalists (the truest of all Jews), who are are now over-represented in the enlisted ranks. In contrast, the officers (as in America) choose their own successors. Thus, the officer corps of the IDF consists more and more of atheistic Jew-hating leftist “Jews”, who think the settlers and the Haredim are the real enemy, and not the muslims.
This is an unstable situation. It is unlikely to end in a rebellion, since the numbers of the Israeli left are shrinking, while the Israeli right are growing. It is only Netanyahu who maintains the current status quo (using Ehud Barak as his assistant). But Netanyahu’s government, in the end, is a transitional one, and will be replaced by more truly Jewish governments in the near future.
The American military has its own dynamic. Since it is a “volunteer” army with no draft, it flies under the radar of the dominant liberal media, who do not care as long as white liberal college kids are not forcibly drafted.
The officer corps has always been composed of white christian conservative males, with a few token non-whites and women. The top echelon of these officers is now completely political, with their main function being to please the civilian leaders and keep the military budget high.
The enlisted men used to be over-represented by blacks, because the military offered them better career prospects than in civilian society. This has now taken an interesting turn. Blacks have turned their backs on the military, because they feel that America is fighting a “white man’s war” against the colored muslim people of Iraq and Afghanistan. Their place has now been taken by white guys who have been put out of work by the new American economy. They are generally young whites from rural America and small cities, who barely graduated high school and have no job prospects, and older (25-40) white guys who lost their civilian jobs and need to support their families. Theirs are the photos you now see showing the soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I never said Nixon was excommunicated.
They also “do” the men until they’re dead, digger. Don’t get sensational. All of Israel is on the front lines in any war — men, women and children. I see nothing wrong in arming the women so they can protect themselves and others.
Unlike every other nation the history of the Jewish people was written before the events actually take place. The Torah clearly predicted the exile and return of the Jewish people
But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to My people Israel; for they are at hand to come.
36:9 For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown;
and I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited, and the waste places shall be builded;
and I will multiply upon you man and beast, and they shall increase and be fruitful; and I will cause you to be inhabited after your former estate, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel, and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance; and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of children. Ezek. 36:8-12
Amos 9:14 And I will turn the captivity of My people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
Amos 9:15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.
G-d’s promise to the Jewish people:
Jeremiah 31:35-36 31:35 Thus saith the Lord, Who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirreth up the sea, that the waves thereof roar, the Lord of hosts is His name:
31:36 If these ordinances depart from before Me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me for ever.
The creation of modern Israel was an event foretold by the prophets. The gathering of Israel is linked to the time when G-d will judge the nations. I submit that the key element in G-d’s redemptive plan for the Jewish people and the nations of the world is the in-gathering, which is taking place now. I submit that just as G-d used the Gentile Moshiach Cyrus so G-d uses non observant Jews who returned to the land and developed the infrastructure and fought our wars of survival.
Israel, for the Jew today, is G-d comforting His people. “Comfort ye, My people.” It is that miracle which gives us hope for our future after enduring such a long and dark past. As the prophets say, “For there is hope for thy future, and the children shall return to their borders.”
I maintain that there are two mitzvot that override all others. 1- Yishuv Eretz Yisrael and 2- Milchemet Mitzva
I will continue my thoughts later.
IDF “women” are regular 18-21 year old girls who have just finished high school. They are not especially trained like in the movies, any man could easily overpower them, the guns they carry are mainly for guard duty and rarely used, the few female combatants who are highly trained and in special units are very small in number and do not any any way reflect on the majority of women in the army. Most women in the army have desk jobs like secretaries and such, things that involve paper work. If she was captured, she’s probably be raped in my opinion, but I don’t think that they would kill her. They would probably use her as leverage in bargaining for prisoners like Gilad Shalit.
All in all women were not made to be warriors, not physically, mentally or emotionally.
The Torah states that it is “a man’s way to conquer and not a woman’s”
Very often do I see a female soldier with an intimidating gun twirling her hair chewing bubble gum and talking on the phone, sort of contradictory in my opinion.
Many women in Judea and Samaria are gun trained and often pack a piece around with them.
Not the same as being drafted in the army and taking on the role of soldier/warrior.
If women are G-d forbid raped in their homes, the defense has already rotted.
Not that difficult, once they’re captured.
And it wouldn’t be a one-shot deal, Bland, by one guy.
They’d “do” her till she was dead.
In Bible wars, the men fought and the women got raped. IDF women are better equipped for fighting, and more difficult to rape. If it were my wife, I’d rather see her toting a gun and killing enemy, than tending the home and getting ravaged. Of course, I never got a halachic ruling on the matter.
With regards to women serving in the army the Torah is completely against it. A woman’s domain is her home. Her responsibility is her family she creates a warm and caring environment for her husband and children. Send women to the army is a waste and is disrespectful to women’s role in the world.
My intention was such that if the IDF be unwilling to release women from duty, at least segregate the men from the women to conform to the Halachic standards of modesty.
And of course in no Jewish scripture EVER will you EVER EVER find that women had anything to do with the military for reasons that have been aforementioned by myself and others.
So obviously I am very against the idea.
Great education in the opinions and comments. Other than the nasty comments there is. Lot of history and torah here. Keep it up. This is what I love about blogs. When written with intelligence., we can learn a lot.
Where the army is concerned, the only conceivably “complete” separation of men & women is to keep women out of combat entirely , if that’s possible
(as I’m sure you realize what happens to women who are captured by the enemy).
Is that the “complete separation” you propose?
You’ve stated some facts.
If, however, we are to understand that as a message, then all you have to do, Yamit, is establish a clear cut, cause-&-effect relation between those facts and the proposition, as Alexander Kogan questioned it, that “Hashem is unhappy with the way that we choose to worship and honor Him.”
Rotsa ruck.
Please refrain from comparing the IDF to the army of the Jewish people during the period of the Bible, as they have two little in common. The army of which you refer to was an army of God, which means that there was complete and utter fulfillment of all Torah obligation and that the army was lead by Torah Sages. Both of which are COMPLETELY non-existent in the IDF. Even if you’re a religious soldier in the IDF it is EXTREMELY difficult to fulfill your religious obligations in the army due to the simple fact that the values that are held by the IDF are in now way connected to our religion. Again I will remind you that the IDF like the organization that governs it is Zionist, this means that their proclaimed goal is to have a secular “Jewish state” which to any normal Jew I would think would be a completely absurd idea. The fact is that the people running this country are anti-God have taken over ideologically, they have tricked the large bulk of the people into thinking that the tiny tidbits of religion that they toss down once in a while is what Judaism is all about.
Not enough people know about the battle of Midyan. This is a battle that took place in the Bible, the Talmud explains that three equal forces were sent into the battle. 12000 were combatants, pure fighters. 12000 were supporters (providing food and water and such). And finally 12000 were sent to learn Torah simultaneously. We must understand, just as the battle takes place here before our eyes, a battle takes place in the heavens as well, between our angels and the angels of the other nations. The sum of combatants must be equal to the sum of those who learn Torah. Our perspective must be the exact opposite, we must try to keep the Hareidim out of the military and in the yeshiva. Both reasons as were stated, because of the extreme religious difficulties and because of the true nature of the battles that we fight.
If someone does not agree with what I just said, then it’s a simple matter of educating yourself with what Jewish scripture has to say.
You should also be aware that there is a very common opinion among Jews/Israelis that all religious people should join the army, therefore making it a completely religious ,military. The good intentions that people have are naive and insufficient. It is illogical to ask someone to join a group of people that are completely against his own set of values with the hope that they will be forced to change and be considerate of those values.
I would be one to know, myself an IDF soldier, the amount of religion in the army the is there by external force alone, and the army only permits it in order for the orthodox to stop complaining and making problems. Many things that have to do with basic religious principles are blatantly ignored even after requests are made, you must “make a fuss” to get anything in the army, religion included.
Lastly, I think that it is a bit low to copy and paste someone else’s opinion, and would appreciate you taking the time to write your own(no disrespect intended).
One last thing, with regards to the IDF giving yeshiva students delay of duty, if the IDF wanted to draft all of them they could, it is the governments decision that they be exempt of service as long as they learn, why do you suddenly not respect their decision?
Believe me my friends, when the army respects the religion by making complete separation for men and women, proper consideration of all things integral to Judaism, the Hareidim will be the first to jump in just like yamit said.
Until then they will be charged with protecting the spirituality of the Jewish nation
Be well.
As I believe I alerted you on an earlier occasion, Bland, there are TWO branches of Quakerism:
A. “Meeting” Quakers
B. “Church” Quakers
Only the Meeting Quakers are pacifists.
So military service on the part of Church Quakers would have no bearing on any policy of excommunication (for that reason anyway).
The Nixons were not Meeting Quakers, but Church Quakers.
Jewish Israel News
http://israeljewishnews.blogspot.com/2009/06/mitzvah-of-military-service.html
The Torah also makes clear that serving to protect and defend the people of Israel is equated with loyalty to G-d. For example, when the tribes of Gad, Reuven and half of Menashe wanted to settle east of the Jordan river, Moshe rebukes them because he thinks they are trying to avoid military service:
Moshe answered the descendants of Gad and Reuven saying: shall your brothers go to war while you remain here? (Numbers 32:6).
He goes on to equate the possible avoidance of military service with turning against G-d. He accuses them of being no better than the spies who forced the people to wander for 40 years in the desert:
Now behold you have risen up in the place of your fathers, a brood of transgressors, to bring even more of God’s wrath upon Israel. If you turn away from Him, He will leave us in the wilderness and you will have destroyed this whole people (Numbers 32: 15)
Moshe is not satisfied until he extracts a promise from the tribes of Gad, Reuven and half of Menashe that they will serve in war against Israel’s enemies.
Unfortunately, many of our current scholars have remembered the lesson that Israel needs scholars, and have forgotten the lesson that failing to defend our nation is equal to the sin of the spies.
Right now there are far too many young men studying in yeshiva in lieu of serving in the IDF, and I don’t believe that all of them are needed in that capacity. Right now, over 50,000 students are exempt from military service—an unprecedented number and one clearly out of sync with the importance of military service in the history of our Nation.
I admit, there are some young men who excel so greatly at the study of Torah that one minute spent away from the study hall would be a terrible loss to our nation. But, let’s be honest, not every young man who sits down with a book has the capacity, the intellect, or the drive to become a Torah Giant. If most of the Hareidim would serve in the IDF, they would transform the the military into a truly Jewish army. Most important, the Haredim would receive needed training in the planning, implementation, and execution of modern military operations including the use of modern weapons, weapons systems, aircraft, and naval vessels. These skills are essential. Without this training, the religious sector doesn’t have a chance of succeeding to secure Israel against the mounting international pressure to surrender our holy sites, our land, and our heritage to our enemies.
Although many Haredim may think that military training is somehow beneath them or would somehow infect them with unholiness (although it was never beneath our Patriarchs, Prophets, and Sages), they need this training desperately. They may not know it yet, but once they are trained, they will thank Hashm from the center of their souls for the opportunity to participate in the protection of our Holy Land.
Forgot to write this bit of information:
Before the era of the “Enlightenment” mainstream Judaism was “Hareidim” they may have dressed differently depending on when and where they were from, but ideologically they were united. This was the same tradition and set of values that was received by each generation by the one before it way back until Abraham.
I didn’t even read the entire thread, but from the few posts that I did read (not going to quote anyone) I was quite sickened by some Jews’ opinions about their own religion.
For everyone’s information: The Jewish people have been around for nearly 4000 years and been through so many different wars, temples, exiles, persecutions, false messiahs and so on… My point is very simple, the only people who hold on to the original Jewish traditions are the “Hareidim”, believe it or not. Don’t forget the world’s two most dominant religions are offshoots of Judaism (Christianity and later Islam). Even within the religion to this very day there are many cult-like sects that have been created due to the immense confusion of the past century, which up until then the Jews were relatively united idealogically. The Holocaust and the Zionist movement then came and wiped out the European Jews (physically the Nazis and spiritually the Zionists) and then with the establishment of the state of Israel the Zionists commenced to secularize the African and Middle Eastern Jews (and succeeded almost completely). The “Hareidim” are all that’s left of the original Judaism (remnants of the different Jewish congregations who managed to survive physical slaughter and religious persecution.) so please show some respect.
With regards to some the the myths that caught my attention, Hareidim are not parasites. About 70% of them (this is not an exact figure, but is an educated estimate from someone who is actually PART OF THE HAREIDIM and knows what the hell he is talking about) actually have regular jobs and still try to devote as much time to learning Torah as they can manage, and even the ones who don’t work, do you really think that they learn Torah all day and someone drops by once a month to drop off a fat check? Trust me, no one gives away money, especially in Israel. The truth of the matter is that Hareidim learn in yeshiva for a several years until they get married, then they move on to learning in a “Kolel” which means that they get payed a MINUSCULE amount of money per month, from around 300 bucks to say 600, which is considered very good for a kolel. There are even some rare ones that will pay up to $1000 per month, which is still below minimum wage. In almost all the cases the wife takes it upon herself to support the household instead of the husband so that he may devote his time to learning Torah. It is important to not that it equally important for both the husband and wife that the husband learn Torah, which is one of the most important parts of a Jew’s lifestyle. The idea of kolel is to try and manage to stay for as long as possible to be able to learn all day. Once the couple decides that they can no longer manage with low income the cut down one kolel hours and start working to increase their income to sustain a normal family lifestyle. The pay taxes like everyone else and don’t get any special money from the government (The Ministry of religion gives around $200 per student per month, universities, and “cultural” establishments receive MUCH more and much more willingly, by the way what could be more cultural then learning your own religion??) There are a rare few who actually manage to stay in kolel their entire life. They are regular people like you or anyone else, they have emotions, they have difficulties if you cut them they bleed, they are just as smart as anyone else (statistics show that yeshiva students will achieve much higher academically than non-yeshiva students.)
Anyone who feels that they can’t relate to the or thinks that they are stupid/useless/burdensome is purely uneducated and obviously knows VERY little about their own religion.
Fellow Jews! I bid you learn about your own religion!
But be weary not not learn from reform/conservative sources as they are complete buffoons and have NOTHING to do with Judaism.
FACT: Judaism is a VERY obligating religion!(Probably the most.)
Reform and Conservative “Judaism” was created to release people from the “bonds” of religion, but the fact is that worshiping God = Obligation.
People have negative associations with obligation, but these are purely emotional and in no way cause religios obligation to be a negative thing.
As in the IDF (or any military), obligation may sometimes be uncomfortable, but a true soldier who understands the necessity of his obligation is truly proud to fulfill his duty.
The same goes for a true Jew who was properly educated and understands his purpose and it’s necessity. He will always be proud and willing to fulfill his obligations, even when they can be VERY uncomfortable.
With regards to the Bible. Ok, very simple. When interpreting any text you must pay attention to 2 things. 1)Who the source of the text is. 2) The content of the text itself.
The first issue is the source of the text. This is extremely simple. The “Bible” is a Jewish book. This means that the first people to be in possession of this book were….That’s right! The Jews! Now, that being the case, the most simple of logic would dictate that if you grant any significance to this book, then you must equally grant significance to the interpretation of the book’s provider. If you accept their book as being true how can you not accept their interpretation as being true as well? Beats me…
Jewish tradition clearly holds that the Bible written by God (by the hand of Moses) and given to Moses along with it’s interpretation to be taught to the Jewish people.
The second issue requires a bit more knowledge, but I’m willing to help out with this one a bit. There are several passages in the Bible which provide plain evidence that the Bible’s true interpretation was given to Moses and passed down to the Torah Sages through the ages. A simple example would be the passage that states “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot.” Literal interpretation of this passage of completely barbaric, the true Jewish interpretation of this passage is explained in the Talmud as monetary compensation, in other words, if you cause another person physical damage, aside from pain, medical fee, shame and unemployment (if he was forced to miss work due to injury) that you would be obligated to compensate him for, the Bible gives significance to the monetary value that was lost. For example, if you stabbed someone in the eye and blinded that eye, not only would you have to pay him for the pain that he suffered, the fee for medical treatment, the shame that he will have to suffer with having one eye mutilated, and the days that he would have to miss from work, but also, the monetary value of his eye, that’s what the Bible intended. The the “equivalent of an eye” for an “eye”.
A side note, but I feel obligated to explain this issue for those of you who do not understand. How the heck can you decide how much an eye is worth?! Even if you had all the money in the world, you couldn’t bye a new eye!! The same question goes for estimating the monetary value of a human life. Obviously, there worth of an eye or a life is something which is beyond monetary value. The Bible’s intention is a bit different than what you would naturally tend to understand. According to the Bible, a man can sell himself as a “servant”. The literal translation from Hebrew is “worker”, but is most commonly translated as “slave”. The Bible’s definition of a “servant” is completely different from the common notion of a “slave”. According to the Bible, a “servant” is a regular respectable human being, Jewish, or non-Jewish, you don’t beat him starve him or kill him, these things are complete transgressions and against the basic principles of Judaism, it is considered murder like any other person. The only difference is that a servant’s “service” belongs to his “master”, in return his master is obligated to provide for him proper food clothing and shelter. Even when/if he releases him, he must grant him with special parting gifts. What belongs to the “master” is the “servitude”, that is, the servant’s obligation to serve. It can be sold like anything else that has monetary value, physical objects or services.
Now to the point. Every person has monetary value as a servant, which is how much people would be willing to pay for the servitude of such a person. Now if for example this person had one eye, his servitude would obviously be worth much less. The difference between a two eyed servant and a one eyed servant would be considered the value of and eye and that’s the damage that you would be obligated to pay some if you blinded their eye (Obviously in addition to all of the other compensations stated above.)
In response to another comment which was made regarding American Jewry, well over 85% of American Jews are subject to non-Jewish assimilation. With that being said, one person’s personal experience does not necessarily reflect that of the majority. In addition, every family is different, and even within every family every person is different.
Our Sages teach us “As their faces differ from one and other, so do their opinions.”
With regards to figures standing between God and the Jews, I find this opposite of the truth. In reality, the Sages/Rabbis’ task is to bring the people closer to God. If there is someone who thinks they can do it on their own they are gravely mistaken. It is true that any Jew in any situation is always close to God and God will always hear his prayers, even gentiles, but obviously being close to God doesn’t end there. To become close to God you must strive to fulfill his will, even if not always successfully, but at the very least try your best and God accepts it completely. In order to do this though, you must be properly educated to what God’s will is! I can tell you, the Torah is EXTREMELY VAST!! You must learn for many years to know and properly understand all the commandments that you are obligated to fulfill. So until you get there you have the rabbi, who’s already got there, to help you out.
In conclusion, we Jews tend to squabble and argue among ourselves who’s right and who’s wrong. All of our history is full of it, even the Hareidim themselves have many different groups and disagreements within. This is not a good thing for us. Let’s decide not argue and spew contempt at each other, but rather discuss together, review, and educate one and other.
Thank you for taking the time to read my opinion.
God bless you.
P.S. If anyone has any questions I would be more than happy to answer them: eitanprezes@gmail.com
FIFY
“Strangler in the swamps” was one of my favorites. Truly a classic of it’s genre. You are blessed in having such a classic film.
Well if you want a clear message from Hashem think about this. 1/3 of world Jewry was murdered in the Holocaust, 1/3 on the way to extinction through assimilation, 1/3 of world Jewry now living in Israel.
We Jump to good ole Zachariah (the Prophet) He spoke the words of G-d at least that’s what all believing Jews and Christians believe and he said in the name of Hashem;
“The first redemption was that from Egypt; the second, the redemption of Ezra. The third will never end” (Tanhuma, Shoftim 9).
Now what exactly do you disagree with Fistel? You are correct we don’t have Pope, or High Priest, nor Reverend, to stand between Jews and Hashem, we have Tanach to guide us and some learned rabbis to help in guiding and understanding. Your apparent umbrage says it all.
I say American Jewry’s days are numbered. The exile will end either by Jews coming to Israel or they will die out.
I loved it too, opensoc. I write the way I do mainly to please myself. Bu if I can induce an occasional chuckle from somebody else, I get even more jollies.
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
Thank you to Samuel for the interesting and informative comments. The Herdim, it seems, are an important human resource that can be an integral part of Israel’s future if their rabbis see the light of Israel. I am hopeful.
Yeah, Alex. I picked up on that. I attended a Conservative synagogue for a year, and loved it! The rabbi was very learned and pious; but the women in the congregation, English speakers all, used to call out corrections whenever he mispronounced a Hebrew word in his very fast chanting. These were not Torah-ignorant people; they were very much on the ball.
I let loose with both barrels in my comments about Jews on Israpundit, and expect to hear no end of criticism. Much of it will be deserved; but I think I am justified in attacking the fact that the “standard” they hold up of “real Judaism” is nothing but an impractical mockery of Torah. I personally don’t hold to the Orthodox, Traditional or Reform interpretations of scripture, nor to the Christian, Mormon, Jehovah’s Witness, etc. interpretations. I hold to the scriptures themselves — which some understand better, some worse than others. The Bible isn’t a book of theory: it’s a book of the most practical instruction in the world; and if a group of people claim to be following the Bible, yet their lives read like the wisdom of Chelm, I would say their understanding of scripture is fundamentally flawed.
Please forgive me for being so blunt. I was expressing my sincere impression, however unflattering; and trying to look at things objectively. It just strikes me strange that a blog such as Israpundit, which is so quick to call ordinary people such bestial things, ignores such an obvious eyesore in the very heart of Jewish religion and society. Very few Jews are Haredim, even with their rabbit-like birthrate (They have a large back door, which compensates for this); yet the Haredi interpretation of scripture, which is so glaringly ridiculous when acted out in these people, is held up as the standard of Torah by even irreligious Jews. To their credit, the Jewish people have found a way to accomodate this behavior. They are leeching off of each other, not off the rest of the world, so they do not deserve condemnation. They certainly do present a spectacle, though!
Mr. Fistel’s comment that “In America, we have Conservative and Reform Jews. They believe that the Torah is man-made, at least in part. They believe that Judaism is nothing special, and that all religions are essentially equal and interchangeable. They are less than real Jews. Their children and grandchildren eventually assimilate and are cut off from the Jewish people (“karet”).” I am Jewish, and was born in the United States, as were my wife, children, and grandchildren. I don’t even know any Jews who feel the way he says that we feel. In its own way, his comment is as bigoted as anything that has been flung at us by non-Jews for centuries. The great joy of Judiasm is that there is no Pope, or High Priest, or Reverend, to stand between Jews and Hashem; if Hashem is unhappy with the way that we choose to worship and honor Him, I assume that he could let us know directly; I do not accept that he has delegated the task to Mr. Fistel. I suggest that he look up the meaning of “Chutzpah” since he has so much of it.
If the Haredim represent some 20% of Israelis, and they are pulling their weight in IDF participation, then (with 3000 Haredim in the IDF) the IDF must have only 15,000 officers and men. Wikipedia says there are 187,000 on active duty, so it seems the Haredim are pulling only 8% of their responsibility. True, this is an improvement over the 300 or 0.8% a few years ago; but it beats me why any supporter of the Haredim would want to crow about this. The Haredim are parasites, to a FAR greater degree than any social group or political idealogy in the US. I would even imagine that the Quakers even have a higher participation rate in the US armed forces than the Haredim; and Quakers, the latest I heard, are excommunicated when they join the military. Predident Nixon was a Quaker who became a U S Navy officer.
In terms of fighting for their country, I would say that the “Left” deserves FAR more praise than these “ultra-Orthodox”, or Haredim, yet most Israpunditers give the Haredim a pass while passing scathing judgement upon the Israeli Left. I am not a leftist, but I believe in giving credit where credit is due. Sam also mentioned the fact that it was the Left that, by and large, founded the modern State of Israel, AGAINST STRONG HAREDI OPPOSITION. Pardon my French, but, unless someone can convince me otherwise, What a worthless bunch of black turds!
The only thing in Christendom that I can compare the Haredim to, is the monastic orders. There are some major differences between the two groups:
1. The Haredim are committed to eternal study. The monastic orders were committed to some degree to prayer, chanting, etc., but also to teaching, helping the sick, etc. Europe can thank the orders for not only preserving literacy among a barbarized people, but laying the groundwork for the institution of hospitals and even of modern science.
2. The orders were celibate, whereas the Haredim are a baby factory. It’s curious, that having government-dependent families is praised here when the Haredis do it, but condemened when anyone else does it. Am I criticizing? Of course not! Just curious.
I am not at all amazed at the existence of religious societies in Israel such as the Haredi cults; and I don’t believe they deserve special criticism. That said, it reveals a real oddity of Jewish society, that they continue to carry on as they do. Their parasitic behavior is not commendable by any standard. They are not preserving the “World of Torah”, but instead perpetuating a “World of Impractical, Non-Torah Fantasy” that actually mocks the word of God; but they are treated by Jews the way Therevada Buddhist monks are treated by the deluded, superstitious populations of Southeast Asia. In this, it’s not these “Jewish monks” who amaze me, but the rest of Jewish society. Again, I am not complaining; just amazed — It is peculiar, very peculiar.
loved it, Arnold !
How did enlistees/draftees from the religious community deal with orders to deploy during — and assist with — the Gaza & No. Shomron evacuations?
Admirably told from a hareidi perspective.
However, there is NO group which isn’t subject to its own forms of “psychological defense mechanisms.”
And that includes the hareidim.
A policy characterized by “complete acceptance of the word of the group’s chief rabbi” AND “complete obedience to Torah law as determined by that rabbi (each group’s rabbi is considered to be a kind of ‘pope’) rather amply fits the classic definition of a CULT.
Rebellion & Conformity: two horns on the same goat.
The Phoenician dye may well have come from snails, but their ‘non-kosherness’ was quite beside the point, as they weren’t being ingested for food.
In the same way, a HORSE is not ‘kosher’ either when considered for food. But for its value as a means of personal transportation, as a means of pulling plow or as a general beast of burden its ‘non-kosherness’ is irrelevant.
As Tevye the milkman said, “We always keep our heads covered and we wear little prayer shawls. This shows our constant devotion to God. You may ask, “How did this tradition get started? I’ll tell you. I don’t know. But because of our traditions everyone knows he is and what God expects him to do.”
I have a camouflage colored kippa. Wearing a kippa does not come from the Torah. It is a “long established custom which has attained the status of a rabbinic law”. Kippa comes from the Hebrew word for the palm of your hand. The yiddish word yarmulke comes from aramaic, and means respect (fear, awe) for the King, reflecting an ancient custom that you covered your head when in the presence of the King (whose own head remained uncovered).
Tzitzit is different. It comes straight from the Torah. But it only applies to garments with four distinct corners, which were routinely worn in ancient times, but are no longer worn now. So technically, if you are not wearing any garment that has four distinct corners, then you don’t have to display any tzitzit, but it again has become a “long established custom which has attained the status of rabbinic law.”
This is even more fascinating: according to the Torah, tzitzit must include at least one thread which is a variant of blue called “t’khaylet” in Hebrew. The dye which produced this color was made from the shells of (non-kosher) snails(?) found at the seashore of Israel and Lebanon. The Roman emperors used it to color their clothes (imperial purple). We Jews used a secret formula which was known only to a few privileged families. These families were killed off at the time of the Babylonian exile, and the formula used to produce the color was lost. The rabbis decided that it was the will of HaShem that the knowledge should be lost, and that from then on only white fringes would be used, with no blue one.
Tzitzit is the Jewish equivalent of remembering something by tying a string around your finger. If a Jew is thinking of doing something bad, he is supposed to look at his tzitzit and remember that HaShem is watching. The saying is that “it is hard for someone wearing tzitzit to go out and rob a bank”.
All these things come into play when you try to figure out: What does it mean to be Jewish? How Jewish am I? Is Judaism the actual word of G-d?
I don’t really care if they drape themselves head to toe in black wool garments in the middle of an Israeli summer day.
What I do care about, and it pleases me greatly, is that ha-Shem seems be telling them to put on a Zahal uniform, pick up an assault rifle, learn how to expertly explode the head of some appropriate Arab target a couple of hundred meters downrange, then get under cover in a split second so that the Arab’s buddies don’t pull the same trick on him. Go get ’em, Jewish Quakers!
By the way. Is there any halachic restriction against them wearing camouflage-color tzitzit?
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
Haredim and who is a Jew:
There are “real Jews” and “less than real Jews”. Real Jews believe that the Jewish G-d created the universe from nothing, and chose the Jews as to be the recipient of His Word (the Torah). Real Jews have children and grandchildren who remain real Jews, whether in Israel or elsewhere (“outside the land”).
In America, we have Conservative and Reform Jews. They believe that the Torah is man-made, at least in part. They believe that Judaism is nothing special, and that all religions are essentially equal and interchangeable. They are less than real Jews. Their children and grandchildren eventually assimilate and are cut off from the Jewish people (“karet”).
In Israel we have “secular Jews”, who do not believe in Judaism, and try to substitute Jewish nationalism (Zionism) as their Jewish identity. They are less than real Jews. They and their descendants are “sorta Jewish”, as long as they remain in Israel, but assimilate and are cut off from the Jewish people if they leave Israel.
These are simple truths which are known to all Jews. But those who are “less than real Jews” find these simple truths to be too painful and guilt-inducing, and try to deflect their guilt by making the issue obscure and complicated (rationalization), or by blaming the real Jews for imaginary ills (parasites, backwards, reactionary, superstitious), which is a form of the psychological defense mechanisms of projection and denial.
Haredim in the IDF:
The Hebrew word translated as “ultra-orthodox” is Haredi. It means “trembling” (before G-d), and is similar to the christian term “Quakers”.
There are numerous subgroups, but all share an underlying set of beliefs and practices: 1) Complete acceptance of the word of the group’s chief rabbi. 2) Complete obedience to Torah law as determined by that rabbi (each group’s rabbi is considered to be a kind of “pope”). 3) Wearing a uniform signifying your adherence, composed of some variation of a dignified black suit (even in Israel’s oppressive heat).
The haredim arose as a response to the European Enlightenment, which reached the Jews of eastern Europe around 1750. The “enlightened” Jews insisted rabbinic Judaism was fossilized and outdated, and became Conservative, Reform, or atheistic Jews. (Not surprisingly, these “enlightened” Jews have been assimilating and vanishing from Judaism ever since their inception.)
The haredim developed an intense antagonism to the “enlightened” Jews, with almost automatic opposition to anything they suggested. When a group of “enlightened ” Jews proposed that Jews should move to Israel and form their own state, the haredim responded by digging up one opinion in the Talmud which said that it is HaShem’s plan that all Jews remain in permanent exile until HaShem sends the moshiakh to bring them to Israel.
Haredim live together, segregated from their neighbors, under the leadership of their group’s rabbi. Since most chose to remain in christian Europe, they were exterminated by the christians in the Holocaust. Some emigrated to America, and they still oppose Zionism.
Some paradoxically moved to Israel, and tried to ignore the Jewish State established by non-religious and religious nationalist (modern Orthodox) Jews.
Haredim say that children are a blessing from HaShem, and try to have as many children as HaShem will grant them. In an ideal world, these children will study all day in yeshiva, not work for a living, and not serve in the Zionist army.
This is a variant of “socialism is great until you run out of other people’s money to spend.” Israeli haredim have now become so numerous (Barukh HaShem) that the non-haredim can no longer afford to support them all. This means that the haredim have to work or starve. Not surprisingly, their rabbis have suddenly “warmed up” to the Jewish state, saying it is maybe not so terrible (traif), that working for a living may not be so bad, and that serving in the Army may actually be a valid way of serving HaShem.
Happily, Judaism has always been that way: be as rigid as possible for as long as possible, but then compromise a bit when the time comes. (If I understand it correctly, when we Jews first reached eastern Europe with its frigid, dark winters, we tried to make it through each Shabbat without lighting any fires. After a period of shivering in the dark, the rabbis ruled that hiring a goy to light the Shabbes fires might not be so sinful after all.)