Please click below to read thoughts from the S’gan Rosh HaYeshiva, HaRav Aryeh Hendler, shlit”a on the Spiritual State of the State (translated from the Hebrew by Rav Reuven Ungar)
For other shiurim at Sha’alvim, please click here.
The Spiritual State of The State - Part 1
Rav Aryeh Hendler
A 12th grade student at a prestigious ulpana (Yeshiva High School for
women) asked the following question of the S’gan Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Aryeh Hendler,
shlit”a:
Question: The current reality that Hashem reveals to us conflicts with the
Torah. The government does not permit fulfillment of the command of settling
The Land of Israel. The service of female soldiers (specifically in combat
units) in the IDF creates difficulties for male soldiers.
The state of education... Where have we gone wrong? Perhaps we are not
engaged in the dawn of the redemption (atchalta dege'ulah)? Perhaps the law of
the land (dina demalchuta dina) does not apply? Everybody is against us. All
the values that we were raised upon are exploding in our faces. The People…The
Land … The fulfillment of the Torah ….
What will be?
Response: I certainly understand the feelings that you express. If we were
not to harness these negative emotions we would simply pick up and go elsewhere
(does such a location exist?). At times I identify with the words of the
prophet who wondered “who will establish for me a dwelling place in the desert?”
However, the truth is that what is transpiring here is completely
different. Perhaps the facts that you mention are correct, but the conclusions,
in my opinion, are not.
Initially I will relate to the specific points that you raise. You state
that the government prevents the fulfillment of the command of settling The
Land (Mitzvat Yishuv Ha'Aretz). The government (memshala) is not my address.
The government currently governs what transpires in the State (Medina ). My
address is the State. Governments come and go. Perhaps we presently have a
specific difficulty with the current government. This government is not eternal;
it is highly likely that in the near future it will disband and the people will
state that they desire an alternative.
“The government prevents the fulfillment of Mitzvat Yishuv Ha'Aretz”- this
is an inaccurate statement! The government facilitates the fulfillment of this
important mitzvah in many locations in The Land of Israel. Yet, simultaneously,
it intends to destroy the settlement of the Land in other regions. Although
this is a confusing situation, it does not constitute an absolute annulment of
Mitzvat Yishuv Ha'Aretz. Thanks G-d, after 2000 years of exile we have the
opportunity to settle The Land.
Granted, not all is accomplished with ease; nevertheless, something is
happening! Not all is for naught; rather there are barriers to progress in certain
locations. One must view the full picture and to put things in perspective;
despite the pain generated by the planned uprooting
("disengagement").
It is correct that male soldiers are subject to difficulties due to the
presence in combat units of female soldiers. However, we should not be
oblivious to the great progress that has transpired in the IDF regarding the
service of religious soldiers. The original state of affairs was not superior
to the current situation. Yeshivot Hesder- and all that accompanies this
concept- were non-existent in the initial era of the IDF.
An irreversible fact has transpired; the religious community serves in the
army. This necessitates the authorities to provide adequate solutions for
difficulties that arise in the IDF. A commission has been appointed to
coordinate the inclusion of women soldiers in combat units without tampering
with the sensitivities of religious soldiers. I hope that the commission will
succeed in its mission.
As far as education is concerned, I notice only improvement in our
educational networks. The national religious camp-in all of its various
streams- has established a powerful alternative to the secular educational
system. This alternative provokes non-religious individuals to contemplate enabling
their children to receive religious, or at least traditional, education.
In this realm, the yeshiva high schools (yeshivot tichoniot) have earned a
great achievement. Who were the parents of the children who presently learn and
have previously st udi ed in yeshivot tichoniot? Were they uniformly
Chardalnikim (Chareidi Le'umi- Stridently meticulous in halacha, with strong
national feelings)? No! … The yeshivot tichoniot generated a spiritual
revolution in our education; despite the criticism that I and others have
regarding them.
We must not be impatient. We must analyze the sprouts that we observe in
the field and recognize that we are involved in a process that will yield
greater developments than what we have been privileged to realize until now.
[Be'ezrat Hashem next week we will explore the issue of
atchalta dege'ulah.]
