“Daas Torah.” These two words are among the most loaded in modern hashkafic - and political - discourse. But what, in fact, does it mean, and how might it apply to the current crisis over chareidi conscription, whatever one’s view of the matter?  It would be presumptuous to attempt to treat the topic of Daas Torah comprehensively on one episode of a conversational podcast. One is referred to Lawrence Kaplan’s classic article on the matter, and many other sources, for this more holistic treatment. Instead, we evaluate how this contention is marshaled within the current discourse around Chareidim and army service. Rabbinic opposition often is cited as the most substantial argument against participation. This impulse is deeply embedded in the charedi psyche, and one can argue that this is with good reason: after all, on matters of legitimate communal guidance, who is more qualified to issue directives that will preserve societal commitments and observance? On the other hand, in today’s landscape, many people seek more transparency and wish to debate the issues on their merits, without recoursing to an “argument from authority.” Furthermore, students of even recent history wonder when this issue became so monolithic, and extreme. This fascinating article explores charedii military participation during the War of Independence. Telz Rosh Yeshiva Rav Elya Meir Bloch attended a communal Yom Ha’atmaut celebration in Cleveland in 1954. And consider these statements, cited in a Tzarich Iyun article by Iyun founder Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer, made decades ago by the greatest sages of the previous generation: Rav Elazar Shach (1980 letter on behalf of Vaad Hayeshivos): “The right given to yeshiva students of deferring their enlistment into the army, is contingent on his study being his sole occupation. He must not be engaged in any material pursuits, whether during yeshiva hours or outside of them.” Rav Yechezkel Abramski: “Anyone who “abuses this right, is considered a rodef (a “pursuer”) of those yeshiva students who study Torah diligently.” And he instructed Roshei Yeshiva “to conduct a strict vetting of students and remove from their ranks any student whose Torah is not his sole occupation.” The Steipler (in Orchos Rabbeinu): “Those who are registered in yeshiva, allowing them exemption from the army even as they engage in gainful employment, are absolute rodfim.” To be sure, none of these quotes imply a pro-army stance for full-time yeshiva students; quite the opposite. Still, they do reflect a willingness - even responsibility - to reserve this exemption for those most deserving. (And of course, while many opponents would still decry such privilege for full-time learners, a stance that demands army service for all non-learners would be welcomed in our moment by most Israelis, and reflect a far more liberal position than currently espoused.) So…in a society that seems to have grown only more traditional, why has the chareidi community grown more resolute and isolated? Why has the Daas Torah changed? Or is all not as it appears? We will attempt to unravel some of these questions on this episode. --------------- Link to Outro reference:

Rabbi Eliyahu Chait, the youngest child of famed rabbi, author and singer-songwriter Rabbi Baruch Chait, is making a mark of his own. An IDF alumnus of Netzach, R' Eliyahu recognized a need for a post-army framework servicing young men from chareidi backgrounds with serious Torah learning and options for "re-entry" into civilian life. Kochot, his nascent organization, is offering authentic Torah-based experiences to those who have sacrificed for the People of Israel, as they chart a course for the rest of their lives. KOCHOT'S WEBSITE: https://lp.we-be.co.il/kochot/ KOCHOT on YouTube: https://youtu.be/gzT Uq775Y4?si= cilGPsZzDsoj8b6 Struggling after service? Help us empower Orthodox veterans. Many young Orthodox men returning from the IDF find themselves grappling with their faith and unsure of their path forward. KOCHOT, a Jerusalem-based program, is there for them. We provide these veterans with the support they need to rebuild their connection to Judaism and navigate life after the military. Through a strong spiritual foundation and practical guidance, KOCHOT helps them find meaning and purpose in their civilian lives. Your donation can make a difference. Help us empower these brave veterans as they transition to the next chapter. Donate today! https://checkout.square.site/merchant/ML7PCN6QEN3QX/checkout/FPRO5FLJF6A7F2MYAEVE76K7?src=webqr

Rabbi Dovid Eliezrie is a longtime Chabad Shaliach (emissary), co-director of the North County Chabad Center in Orange County, California. Author of the book Secret of Chabad, he has recently released a groundbreaking biography of the “Friediker Rebbe” - the Sixth Rebbe of the Chabad chassidic dynasty - called “Undaunted: How the Sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn Saved Russian Jewry, Reimagined American Judaism, Ignited a Global Jewish Renaissance.” In this episode, we review Rabbi Eliezrie’s own background and this most recent work, then springboard into an analysis of Chabad’s perspective on Zionism, secular nationalism, army enlistment and the modern state of Israel.

Tuvia Tenenbom is quite a colorful character. An author, playwright, mathematician, computer scientist, and all-around polymath, Tuvia was raised in a chareidi Israeli home, in the lap of the Chazon Ish, Rav Shach and other great luminaries. His own life veered on a different course, but he recently returned to those ideological precincts, spending a year in Mea She’arim, Jerusalem, fully immersed in the local community. The product of his embedded travels is the book, “Careful, Beauties Ahead: My Year with the Ultra-Orthodox,” an honest and largely flattering portrayal of his time in an otherwise closed society. Tenenbom highlights many of the gifts - fervent religiosity, principled living, embrace of charity and family - that animate chareidi life, yet which so few Israeli “outsiders” ever learn about, much less witness. In an era of intense polarization,Tenenbom’s tome is a reminder that, for all the critique and calls for chareidi reform, the core values must be preserved, radiating out towards the entire Jewish nation, and beyond.

Since inaugurating this podcast, and focusing a long series on charedim and army service, one episode has conspicuously been missing: a full treatment of the halachic parameters of the notion of milchemes mitzvah, as well as an analysis commonly advanced ideals such as "Torah magneh u'matzleh" ("Torah study protects"). In this episode we remedy that void and address these issues that are vital to any Torah-centered Jew. To do so, we speak with Rabbi Dr. Yitzchak Lifshitz, a noted rav and rosh Kollel based in Yerushalayim, who has written extensively on these topics in recent months. Rabbi Dr. Lifshiftz is also a professor of philosophy at Shalem College.

Dr. Moshe Koppel is a leading computer scientist in Israel, with a specific expertise in AI. But over past twenty years he has led an intellectual movement promoting judicial reform within Israel. Through his Kohelet Policy Forum, Dr. Koppel researches alternatives to the entrenched judicial dynamics, and advocates for what he considers a more balanced and democratic approach, in line with other Western countries. Obviously, this topic has been at the center of stormy debates and protests in Israel; while it seemed to subside in the wake of the October 7th tragedy, this issue has returned to the foreground, with broad implications for swaths of Israeli society, perhaps most notably, the chareidim. We speak today with Dr. Koppel about the history and intellectual perspective of this movement, how and why it seemed to unravel, and where the typically non-ideological and narrowly focus charedi public fits in to the story.