An uproar has erupted at the prestigious Lithuanian yeshiva Kiryat Melech in Jerusalem after one of its young students enlisted in the IDF's ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade this week.
The issue sparked a heated discussion among the students, and as a result, the institution's rabbis convened a meeting this week in which they harshly criticized the young recruit's decision.
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Haredi IDF recruits singing Israel's national anthem Hatikvah at basic training graduation ceremony
Rabbi Benjamin Rimmer, the head of the yeshiva, launched a scathing rebuke of the student and did not spare harsh words against him, such as "fool" and "retard."
According to Kol HaLashon, an online archive of Torah lectures and Jewish learning resources, Rimmer was heard saying: "There (in the army) we become criminals, we become worse than criminals. We become transgressors of all the Torah laws. Here (in the yeshiva) we remain Jews, here we build ourselves, here we become scholars of Torah."
"This is what the Mishnah calls a fool, an evil, rude and a retard, and a few other titles. This is the title that such a person deserves," he attacked the student, adding, "he thinks he's smart, but the truth is, G-d forbid, they are falling into a pit. And instead of us being proud and understanding, we dispute whether it's good or bad. You should all denounce him. What he did is strictly forbidden."
Rimmer is the son-in-law of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, and brother-in-law of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky and Rabbi Yitzhak Zilberstein—three of the most prominent poskim of this generation. A posek is a leading authority on Jewish law.
He tried to dissuade other students from enlisting in the IDF while continuing to criticize the young man. "Do you want everyone to be as retarded as you? If you are a retard, that's enough, do what you want," he said.
"We need to understand that in the yeshiva, we build ourselves by studying Torah, virtues and values; we learn how to observe the Torah, how to be strict and not the other way around. All you do is transgress all the laws of the Torah, disrespect the Shabbat; all the mitzvot and the blessings become null.
"G-d willing, no one comes up with similar ideas, thoughts, imaginations or nonsense. This (the army) is the worst place in the world, where it is forbidden to set foot or approach. And anyone who even comes close—God protect us from what the Talmud says about all these afflictions—may God help us all to keep learning and succeeding. A little bit of light pushes away a lot of darkness, and with God’s help, this will be our merit.”
His remarks come amid a long-running dispute between the state and the ultra-Orthodox community over military exemptions for yeshiva students. A High Court ruling ended nearly 80 years of automatic deferrals, triggering draft orders, arrest warrants and fierce Haredi backlash. Key ultra-Orthodox parties quit the coalition in protest, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing pressure from the public, the courts and his own right-wing base to formalize Haredi conscription.