5 Teves, 5780 °° Jan. 2, '20 ver. 1b
by Binyomin Feinberg
1. According to the saintly Chasam Sofer, in his Drashos (for Adar 7th, I recall), the fast-day of the 10th of Teves holds a special significance, one hard to overstate: it is the day on which HaShem convenes the Heavenly Tribunal to adjudicate whether we will merit the rebuilding of the Bais HaMikdosh that year, or, alternatively, whether we merit the opposite: it's virtual re-destruction. (Chazal exhort us that any generation in which the Bais HaMikdash is not rebuilt - it is as if it's destroyed, once again.)
2. However, while looking around at what passes for issues of importance in much of "frum culture" (employing that term specifically), you would never know it. It behooves us to seek to identify some of the truly important issues, issues that we need to consider before next Tuesday. Clearly, it's not most of the triviality, nonsense, and distractions that popularly pass for topics of interest. Klal Yisroel faces multiple issues of monumental importance, and unfortunately the tzibbur is being misled or kept in the dark about many of them.
3. Let's pose some questions, focusing on one particular concern, of which we B"H have direct and detailed factual knowledge, i.e. the drafting of girls into the Israeli military (an issue we focus on extensively in our postings).
4. It's important to emphasize that the female draft is only one very important issue of multiple very important concerns. Others include:
° the phenomenon of covering up for and enabling child molesters;
° allowing or enabling people to destroy innocent people's reputations with baseless accusations (because they're easy targets);
° honoring, supporting, and voting for leftist (Dem or GOP) elected officials (who've created an environment in which the Chinuch of Jewish and non-Jewish children alike are increasingly coming under the influence of the LGBTQ Mafia);
° unbridled greed, resulting in immoral business practices, massive theft, massive Chillul HaShem, massive instigation of Jew-hatred (e.g. by some greedy real-estate developers), entire "frum" mini-industries built on misrepresentation/ hype, etc.
Some of the questions we raise here regarding the female draft could similarly be posed regarding those and other burning concerns.
5. Please do not take this analysis as a critique as much as an inquiry: What's the thinking here? What's the mentality behind this apparent lack of mentality?
6. Question: Do we expect to merit the rebuilding of the Bais HaMikdash while too many of us are preoccupied feasting at banquets, enjoying Glatt-kosher globe-trotting cruises*, lavish hotel vacations, etc. - all while largely oblivious to the plights of those severely disadvantaged due to our communal silence - for one example of many - dozens of girls (religious, traditional ("mesorati") and otherwise) who are at this moment languishing in Israeli military prisons, many over their refusal to serve in the notoriously immoral, exploitive, and abusive co-ed military?
{*Note: The goal here is not to critique the tourist industry. Take your Caribbean cruise if you truly need it, and can afford it. Here we are addressing taking Yiddishkeit, and basic decency, more seriously.}
7. Facts on the conscription of females into the military have been reported for many months. For almost a year, the Jewish Press has reported on many specific abuses, those involving Army-refuseniks like Rinas bas Chedva, Orah Chaya and Moriah Leah bnos Beruriah, Lidar Shira and Zohar bnos Yaffa, Ziva bas Mazel, Avigail Leah Houseband, Olga S., Mindel Cheshin, and others.
8. For samples of online reports, see:
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Opportunities for Public Kiddush HaShem (Sanctification of the Divine Name) in Israel:
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9. The question we must ask is: Where is OUR massive communal outrage over the female draft? In addition to the enlistment of girls into the military, which is itself prohibited to the extent of being "yai'horaig ve'al ya'avor," the government actually forces girls to enlist, which is far, far worse. Moreover, the nature of a military environment lends itself to immorality, and the Army experience certainly is no exception to that rule, to understate. And those in the know - all know it very, very well. And they even coined a nomenclature for it: "Mizron Tzahali." [For the record, we are also aware of specific cases of credible accounts of abuse by male IDF personnel.]
10. If G-d-forbid non-Jews would be perpetrating against Jewish girls anything close to a fraction of what transpires regularly in the Israeli military, there would be worldwide outrage. But because it's being perpetrated by Jews - it's less newsworthy than the social events whose photos merit prominent centerfold profiling in frum papers weekly??
11. This illustrates the absurdity here: When a drunken teen scribbles a misspelled swastika on a shul, leftist elected officials waste no time in rushing to the nearest teleprompter to chapp [grab] a cheap photo-op, genuflecting to "eradicating antisemitism" -- and their shallow performances are dutifully advertised by frum media outlets, as if this is a major development we need to be updated on. But when TENS of thousands of Jewish girls - many of them religious (National Religious, others, and even a few Chareidi girls) - are being forced, terrorized, duped, or otherwise enlisted into the notoriously immoral Israeli military, we hardly hear a peep of protest. Worse, we don't hear the protest even when we're confronted with a constant stream of cases that demand and easily enable an effective protest. Precisely where are our communal senses, sensibilities, and priorities?
12. How precisely do we expect to fare in our upcoming Heavenly Trial, given our communal tolerance of the "Hashtokoh-campaign," i.e. the news-blackout by most "frum" papers (aka "news"papers) - with the noteworthy exception of the Jewish Press (and a recently-started Chareidi paper called "Lehovin")? They're only getting away with this censorship because of our overall communal silence. Our responsibility is commensurate to our ability to have an impact - see Gemara Shabbos 54b.
13. Perhaps one could suggest that that when, in this week's parsha, Yosef cried over Binyomin (Ber. 45:14), over the future destruction of the Bais HaMikdash - twice (Gemara Meggillah 16b) - perhaps there was something else included in his crying. Perhaps Yosef also forsaw the extension of our Exile, the "virtual destruction" of the Bais HaMikdash every single year, year after year after year, as adjudicated on the Tenth of Teves. Perhaps this crying is a reason why by Yosef, unlike by Binyomin, the posuk says he "fell" (onto Binyomin); see note in Rashi. Perhaps Yosef "fell" to signify an ongoing repetition of the Churban HaBayis, reflecting that we simply fail to learn the lessons of the Churban, the destruction, and continue to "fall," to make the same types of mistakes and missteps.
(14. Perhaps this event is juxtaposed immediately at the reunification of the two sons of Rochel because it is through them that we can overcome Amalek, and it is primarily the influence of Amalek, the ultimate maisis (enticer to sin), in our midst that prolongs the bitter Exile. Perhaps one could suggest that due to the extended separation of the two sons of Rochel, Binyomin was denied the immense spiritual benefits of proximity to his older brother, and therefore, le'Doros, the Jewish People were left susceptible to succumbing to evil influences - ultimately sourced in Amalek - which ultimately precipitated the Destruction of the Bais HaMikdash. And it's by identifying infiltrating Amalekite ideas and attitudes that we can overcome the evils of Amalek, and become a truly free People - free to serve HaShem alone, and not serve men who rebel against Him, while feigning allegiance to Him.)
15. Boruch HaShem, not all are remaining silent. A major protest was held monday night outside Israeli military prison Four, over the female draft in general, and over specific girls incarcerated recently. Two of those girls, both religious, have been reportedly released since then, apparently in wake of the shock of that unusual protest. Protesters actually made their way inside the compound around 10:40pm, after a surrounding fence had been neutralized. In an open manifestation of Divine Intervention, at about 11pm, the protesters witnessed the latenight co-ed mingling in the adjacent Army barracks, accentuating why it's so important for those incarcerated girls to remain resolute against doing anything that could lead them to enlist. (See https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2020/01/protesting-antireligious-persecution-by.html for more details.)
Those who care have whom to join in raising our voices.
16. When the Redemption does arrive, we will be each confronted with our own inconsistencies, as described by Medrashim on this week's parsha (45:3). We, who care about Klal Yisroel in - and outside - Eretz Yisroel maintaining fidelity to the Torah, will be asked: what did we do to help these innocent girls stand up against being forced into the military? It is our choice to have what to answer.
