Jewish Priests Are Readying for War

We have a very bad split here in Israel. The Government has decided to evacuate part of Northern Samaria, and has ordered the Army to prepare the action. There was a feeling of dumb silent resistance, as the Chief of Staff Gaby Ashkenazi said that this was not the Army's sphere but of the Border Guards, and there was passive resistance among the soldiers too. Last week the priests found their voice in Rabbi Eliezer Melamed of Har Bracha settlement (see his pic in a former entry) and he has clearly and publicly instructed Jewish soldiers NOT to follow orders and to take no part in the evacuation.

Then the Minister of Defense Echud Barak publicly issued a strong and menacing warning to any soldier disobeying orders. The public is in a state of shock and waiting till the confusion and fog clears up and we can see where each leader and party stands. Today things started to take shape, as the Head of Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva, Rabbi Yaakov Shapira (pic), issued a message seconding Rabbi Melamed. Shapira is the most prestigious of all heads of yeshives (religious schools). He is not only a "luminary" in the Torah, but son of a leading priestly family. His message, written in the Jewish priestly style, reads thus:

To the heads of the Yeshivot, may the Almighty watch over you.

"Say to wisdom, you are my sister".

As the Holy Torah is our sister, a sister to all of us, I allow myself to write you these brief words in order to strengthen those who are already steadfast in their beliefs.

The eyes of myriad Torah scholars are turned to their teachers everywhere, particularly with regard to the current issue, awaiting their opinion with unwavering loyalty.

They recoil at the thought that any rabbi, teacher, educator, or yeshiva head could be prevented by limitations imposed from outside the Torah world, from saying what he thinks about an issue, and expect that erroneous impression to be changed.

Such an impression might, G-d forbid, lower the ascendancy of Torah, which must be inherently independent of other forces. Despite differences of opinion here and there, the honor of Torah is above all. From an educational point of view, moreover, we all surely agree that it is forbidden to minimize the Torah's power or to give the impression that the Torah is not entirely independent.

Therefore, I back all the Torah-true decisions you make, and truly wish you G-d's help in your efforts to quell the flames that were ignited and to stoke the smoking coals around them, this in order that the coals of Torah scholars do not scorch their surroundings. May you strengthen one another's resolve, for the sake of His nation, His Torah, and his Land.

For those wondering about Rav Shapira's sister, the one called Wisdom, I translate: The Priest says that the Torah (the Jewish Law), i.e. the Priests, are superior and independent of the Army, and no impression should be allowed that a soldier should obey its officer if the Law (his Rabbi) says otherwise. No Jewish soldier is allowed to participate in the evacuation of a Jewish settlement.

We are not at the end but at the very beginning of a long war. If Echud Barak mismanages this rebellion, and the Arabs stay quiet and let us fight among ourselves, this could be ugly.