Beit Midrash

  • Family and Society
  • The Struggle Over the Land
To dedicate this lesson

Should Rabbis Be Present at Jewish Outpost Expulsions?

Should rabbis be present at expulsions of Jewish outposts in order to direct the resisting teenagers in accordance with halakha?

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Rabbi S. Yossef Weitzen

Adar I 9 5782
Translated by Hillel Fendel

Question: Why is it that when Jewish outposts are forcibly evacuated and dismantled, we barely see any rabbis there? These incidents involve many wonderful teenagers who need direction. Sometimes, out of their strong love for the Land, they commit sins such as throwing rocks on the evacuating soldiers, without a rabbi to guide them as to what is permitted and what is forbidden. I am sorry if my formulation seems like rebuke; I have no intention of rebuking rabbis.

Answer: Every rabbi must be present when his flock of students and followers goes through tribulations. In evictions and evacuations, if there are youths there who have rabbis, certainly these rabbis must accompany them, from close and not just from far. If there are youths who do not have rabbis, it is recommended that the local lay leadership make sure to have local rabbis on the site. For instance, if there is an eviction in the Binyamin district, the Vaad Rabbanei Binyamin (Binyamin Region Rabbinical Committee) should be asked to be there, and the same regarding the local rabbis in Gush Etzion or in the northern Shomron.

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