Disengagement and Halacha

Three prominent rabbis within the Yeshiva University community recently addressed a packed Rubin Shul on the religious aspects of contemporary political issues in the State of Israel. Chancellor Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm, Dean of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Rabbi Zevulun Charlop, and Mashgiach Ruchani Rabbi Yosef Blau held a panel discussion on Wednesday, March 2, sponsored by the Yeshiva University Israel Club (YUIC).

The event was moderated by YUIC co-president, Dovid Wildman, YC '05, who opened the event by asking the panel for the religious outlook on the upcoming Israeli unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip and the subsequent handover of the land to the Palestinian Authority.

Rabbi Blau was the first to respond to a list of questions that were given in advance to the speakers and he made sure to make clear the purpose of the evening's event. "I have no intentions of making any value judgments about the political situation because nothing in my rabbinical background gives me particular expertise in any of these areas." He went on to clarify that his only goal was to discuss the religious aspects of the issues. In response to Wildman's question, Rabbi Blau asserted, "I consider the government of Israel to be halakhically serious, and it can make decisions about its welfare." He quoted the opinion of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, saying that "Eretz Yisroel is obviously very important but it is not an absolute. Therefore, if the government feels that the welfare of the country depends on giving back territory then they have the right to do so. I do not understand the concept of making yishuv Yisrael (settling Israel) yehareg v'al yavor (be killed, rather than transgress)."

Rabbi Blau also discussed the controversy regarding Israeli soldiers refusing orders to evacuate the settlements under the disengagement plan. "It is my position that it is not appropriate for someone to refuse orders even if he finds the order to be distasteful." To support his position, he quoted biblical laws where someone who is afraid of battle may not serve in the army because he will wound the morale of his fellow soldiers. So too in the contemporary case, Rabbi Blau argued, if some soldiers disregard orders, it will no doubt bruise the morale of the other soldiers and go against the very nature of the army.

Rabbi Lamm was the next to speak and he concurred with Rabbi Blau's resolve to keep the event focused exclusively on the religious aspects of the political issues. "The law of the land is the law," quoted Rabbi Lamm from the Talmud. "Therefore, if the government comes up with a law to give up certain territories, that is the law. It is true that certain rabbis have said differently. So what? That does not mean that all of us are bound by that," continued Rabbi Lamm. He gave an analogy to explain that it is not the place of a rabbi to make a political judgment on such on issue. "If you ask a rabbi how to treat Hutchins disease...don't. If you do, there is something very wrong with you. The rabbanim are experts in halacha. They are not experts in other fields."

Rabbi Lamm then confronted the ideology of fundamentalist settlers. "When you take any mitzvah and you make it a supreme mitzvah above all other things in a way that Chazal (our Rabbis) do not say, then it is a form of idolatry." He continued by quoting 1 Kings in which King Solomon offered to give away parts of the Galilee in payment to Hiram, king of Tyre, for assisting in the building of the Temple in Jerusalem. After equating the rule of the Israeli government, Rabbi Lamm extrapolated from this passage (noting that no commentators or tractates disagree with him) "that if a king decides to exchange territory he has the right to do so."

Rabbi Lamm concluded by discussing Israeli soldiers refusing orders. "Whether the government should do it or should not do it is irrelevant. The government, having done what they did, we have no choice but to support them." He repeatedly stressed that any soldier considering disregarding orders is detrimental to the whole army and should receive an appropriate punishment.

Rabbi Charlop was then passed the microphone. Appearing far more impassioned than his peers, Rabbi Charlop related many stories, such as his experiences surrounding the assassination of Yitzchak Rabin, the fear that the Oslo peace accords caused him, and his prediction of the intifada following the peace accords. Following his lengthy anecdotes, Rabbi Charlop concurred with the opinion of the other members of the panel. "When push comes to shove, I would not go against [the orders of the army]." However, he insisted that disengagement was not being done in an ideal way, saying a national referendum should be conducted to make sure that the country is truly in favor of it. "We can't make these things successful in democracy without a safety valve," he insisted.

This sparked a political discussion among the panelists, which they originally hoped to avoid, and it was Rabbi Blau who had the final word. "Those who are so adamantly opposed to it [disengagement] should come up with an alternate policy with a long range approach."

"As much as this was not a specifically political event, it was inevitable for them to talk about politics," said Wildman after the event. "I think they dealt with it very well and you got an array of opinions, which I think is very important."

Putting the discussion of politics at the end aside, some students were relieved that the religious aspects of these crucial issues were discussed. "It's refreshing to hear such credible people attempt to put politics aside and discuss the halachic aspects of these sensitive issues," said Jeremy Katz, YC '07.