HaGaon HaRav Moshe Feinstein’s Teshuvah On Serving In The IDF

 Against the backdrop of renewed debate over the military draft of bnei yeshivos, Rabbi Ofer Toiber has revealed that he was one of the two Netiv Meir Yeshiva students who wrote to HaGaon HaRav Moshe Feinstein, z’tl, asking whether they should continue learning Torah or enlist in the IDF, Arutz Sheva reported.

The renewed public debate over the military draft of yeshiva students revived interest in one of Rav Moshe Feinstein’s well-known teshuvos, which addresses whether a yeshiva student should continue learning Torah or enlist in the IDF.

As the responsum spread widely on social media and became a focus of public discussion, many people tried to identify the two yeshiva students who signed the question sent to Rav Feinstein decades ago. One of them is Rabbi Ofer Toiber, who today serves as a Rosh Mesivta at Chorev Yeshiva.

In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Rabbi Toiber said that he wrote the letter together with his friend Daniel Kraus, now a resident of Efrat, while they were students at Netiv Meir Yeshiva. He explained that the idea came up after Rabbi Aryeh Bina encouraged his students to bring questions to the leading Gedolei Yisrael.

“Rabbi Aryeh Bina encouraged us to ask questions of the Gedolei Yisrael—about everything,” Rabbi Toiber recalled. “We wrote a letter to Rav Moshe Feinstein, and his reply came back to us by mail.”

The teshuvah, dated the 17th of Sivan, 5741 (1981), states:

“To the esteemed students of Netiv Meir Yeshiva in Jerusalem, Mr. Daniel Kraus and Mr. Ofer Toiber:

“Although the matter of the Israel Defense Forces is an important inyan, the inyan of Limmud Torah for Lomdei Torah is of even greater importance than defending the state, as is explicitly stated in the first perek of Bava Basra 8a: “Everyone contributes to the city gates” (that is, to the gates of the city walls, to install doors in them, as explained by Rashi), even orphans—but the Rabbanim (Talmidei Chachamim) do not require protection (because their limmud Torah is considered a form of protection for the city.)

“It seems that the government has also recognized this, and one who studies in a yeshiva gedolah and is engaged in Torah is exempt from military obligations.

“Therefore, certainly anyone who has a desire for limmud Torah and to become great in Torah, horaah, and yiras Shamayim, should go to the yeshivos gedolos, and it will be a bracha for Klal Yisrael and a great protection for all of Israel.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)