Political Slogans vs. Truth: When the Words of Chazal Are Taken Out of Context
Over the past three years, we have witnessed what appears to be a coordinated effort in parts of the Charedi world to promote slogans arguing that, according to halacha, Charedim are not obligated — or are even forbidden — to serve in the army.
Shortly after the outbreak of the war, signs appeared across Israeli cities bearing the words of the Gemara in Sotah 21a:
תורה מגנא ומצלא —
Torah protects and saves.
Yet this statement was being presented out of context. Rashi explains that the protection being discussed relates to the yetzer hara and personal afflictions. The passage is not establishing a blanket exemption from the responsibility to defend Klal Yisrael.
That campaign was followed by another, featuring the words:
בזכות התורה ולומדיה ינצל העולם —
In the merit of the Torah and those who study it, the world will be saved.
This statement, found in Tanna Devei Eliyahu, subsequently became popular through a song sung by Moti Steinmetz.
Here, too, a Midrash was being invoked to support a conclusion that does not follow directly from its original context. The statement expresses the merit and significance of Torah and its students for the world’s continued existence. It does not establish that learning Torah exempts someone from military service or absolves him of the responsibility to protect fellow Jews.
In recent months, a new campaign has emerged. Among other things, it has involved protests in which drivers travel at excessively slow speeds on highways. I noticed that many of the participating cars carried a new slogan — this time invoking the Rambam.
I was particularly interested in this message because, as I demonstrate in my book, Torah and the Army: The Relationship of Torah and IDF Service Through the Lens of Chazal, the Rambam’s position on the obligation to fight is far more straightforward than some would have us believe.
(The book is available on Amazon following this link: https://a.co/d/0c3ryR0S. It can also be purchased at various bookstores in Jerusalem or directly from the author.)
The words displayed prominently on the cars read:
הרמב”ם קובע: זרקת לומד תורה לכלא? זרקת את העולם הבא שלך.
The Rambam declares: You threw a Torah learner into jail? You threw away your share in the World to Come.
The source cited for this declaration is the following passage (Rambam, Hilchos Talmud Torah 6:11):
המבזה את החכמים, אין לו חלק לעולם הבא.
“One who disparages Torah scholars has no share in the World to Come.
But does the Rambam actually say what this slogan suggests?
Enforcing the Law Is Not Disparaging Torah Scholars
On a practical and societal level, I believe that arresting yeshiva students for evading the draft is counterproductive. There are legitimate questions to discuss about how the law should be enforced and what approach would best serve Israeli society. However, that is not the issue I wish to address here.
My concern is with the integrity of our Torah sources. The words of our great Rishonim must be treated with the utmost respect. When their words are taken out of context and repurposed to advance a particular agenda — however sincerely or virtuously that agenda may be perceived — we risk doing a disservice to the very Torah we claim to uphold.
Misrepresenting the Rambam in this manner is itself showing great disrespect toward one of our greatest Torah scholars and risks becoming a chillul Hashem, a desecration of Hashem’s name.
Israel has a law requiring military service. One may agree with that law or oppose it, but its purpose is to ensure that the country can adequately defend its citizens against the many enemies surrounding it. At its core, the purpose is to protect our fellow Jews living in Eretz Yisrael.
When someone violates the law, there may be legal consequences. Enforcing those consequences is not, in and of itself, an act of disparagement. If a person is caught speeding and pulled over by a police officer, the fact that he happens to be a yeshiva student does not automatically transform the officer’s actions into an insult to Torah. Nor does the student’s feeling that his dignity has been wounded establish that he has been subjected to an affront to Torah scholars.
The same principle applies here: enforcing a law is not synonymous with disparaging Torah, and facing the consequences of violating a law is not the same as being persecuted for one’s Torah study.
What Does the Rambam Mean by a Chacham?
There is another point that should be self-evident: coming from a Charedi family or studying in a yeshiva does not automatically make someone a chacham.
The Rambam himself makes this distinction clear. In Hilchos De’os 5:1, he writes:
הֶחָכָם נִכָּר בְּחָכְמָתוֹ וּבְדֵעוֹתָיו, וְהוּא מֻבְדָּל בָּהֶם מִשְּׁאָר הָעָם.
A wise person is recognizable through his wisdom and character traits, and is distinguished by them from the rest of the people.
The Rambam is describing someone whose wisdom and conduct distinguish him from others. Being a chacham is not simply a matter of belonging to a particular community or spending one’s days in a yeshiva. It is a status associated with genuine wisdom and distinctive character traits.
Furthermore, in Hilchos De’os, Chapter 5, the Rambam outlines the many standards of conduct expected of a chacham, which do not apply to just anyone who learns in yeshiva.
In Hilchos Talmud Torah, Chapter 6, he discusses the obligations of others toward Torah scholars, including the requirement to stand in their presence, as well as the severe prohibition against disparaging them.
Read together, these chapters present a consistent picture: the Rambam distinguishes between the standards expected of a chacham, a distinguished Torah scholar, and the respect that is due to one who possesses that stature. His words cannot simply be reduced to the claim that anyone who studies in a yeshiva automatically possesses the status to which these laws refer.
We cannot take a halacha concerning the honor due to Torah scholars and automatically extend it to every person who happens to be learning in a yeshiva. Doing so risks distorting and belittling the very words of the Rambam that we claim to be defending!
Let the Torah Speak for Itself
My hope remains that we can approach the Torah with deep respect, humility, and intellectual honesty. That means resisting the temptation to twist the words of Chazal or the Rishonim to fit our preconceived conclusions, even when we believe our cause to be justified.
Our responsibility is not to force the Torah to say what we want it to say. It is to study its words faithfully, understand them in their proper context, and allow them to challenge our assumptions and guide our lives.
The greatest honor we can give the Torah is not to enlist its words in the service of our agendas, but to have the humility to let its words speak for themselves.
