Torah Protection

The eminent Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky has reportedly told his followers that, on account of the prevalence of Torah study that occurs in the City of Bnei Brak, they are safe from the missiles which are being launched at Israel.

My comments (in no particular order):

1.  The operative word is "reportedly."  Because those rabbis in the insular religious communities totally eschew the internet and related technologies, the information about them that appears on the Internet is second-hand at best.  The propensity for the words of such rabbis to become distorted by the time they are reported on the internet is quite considerable.

2.  I personally believe that one very major component of Israel's defenses against its enemies, whether the Israeli government realizes it or not, is that there are Jews who study Torah and Talmud and commentaries thereto.  [With sparse exceptions, I myself read the Talmud every day, even if I have to read it myself without joining a study partner.  In addition to that, I attended a Torah study session with some newly-ordained rabbis just a few hours before composing this posting.  I believe that the Jewish people has survived for thousands of years because of Torah study.

3.  Like every other city that is, was or will be, the City of Bnei Brak does have its share of shady individuals and groups, and people who otherwise engage in questionable behavior.  I shall not now glorify them by giving specifics.

4.  In the final bottom line analysis, the security and safety of Israel and the Jewish People is in the hands of G-d.  And while I obviously do not want any more Jews anywhere to be the targets of missiles (whether this current Gaza ceasefire holds remains to be seen, but I'm not making book on it).  And in the final bottom line analysis, G-d will decide which need is more pressing, the need for the irreligious Israeli public to see a Torah learning center such as Bene Brak be spared from the destruction of the Muslim missiles, or the need to bring some of the insular rabbinical leaders down a peg or two.