Editors of Religious Zionism Urged to Back a Basic Law on Torah Study
A Hebrew opinion article argues that leaders of religious Zionism, especially heads of hesder yeshivot, should support the proposed Basic Law on Torah study rather than oppose it. The Knesset passed the bill in a preliminary reading in recent weeks by 56 votes to 43. Its revised wording says Torah study is a basic value in Jewish heritage and a fundamental right in Israel, and that those who devote themselves to it for a long period make a significant contribution to the state and the Jewish people.
The author says the criticism is ironic because the hesder movement and related religious-Zionist institutions were built on the idea that Torah study and military service belong together. The article recalls that the first hesder yeshivot, led by Kerem B’Yavneh in 1953, and later Yeshivat Shaalvim and Yeshivat HaKotel, were modeled in part on Nahal units. In the early years, hesder students went through the same basic training as Nahal soldiers, then returned to study while Nahal soldiers moved on to pioneering settlement work.
The movement has since grown from 13 students in its first year to about 12,000 students in 80 yeshivot across Israel. Each year about 1,800 soldiers enlist through hesder, around 80 percent of them into combat units, and serve 17 months. The article also notes that in 1991 the hesder yeshivot association received the Israel Prize.
A parallel track in religious Zionism, known as hesder merkaz or the “stage B” route, allowed students in advanced yeshivot to postpone enlistment for years and then serve shortened military terms, usually six months to a year and a half. The article cites Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein’s 1986 essay “Zot Torat HaHesder” as the movement’s key intellectual foundation, and quotes Rabbi Yaakov Medan as warning that three years of full service could endanger the Torah tradition in religious Zionism. It says the bill was amended after the Religious Zionist Party demanded removal of a clause explicitly equating Torah learners with IDF servicemen, and concludes that supporters should still back the law to protect Torah study from future legal challenges, including possible scrutiny by the High Court.
