Rabbi M. Tzadaka Urges Torah Study as Key to Salvation Amid Draft Controversy

At the conclusion of the Bein Hazmanim period and the start of the Elul month, a Siyum HaShas ceremony was held at the Lev Eliyahu Yeshiva in Jerusalem's Ramat Shlomo neighborhood. The event, organized by yeshiva student Moshe Amar Halevi, commemorated the eleventh month since the passing of the yeshiva's former head, Rabbi Yitzchak Zecharia. The gathering featured prominent rabbinic figures including Rabbi Moshe Tzadaka, Rabbi Yitzchak Chaim Sofer, Rabbi Moshe Deutsch (Ramat Shlomo's chief rabbi), Rabbi Avraham Hazan (current head of Lev Eliyahu), Rabbi Shlomo Dabush (yeshiva supervisor), and Rabbis Shlomo and Avraham Zadok.

During the event, Rabbi Sofer encouraged students to persist in Torah study despite external pressures. Rabbi Tzadaka strongly criticized the government's draft policy targeting yeshiva students, stating that those who do not attend yeshivas should be imprisoned. He argued that the only protection against enemies is Torah study, and condemned the view that yeshiva attendance equates to imprisonment. Rabbi Tzadaka emphasized that in these messianic times, salvation lies solely in Torah learning, as exemplified by the yeshiva's Siyum HaShas.

He further asserted that if soldiers truly understood the power of Torah, they would interrupt their military duties to plead for continued Torah study, saying, "If the soldiers knew what Torah is, they would beg to learn." Rabbi Avraham Hazan concluded the event by honoring his father-in-law, Rabbi Yitzchak Zecharia, for his dedication to Torah education.

The ceremony underscored the yeshiva community's resistance to the draft and their belief in Torah study as a spiritual safeguard during turbulent times.