MK Gafni cites non-existent history to defend blanket IDF service

MK Gafni cites non-existent history to defend blanket IDF service waiver
Dr. Aaron Lerner 12 January 2026

In an interview on Reshet Bet this morning, MK Moshe Gafni of Yahadut
Hatorah stated as fact it is well known that King David and others had an
equal number of people studying Torah as fighters.

This argument is one of the favorite arguments for a blanket waiver from IDF
service for those who register with a Yeshiva.

(I write “register with a Yeshiva” because MK Gafni strongly opposes any
measure to effectively check that they are actually studying.)

No classical or medieval source (Biblical, Talmudic, Midrashic, or from
figures like the Maharal) frames Torah scholars and soldiers in a strict
one-to-one ratio or headcount parity. Key traditional references include:

- Sotah 44b (and related discussions): Some fight with weapons while others
support through Torah/prayer, but no quantification.

- Bamidbar Rabbah and similar midrashim: Torah study as a parallel
protective “force” to arms.

- Joshua 1:8 and broader themes: Success tied to Torah devotion, but as
divine causation, not demographic matching.

- Later thinkers (e.g., Maharal, Netziv on spoils-sharing in some
interpretations): Metaphysical or functional equivalence, without numbers.

The explicit 1:1 formulation (one Torah scholar “matches” or is equivalent
to one soldier in defense contribution) is indeed a modern rhetorical
device, emerging in the mid-20th century amid Israel’s founding, universal
conscription debates, and tensions over yeshiva deferments.

Historical context:
– In 1948, David Ben-Gurion approved exemptions for only ~400 yeshiva
students (a tiny number then), based on qualitative arguments about
preserving Torah study as a spiritual bulwark.
– As haredi (ultra-Orthodox) populations grew and deferments expanded (from
hundreds to tens of thousands), the discourse shifted toward justifying mass
exemptions in state-budget and manpower terms.
– The numerical 1:1 slogan appears in political and rabbinic advocacy from
roughly the 1950s-1970s onward, translating classical spiritual claims into
pragmatic, secular-state language during conscription controversies (e.g.,
post-1948 debates, Tal Committee era in the 1990s-2000s, and recent Supreme
Court rulings).

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