Should Yeshiva Students Serve in the IDF? The Torah Case for Saying Yes, with Rabbi Menachem Copperman (296)

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Last week on the podcast, Rav Shaya Karlinsky presented the case for broad draft deferments for full-time yeshiva students. This week, we continue that conversation by hearing a very different perspective.

My guest is Rav Menachem Copperman, who argues that military service is not merely a civic responsibility or a practical necessity - although it is certainly those, as well. He believes it is a religious obligation rooted in halachah, Jewish morality, and the Torah's demand that we take responsibility for one another.

In our conversation, we discuss whether Torah study can ever justify exemptions from military service, whether the IDF has done enough to accommodate religious soldiers, the relationship between Torah learning and national responsibility, the meaning of leadership and religious authority in this debate, and what both the Religious Zionist and Haredi communities can learn from one another.

Whether you agree with Rav Copperman or not, he presents a thoughtful, passionate, and deeply Torah-based vision of why he believes more yeshiva students should serve. As with last week's episode, my goal is not to tell you what to think, but to help you better understand one of the most consequential debates facing Israeli society and the Jewish world today.

As always, I hope this conversation challenges you to think more deeply and more carefully about an issue that affects us all.

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