September 5, 2025|י"ב אלול ה' אלפים תשפ"ה One Halacha, Two Realities: IDF Service in Israel and the Diaspora By Rabbi Jonathan Muskat

Last week I responded to the claim made by American Charedi leadership that Charedim in Israel should be excused from serving in the IDF – whether because army service threatens their spiritual well-being or because “their Torah protects” in place of actual military service. My answer was simple and direct: the Torah itself teaches that in a milchemet mitzvah – a defensive war – there are no exemptions. Not fear, not family circumstance, not even the joy of a wedding. Everyone must fight. To argue otherwise is not only difficult to defend – it is flatly inconsistent with the plain reading of halacha.

But then comes the obvious challenge, one that several people raised in response to my post: what about us in America? If the Torah recognizes no exemptions, then why do we not serve? How can we criticize Charedim in Israel for avoiding the draft while we remain comfortably abroad?

Here Rav Hershel Schachter’s words provide essential clarity. He taught that, in principle, the obligation applies equally to all Jews, wherever they may live. If Israel truly needed more soldiers, then yes – even diaspora Jews would be obligated to serve. The only reason we are not serving now is that Israel has not called on us. Practically, it may be too difficult to integrate large numbers of Americans into the IDF. But make no mistake: if that call ever came, the obligation would be real and undeniable. It would be hard, it would be disruptive, it would upend lives – but it would be our responsibility.

At the same time, there is another, even more compelling argument for Charedi service – one voiced most forcefully by Israeli Religious Zionist leaders who themselves serve. Beyond the strict halachic framework, there is the moral imperative of gratitude and kiddush Hashem. Israelis live under the IDF’s protection every single day. It is simply untenable – ethically, spiritually, nationally – for an entire sector to enjoy those benefits while refusing to share the burden. Such refusal is not just a shirking of duty; it creates a chillul Hashem, sending a corrosive message that some Jews are entitled to protection without being obligated to defend others. This argument, I should note, applies uniquely to Israelis. We in America benefit from a strong Israel, but not in the same immediate, life-and-death way as those who live there.

I am, however, deeply inspired by the growing number of American Religious Zionist students who, after spending a year or two post high school in Yeshiva in Israel, have chosen to enlist in the IDF. They remind us that responsibility is not about convenience – it is about commitment. For most of us in the diaspora, the obligation has not yet been activated. But for Charedim in Israel, it has. And yet their leadership has not merely asked for leniency – they have gone further, staking a theological claim that the Torah exempts them entirely. That claim is not only halachically weak; it tears at the fabric of our people. It weakens our sense of shared responsibility, it deepens division, and it undermines the very principle on which Jewish survival has always depended: when Am Yisrael is under threat, every Jew stands together.