"…If haredim really believe that Torah study provides protection that is
greatest in its immediate locale, then why did the Grodno yeshivah
relocate from Ashdod, which needed protection [from missile strikes], to Bet Shemesh, which did
not? And why did other yeshivos move from Ashdod and Netivot to Bnei
Brak? If the haredi community’s excuse for not serving the military is
that they provide metaphysical protection, then why can’t they provide
it where it’s actually needed? The yeshivos should have relocated from
Bnei Brak and Jerusalem to the South, not the other way around!…"
Rabbi Natan Slifkin destroys haredi claims that their Torah study protects Israel from harm, pointing out that haredi yeshivas ran away from danger zones while Zionist Orthodox yeshivas ran toward them:
…If haredim really believe that Torah study provides protection that is greatest in its immediate locale, then why did the Grodno yeshivah relocate from Ashdod, which needed protection [from missile strikes], to Bet Shemesh, which did not? And why did other yeshivos move from Ashdod and Netivot to Bnei Brak? If the haredi community’s excuse for not serving the military is that they provide metaphysical protection, then why can’t they provide it where it’s actually needed? The yeshivos should have relocated from Bnei Brak and Jerusalem to the South, not the other way around!…
The religious-Zionist hesder yeshivot of Sderot and Netivot practiced what they preach and stayed in Sderot and Netivot during the war, boosting morale and providing spiritual support to the residents. They were joined by the hesder yeshivah of Kiryat Gat, which temporarily relocated to Sderot to provide support during the war. Perhaps putting their lives on the line to serve in the IDF helps these young men appreciate what it means to put oneself out on behalf of the nation, and to demonstrate such care with their Torah learning. That is the kind of Torah student that the nation needs.
Read it all here.