Hesder

Hesder (in Hebrew: "arrangement"; or Yeshivat Hesder ישיבת הסדר) is an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces. These yeshivot allow religious Zionists to fulfill the ideal of full and active participation in Israeli society, while mitigating the risk of assimilation into the surrounding, secular society.

Framework and description

Hesder service lasts a total of four years, within which participants are officially soldiers in the IDF. Through those four years, 15 months are dedicated to actual army service, comprising both training and active duty. This is contrasted with the 3 years that most non-Hesder participants serve. The remainder of the time in Hesder is desginated for full time Torah study. Most yeshivot expect students to begin studying a year before being formally registered in Hesder and inducted into the IDF, so that students typically spend five years in the framework. Some students study for several years after this mandatory term, often en route to obtaining semicha, rabbinic ordination.

The typical Yeshivat Hesder functions along the lines of a traditional Orthodox yeshiva, with the emphasis on in-depth study of Talmud. However, the curriculum of a Hesder yeshiva often differs from this track in certain respects including an increased focus on Tanakh and Jewish Philosophy. Many of the yeshivot also support a kollel and offer a semicha ("rabbinic ordination") program. Since 1990, various hesder yeshivot have established teachers' institutes. Graduates of these yeshivot are thus active in the educational system of the national-religious camp, both as rabbis and as teachers.

History

The first Yeshivat Hesder was Kerem BeYavneh, founded in the 1950s (with its program modelled on Nahal; a unit combining time on a (frontier) kibbutz with army service). Following the 1967 Six Day War, Hesder Yeshivot modeled after Kerem B'Yavneh were established all over Israel. Four were created in the year following the Six Day War, and today there are a total of twenty-eight. In 1991, the yeshivot taking part in Hesder were awarded the Israel Prize. Prominent yeshivot include Yeshivat Har Etzion, Yeshivat Or Etzion, Yeshivat Ma`alot, Yeshivat Kiryat Shmonah, Yeshivat Yeruham and Yeshivat Petah Tikva. Many yeshivot are also located in Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Yeshivat Mercaz haRav, although not a Hesder Yeshiva, is regarded by some as the "spiritual flagship" of the Religious Zionist movement. Students there often serve a shortened stint in the IDF when they are well into their twenties.

Legal standing

The legal standing of yeshivot taking part in the Hesder program was regulated for years by orders of the Israeli Minister of Defense. In 1999, a ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court invalidated such orders dealing with exemptions from service of Haredi yeshiva students. As it was much less controversial, that ruling didn't deal with the Hesder prgram. However, the new Knesset's law concerning Haredi yeshiva student exemptions also included an article concerning the legal status of Hesder service and yeshivot. More recently, there has been growing concern that the groups of young men studying and serving together in the IDF will be broken down into smaller groups and dispersed across the branches and corps of the IDF.

Role in the Gaza pullout

One reason for the integration of Hesder Yeshivas into the Israel Defense Force include concerns of units disobeying orders as in the case of the 2005 Gaza pullout. Rabbi Elyakim Levanon of Elon Moreh Hesder Yeshivot vehemently spoke against disengagement, refused to restrain his students during the evacuation of the Gaza Strip settlement of Kfar Darom, and openly advocated soldiers from the Elon Moreh Hesder Yeshivot to disobey orders. As of July 14, 2005, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz stated that, "Up until now there have been 32 incidents of refusal and 64 soldiers who have refused orders. One such incident was that of the 31 reserves on call up in the Benjamin Regiment. Today, six soldiers from the Givati Regiment joined that number when they caved into external pressures calling on them to refuse orders, and they shall be brought to trial. We will continue with our policy of trying those who refuse and will not give in to refusals to serve, even if that means closing regiments in which refusal becomes apparent."

The Ideology of Hesder

In 1981, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion, wrote a groundbreaking article in the journal Tradition entitled The Ideology of Hesder, explaining and justifying the ideological basis for the Hesder program. He writes:

Hesder at its finest seeks to attract and develop bnei torah ("religious individuals") who are profoundly motivated by the desire to become serious talmidei hachamim ("religiously learned, knowledgeable") but who concurrently feel morally and religiously bound to help defend their people and their country; who, given the historical exigencies of their time and place, regard this dual commitment as both a privilege and a duty; who, in comparison with their non-hesder confreres love not Torah less but Israel more. It provides a context within which students can focus upon enhancing their personal spiritual and intellectual growth while yet heeding the call to public service, and it thus enables them to maintain an integrated Jewish existence. ^*

External links

The Ideology of Hesder, Rabbi Dr. Aharon Lichtenstein
History of Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh, kby.org
Ideological Basis of Hesder, Yeshivat Hesder Maalot
Defense Ministry tries to reach deal with Hesder Yeshiva, Ha'aretz
We have a mission and we will complete it, Israeli Defense Forces Official Website

Israel Defense Forces | Orthodox yeshivas | Religious Zionist yeshivot

ישיבת הסדר | ישיבת הסדר