Columnist links Sukkot to debate over service in Israel’s army — Jerusalem Post
In Israel, Stuart Weiss, director of the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra’anana, linked the celebration of Sukkot to the debate over the role of faith and the military in state security in a column for The Jerusalem Post. The author supported combining religious life with service in the Israel Defense Forces.
Debate over military service
Weiss noted that one of the central issues of Israeli elections is once again the question of who should serve in the armed forces and for how long. In his view, religious texts contain arguments both for divine protection and for the need to make one’s own efforts for defense.
The author referred to biblical censuses of people fit for military service from the age of 20, as well as to provisions in Deuteronomy on exemptions from service. He pointed out that Torah study is not listed among such exceptions. Weiss also cited the tractate Sotah and the works of Maimonides, according to which a defensive war is among the obligatory ones.
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The columnist described the religious Zionist community as an example of combining Torah study and military service. According to him, young men and an increasing number of young women from this community serve through various programs, including those for Israelis and foreign lone soldiers.
Interpretation of the holiday
Weiss linked this topic to the meaning of Sukkot. He recalled a Talmudic dispute between Rabbis Eliezer and Akiva over what the sukkahs symbolize: actual temporary dwellings of the Israelites in the desert or miraculous clouds that, according to religious tradition, protected them.
In Weiss’s interpretation, the first approach emphasizes the need for people to take care of their own security, while the second emphasizes faith in divine protection. The author also mentioned past politicians Avraham Verdiger and Avraham Ravitz, who, according to the information he cited, served in the military.
