[Avodah] Rav Melamed's position on Giyus

[Ben Waxman]

Rav Melemad's name has come up from time to time as a proof that even DL
rabbis accept the idea that Talmud Torah (TT) overrides giyus.  Since he
wrote an article in this week's B'Sheva on the subject, I thought it
appropriate to summarize what he wrote. In short, while he does accept
that in today's world TT can serve as a reason to defer serving in the
Zahal, he view is much more nuanced than what I just wrote.

1) Ikkar Hadin, everyone has to serve, period.
2) No, there is no patur for people learning and Rav Melamed cites that
students of Yehoshua and David left their studies and fought. (Note: He
doesn't mention at all the "patur" of Shevet Levi; mashma that he
doesn't believe that such a patur exists).
3) The Gemara in BB stating that talmidei chachamim don't have to pay
for shmira is dealing with theft, not hazalat nefashot. (Note: given the
way that hundreds of thousands of people, , including yeshiva boys and
rabbanim, fled the north during Lebanon 2 I doubt that anyone believes
that gemara).
4) TT is the most important mitzvah of all and there is a need to find a
way to have people learning and growing in Torah.
5) If there is enough manpower to fill the army's needs, than yeshiva
students should continue learning (if there isn't enough, like in
Milchemet Hashichrur, than they have to fight).  The dichui for learning
is on condition that said students give respect to soldiers.
6) TT only defers service in Tzahal, it doesn't give a patur. And the
deferral lasts only as long as the student is growing and advancing,
7) There is enough manpower today to meet the army's needs.
8) The general avoidance of the Chareidim to serve, while possibly
tolerable from a defense standpoint, is a disaster from a national
standpoint (as is the secular refusal to do mitzvot),
9) Ein lanu (note: I don't know who he is including in the lanu) any
disagreement with the Chareidi world in regards to the need to defer
(again defer) army service for yeshiva students who are going to be
rabbanim and educators.  However, if someone wants to be a teacher, a
dichui of several years is enough, while someone wanting to be a rav
should get a longer dichui.  However it is clear that most people
registered in Chareidi yeshivot don't fall into those categories. Some
of these guys learn well, some barely learn. Those who learn well should
go into something like Hesder, those who don't learn well should do the
full three years.
10) In his last paragraphs, Rav Melamed takes off his gloves.  The real
reason why guys who don't have a future as teachers or rabbanim stay out
of the army is simply because it is much comfortable to not go in (no
worries about dieing in wars and all that). Plus, serving in the army
exposes students to an environment which could cause them to lower their
moral levels or leave the religion entirely.

So while I have problems with some of his points, it is clear that Rav
Melamed does not in any way support the general deferment given to
anyone learning in yeshiva, and certainly not the deferment given to
anyone merely signed up in yeshiva. It would be interesting to know if
there are students in his yeshiva that he advised to stop learning and
go serve.