ב"ה
Are There 'Secular' Soldiers in the IDF?
Living Torah
Are There 'Secular' Soldiers in the IDF?When Shmuel Blizinsky served in the Israel Defense Forces in the early 1950s, he was only able to find twelve religious soldiers on his entire base. As it turned out, the Rebbe was able to find three thousand. (1951)
Are There 'Secular' Soldiers in the IDF?
Disc 132, Program 525
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Nechama Dina
ירושלים
May 1, 2025
So beautiful and touching! Thanks for sharing.
Niklas Dabolins
Katrineholm
April 29, 2020
Nahal Haredi
My rabbi Yoel Schwartz started the Nahal Haredi, the 97th Battalion of Netzah Yehuda, in 1999.
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Is it possible that the Rebbe inferred that playing musical instruments on Shabbat is forbidden as a form of work? But could it be that God Himself provided a different model in the Torah? In Genesis 2:2–3, it is written:
“On the seventh day God finished the work that had been undertaken: [God] ceased on the seventh day from doing any of the work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, having ceased on it from all the work of creation that God had done.”
If Hashem ceased from His work of creation on the seventh day, does this imply He also paused from all divine activity, such as sustaining the cosmos or judging human lives? Could the creative expression of musicians—if done not for personal gain but for honoring the day—be seen in the same light? Were the musicians working to create a livelihood during the six days, or offering their music as a spiritual elevation for Shabbat?
Might this suggest that not all forms of "work" are equal in the eyes of Hashem?
Jews believe that the Oral Torah was given from G-d, and that He forbade performing activities similar to those done in the Beit Hamikdash. That includes playing musical instruments.
The reason the sages forbade musical instruments on Shabbat is not because it was used in the Temple. Rather, the reason is because most instruments often require repair and tuning while being used. And that activity, putting the final touches on a project, is one of the 39 forbidden labors.
Which Jews are you referencing that believe in the Oral Torah and Mishnah? The other sects at Har Sinai listening to God and Moses, such as the Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots, and the Karaites, did not follow the Oral Law or Mishnah teachings of the Pharisees.
Can you specify which Jews believe in the Oral Law and Mishnah?
Thanks for your insight into instruments on the Sabbath day in the Temples. There is evidence that instruments were played on the sabbath day in Psalms 92:2-5,
"A psalm. A song for the sabbath day. It is good to praise the LORD, to sing hymns to Your name, O Most High, To proclaim Your steadfast love at daybreak, Your faithfulness each night With a ten-stringed harp, with voice and lyre together."
As explained in the film, each and every jew, man women and child, believes that the Oral Torah was given to Moshe at Mount Sinai, and that God commanded us to fulfill the Written Torah according to his instructions in the Oral Law.
It is simply that some of them lack knowledge of this. They will not remain distant forever, and will realize that they too, believe.
Is it possible that Jeremiah, speaking in the name of God, answered those Israelites who believed in the scribes and sages who penned the Oral Torah?
Jeremiah 8:8-9
“How can you say, “We are wise, And we possess GOD’s Instruction”? Assuredly, for lies has the pen labored, For lies the scribes! The wise men shall be put to shame, Shall be dismayed and caught; See, they reject the word of GOD, So their wisdom amounts to nothing.