Rabbi Chaim Aharon Kaufman, chairman of the Vaad Hayeshivos, explains why this is the most difficult period ever for the Torah world of Eretz Yisrael.
On Tuesday night, as the streets of Yerushalayim had already emptied and the last of the Maariv minyonim had already concluded, a modest car stopped beneath an office tower at the entrance to the city. Rav Dov Landau, rosh yeshivah of the Slabodka Yeshivah, stepped out.
The Rosh Yeshivah made his way to the sixth floor, to the offices of the Vaad Hayeshivos. By day, the majestic hills of Yerushalayim can be seen from the office windows in all their splendor; now they were mere ominous shadows, engulfing everything in their silent darkness—including the contents of the meeting between the Rosh Yeshivah and Rabbi Chaim Aharon Kaufman, chairman of the Vaad Hayeshivos.
The following day, the Agudas Yisrael Party convened an extraordinary session in the Knesset. At its conclusion, the party announced that it would escalate its actions against the government if the law regulating the status of bnei hayeshivos was not advanced.
The meeting and the announcement were no coincidence. At the end of the Knesset’s winter session, Prime Minister Netanyahu had pledged to the chareidi Knesset members that the Draft Law would be promoted swiftly. In return, a political crisis was averted, and the chareidi parties supported the state budget. Now, as the summer session approaches, The gedolei Yisrael are demanding that the prime minister fulfill his commitment.
Vaad Hayeshivos chairman Rabbi Kaufman usually refuses to grant interviews about current affairs. History enthusiasts might be offered a tour through the Vaad’s archive of old letters, but his opinions on contemporary crises are almost never heard publicly.
“The proper way to resolve these matters is behind closed doors, far from newspapers and media headlines,” Rabbi Kaufman says in this rare interview with Ami Magazine—an interview he agreed to in an effort to present the Vaad Hayeshivos’ position unequivocally.
“However, this time, we are facing the most difficult period the yeshivah world has ever experienced. Never before have we found ourselves in such a grave situation, facing such a profound threat to the yeshivah world in Eretz Yisrael. We had hoped that once the war slowed down, this issue would ease as well—but unfortunately, that has not been the case.
“It seems that the general public—and perhaps even segments of our own community—do not fully grasp the depth and severity of the current crisis. I fear that many are unaware of the true magnitude of the situation. Headlines may mention a bachur arrested at Ben Gurion Airport for failing to report to the draft office, and naturally, each person focuses on his own concerns, thinking: ‘There’s an issue with this individual or that individual,’ as each young man reaches the age of 18 and faces his own challenges. While this is indeed a hardship, the reality is far more serious than isolated cases—it is a much broader and graver threat.
“For the first time since the establishment of the State of Israel, we are witnessing an open and deliberate effort by powerful elements to impose a fundamental transformation on the holy yeshivah system—to challenge its very essence and the unique lifestyle that has existed for generations. Such an assault on the very heart of the Torah world—aimed not merely at technical regulations but at radically changing our way of life—we have never faced before.”
Why do you describe this as the most difficult period?
There have been several distinct chapters in the history of the Vaad Hayeshivos, but now we are in a period that is perhaps the most difficult of all.
In the beginning, when the Vaad Hayeshivos was founded, the goal was primarily to serve as a financial anchor for the yeshivos. Later, after the destruction of European Jewry in the Holocaust, there was the tremendous work of rebuilding the yeshivah world. That was hard work—but it was not a confrontation. It was rebuilding, not fighting.
Then came the era of agreements—negotiations with the army, starting even before the establishment of the State of Israel and continuing afterward. Clear agreements were formulated, and the system, though delicate, was understood by all.
But today, the agreements are no longer considered valid. The understanding that was once self-evident is no longer understood. What everyone once grasped instinctively—that a yeshivah student sits and learns—is no longer taken for granted. It’s a completely new kind of struggle. It has a different form, and it feels much more threatening.
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