Q&A: Issachar and Zebulun
Issachar and Zebulun
Question
Do you accept the following description of the demonstration held today in Jerusalem, after filtering out all the background noise:
Issachar and Zebulun made an agreement between them about seventy-five years ago, as is customary. After some time, Issachar began adding his brothers to the agreement and transferring a salary to him as well, in addition to his own salary; afterward, in the same way, his cousins; later, all his relatives and friends, including those who had not studied even a single letter in their lives.
Zebulun, after many warnings to Issachar, got fed up with this state of affairs and stopped the stipend to Issachar, and also took away the open credit card he had until then. In response, Issachar is now demonstrating with all his family members, including those idlers, outside Zebulun’s house, and accuses him of uprooting the Torah.
What do you think?
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Answer
Not exactly. This is not a bilateral deal. Nobody promised us his World to Come in exchange for the budget he receives. Maybe the Holy One, blessed be He, will decide to give us reward, but that is not a deal with the Haredim. They received an exemption and gave nothing in return. The problem also is not to whom the exemption and the budgets are owed. There is currently a war, and they need to share the burden like everyone else. Quite apart from any deals. Even if it were a deal, once there is a clear danger to life, the deal is void and everyone is drafted.