Q&A: According to all views, does Torah study protect the soldiers?
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
According to all views, does Torah study protect the soldiers?
Question
You often hear on the news statements by rabbis that by virtue of their Torah study, the soldiers are winning the war, and thanks to them the Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel survives.
Is this view unequivocal?
Answer
Personally, I am not inclined to believe it.
Discussion on Answer
You’re not really Haredi if that’s your outlook.
Correct. If you are a rational and critical person, you are not Haredi. If you let reality affect your views and respond to difficulties, you are not Haredi.
Is there even any view from 70 years ago or earlier that says Torah study protects another person from some physical harm? Or even protects only the person studying?
Definitely.
I’m Haredi, and this familiar argument doesn’t fit reality for me. After all, in 1948 and 1967 there were few Torah scholars, and the IDF succeeded in a far more miraculous way than it succeeds today. Other segulot mentioned by the Sages as well—like ritual hand-washing and tithes bringing wealth—are also contradicted by reality. Apparently these segulot express a basic principle, but they are not manifested in visible reality.
(Besides that, this argument is irrelevant for a considerable segment who do not really study at all. So the real reason for the opposition has to do with the secular character of the IDF, and not with Torah study.)