This state is an integral part of the beginning of our redemption; this is the army that defends the state and we are together with all the people of Israel, in harmony and love, in peace and friendship.
.
To read the bulitin click here
Some words from Harav Eli Sadan concerning the latest storm of controversy that "Bnei David" has found itself involved with.
The events of the last few weeks have thrown us into the center of a storm – a storm we never wished to be in and never thought we would find ourselves engulfed in. They obligate us to review the basic tenets of our outlook, the fundamentals, and clearly state once again what the goals of our mission are.
Thirty years ago we started out on our path because we saw that religious Zionist youths have a very hard time serving in the army, which has a very secular atmosphere, while staying true to their religious identity. We started our path in order to encourage the young men of Religious Zionism to take responsibility for the state, to fully take part and contribute to the state's institutions: the army, the security services, the Mossad, the public sector and all facets of Israeli society. In the past, high-quality young religious Zionists were afraid to serve in such places that had a secular atmosphere, and instead sought such frameworks that would allow them to insure their religious identity, like the Hesder-Yeshiva program, where religious soldiers serve as a group, insulated from the secular environment of the army. However, this limited their ability to contribute to the army and the state.
Our idea was not to fight in order change the face of Israeli society, but rather to work in another manner: to build up our own inner strength and that of our youth, to such a degree that we would be able to fully participate in the states institutions despite the fact that they are permeated with a different cultural outlook, and to do this without weakening our own spirituality, religiosity and commitment to Torah-true morality and behavior. I am happy to say that we were largely successful in our mission; it wasn't easy then and it isn't easy today, but that's the mission we took upon ourselves and for that we established Bnei David.
In the last two years, winds of changes have blown through the army and have temporarily weakened out confidence that our goal is still attainable. Pressure groups from outside the IDF have identified the army as the sphere through which to remold Israeli society in their radical image. This has resulted in certain developments taking place in the army that cause us to feel threatened and attacked.
The struggle over the image of Israeli society must be held in the Knesset, in the media and in the courts. The Mechina (pre-army yeshiva-academy) of Bnei David is not involved in these struggles within Israeli society. Our mission is a different one: to build the spiritual and moral world of our young men in the Mechina and young women in the Midrasha (Women's Seminary) so that they will be strong enough in their religious identity to fully participate and contribute to all the institutions of Israel.
This integration isn't always easy. For example: the High Court has handed down many decisions that are painful to us, like the dismantling of Amona and the razing of the houses in Ofra. Many decisions taken by the army are also painful to us; there are many things in Israeli society that we would much prefer didn't exist. However – those are our people, this is our army, and we believe in Am Yisrael, in the state and in the army –and we wish to be a vibrant part of it all.
This state is an integral part of the beginning of our redemption; this is the army that defends the state and we are together with all the people of Israel, in harmony and love, in peace and friendship. We will continue to express our opinions with all due respect and friendliness, and we will continue to "work with the Holy One Blessed Be he" in His work of bringing geulah shleimah – a complete redemption.
.
