Shift in Tone? Rav Yitzchak Yosef: “A Bochur Who Doesn’t Learn — Should Enlist”

In what appears to signal a potential change in approach, Rav Yitzchak Yosef, the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi and nosi of the Shas Moetzet Chachmei Hatorah, stated in a newly released recording that a yeshiva bochur who is not actually learning should enlist in the IDF.

The remarks, captured in a conversation published by journalist Avraham Freund, mark a significant nuance compared to the strong positions Rav Yosef has previously voiced on the draft law. In the recording, Rav Yosef clarified the intent behind his past statements:

“הזכירו לי שאני אמרתי באחד השיעורים אפילו בחור בטלן לא ילך לצבא. שאלו אותי למה התכוונתי. לא התכוונתי לאחד שעובד בלילות כמלצר וכל מיני עבודות. לא התכוונתי לזה. אתם יודעים, אצל מי שלומד בישיבה, יש לפעמים תקופות של משבר.”

“They reminded me that I once said in a shiur that even a lazy bochur shouldn’t go to the army. They asked me what I meant. I didn’t mean someone who works nights as a waiter or does other jobs. That wasn’t my intention. You know, among those learning in yeshiva, there are sometimes temporary periods of crisis.”

In other words, Rav Yosef explained that his opposition to enlistment referred only to yeshiva students who are genuinely part of the Torah learning framework but temporarily struggling, not to those who have left learning entirely. For a bochur who is no longer engaged in Torah study, he implied, the draft may be appropriate.

This statement comes after repeated past declarations from Rav Yosef in which he strongly opposed the enlistment of chareidim, including into special frameworks such as the Chashmonaim Brigade. Those remarks were often accompanied by sharp criticism of the army, politicians, and rabbanim advocating for broader chareidi recruitment, as well as of the religious-Zionist (dati leumi) sector.

Meanwhile, related developments emerged yesterday when Matzav.com reported that another member of the Shas Moetzet, Rav Moshe Maya, recently met with Brig. Gen. Shay Tayeb, head of the IDF’s TUMACH division, to discuss the conditions required for chareidi enlistment into the Chashmonaim Brigade. Rav Maya has reportedly stated in recent days that if specific religious conditions are formally anchored in IDF orders, a pathway could be opened for some chareidim to serve.

{Matzav.com Israel}