Yehoshua Pfeffer: 'The army is not ready for real Haredi participation' (18 Questions, 40 Israeli Thinkers)

18Forty Podcast

18Forty

Religion & Spirituality, Judaism

4.6 • 638 Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2024

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We're taking a week off from our main podcast, but we want to share with you an episode of our new podcast, 18 Questions, 40 Israeli Thinkers Subscribe to on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to catch the latest episode every Monday.

The Israeli government’s draft of Haredi men is no simple matter—but Yehoshua Pfeffer has some ideas for moving forward.

Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer is a Haredi social thinker and activist intimately involved in Haredi affairs. He heads the Iyun Institute—which operates programs and publications in the Haredi space—is the founding editor of Tzarich Iyun journal, and serves on the executive board of Netzah Yehuda, which serves Haredi soldiers in the IDF.

While also teaching as a professor at Hebrew University’s law school, he is the rabbi of Ohr Chadash in Ramot Bet, Jerusalem. Yehoshua’s life is guided by his convictions.
Now, he sits down with us to answer 18 questions on Israel, including the Haredi draft, Israel as a religious state, Messianism, and so much more.

This interview was held on July 2.

Here are our 18 questions:

As an Israeli, and as a Jew, how are you feeling at this moment in Israeli history?
What has been Israel’s greatest success and greatest mistake in its war against Hamas?
What do you look for in deciding which Knesset party to vote for?
Which is more important for Israel: Judaism or democracy?
Should Israel be a religious state?
Do you think the State of Israel is part of the final redemption?
Is Messianism helpful or harmful to Israel?
Should Israel treat its Jewish and non-Jewish citizens the same?
Should all Israelis serve in the army?
Now that Israel already exists, what is the purpose of Zionism?
Is opposing Zionism inherently antisemitic?
If you were making the case for Israel, where would you begin?
Can questioning the actions of Israel’s government and army — even in the context of this war — be a valid form of love and patriotism?
What do you think is the most legitimate criticism leveled against Israel today?
Do you think peace between Israelis and Palestinians will happen within your lifetime?
Are political and religious divides a major problem in Israeli society?
Where do you identify on Israel’s political and religious spectrum, and do you have friends on the “other side”?
Do you have more hope or fear for Israel and the Jewish People?

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi friends, a few months ago we advertised the birth of a new community in Israel.
0:05.4	Eden Bait Shemesh, a community tailor-made for all those of us in need of a five-year plan,
0:12.6	and let's face it, we are living in a time when every single one of us should be drafting the five-year plan for our futures in Israel.
0:20.7	Our own listeners from within the 1840 community have purchased in Eden, an opportunity which
0:26.4	they will longingly watch unfold into a reality, a shul, and a community.
0:32.2	I am so proud that the leaders behind Aden are none other than Rabbi Benny and Khani Krohn. I know them personally
0:39.3	because they are the rabbi and Rebittson of my own personal community and they are the ones leading
0:45.1	this new development community. And I know for my own life that their stewardship, their leadership,
0:51.4	is you know this is going to be a welcoming, joyous, incredible
0:55.7	community where everyone is going to be able to feel comfortable and build a home.
1:00.2	On June 29th, Eden will be hosting a webinar to speak in detail about the vision for this project.
1:07.6	In order to register, please click the link below or email info at
1:12.7	Edenbateschemish.com to find out more. Once again, that's info at Edenbateshemesh.com to find out more.
1:23.0	Hi, friends, and welcome to the 1840 podcast. This episode today is actually a little bit different.
1:30.1	We're taking a week off from our mainline regular podcast.
1:34.3	We'll be bad God willing for Tish Above, which is, of course, next week.
1:40.2	And instead, we're actually going to share one of our other podcasts from our channel that is
1:46.2	run by our friend Sruly Fruchter and his series 18 Questions 40 Israeli thinkers.
1:52.9	And I just wanted to say a word about why we're doing this.
1:56.0	The reception has been absolutely incredible.
1:59.0	And I think at the heart of what 1840 is trying to accomplish in many ways is to address
2:05.1	the unprocessed trauma of secularization.
	...

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