An Open Letter to My Haredi Brothers
The ASF’s Sephardi World Weekly offers the following “Letter from the Land of Israel” written by our Director of Publications, Dr. Aryeh Tepper.
A Hebrew language version of the essay, below, was published on the Israeli site Srugim, an influential Israeli online news website that covers news, politics, culture, and current events from the perspective of the religious Zionist community.
In recent months, Haredi communities in Israel and abroad have been protesting against renewed efforts to draft ultra-Orthodox men into the Israeli army. Demonstrators blocked major highways around Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, and Tel Aviv, disrupting daily life as they clashed with police and motorists. Abroad, Haredi groups rallied outside Israeli consulates and embassies in New York and London, expressing solidarity with their Israeli counterparts and demanding the preservation of Torah study. Through roadblocks, mass prayers, and coordinated protests, these communities seek to amplify their opposition to policies they see as threatening their way of life.
In this heated atmosphere, with passions flaring both on the streets of Israel and in Jewish communities worldwide, the time has come to address an open letter to my Haredi brothers.
I will begin by saying that I love them.
Let me say that differently. This is a time for speaking openly and courageously: I love you, my Haredi brothers. I love your love of learning, I love your love of “doing mitzvot,” submitting to the will of God as delineated in the Torah and elaborated by our beloved sages. I sincerely wish that you would discover the strength to be who you are, confidently, outside of the Beit Knesset and Beit Midrash, the synagogue and the house of learning.
However, my Haredi brothers, we need to be straight with ourselves and with each other. In so doing, I will address you in your tongue, the language of mitzvot.
I ask: is there a mitzvah to fight and kill Hamas? I will make the case.
We all felt October 7th. I know that you felt it, too. It was as if a one hundred-foot-tall, blood-red demon emerged from Gaza and rammed his staff into the earth of southern Israel. And then, with a voice heard around the world, the devil proclaimed, without shame: I am evil!
Translate that image into the many acts of unspeakable cruelty perpetrated against Jews on Oct. 7th and that continued thereafter in Gaza, where tens of thousands of little demons took Jewish captives into hellish corridors they had been burrowing for twenty years – twenty years – in preparation for that day and for what followed, holding Jews hostage below while leaving their fellow Arab Muslim women, children and elderly above-ground as shields, and sacrifices.
And with that image of evil in your mind, consider: twice a day, every day, there is a mitzvah, a commandment, to say: Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart… What is meant by all your heart?
According to chazal, our beloved sages, the heart’s two chambers house two inclinations: one to do good, and the other to do evil. This is not a crossroads where we choose one way. We are not called upon to do good, simply. This is precisely the depth of the mitzvah: we are commanded to love God with all our heart, with our inclination to good and with our inclination to evil. There is evil within us, a slumbering monster, a demon, deep inside, and we are commanded to awaken that monster, that demon, to fulfil the commandment, the mitzvah of loving God with our evil inclination. But how do we fulfill the mitzvah of loving God with our evil inclination?
Rabeynu Yonah, a Sephardi scholar from 13th c. Christian Spain who is well known and respected in your circles and whose texts you learn in your yeshivot, goes straight to the heart of the matter, “The evil inclination was created for cruelty, for when a person shows evildoers no pity but is cruel to them, he performs a great mitzvah, and he serves God with his evil inclination” (Berachot 44b). It is, says Rabeynu Yonah, a great mitzvah to be cruel to evil men. Evil brazenly stood up on Oct 7th. When, in response, we are cruel to these evil men, according to Rabeynu Yonah, one performs a great mitzvah with our evil inclination by killing them.
Therefore, we can establish that it is a great mitzvah to kill members of Hamas, and in so doing, we are loving God with all our heart. And I ask: who is meriting to perform this great mitzvah? The answer is clear: the soldiers of Israel who have been putting their lives on the line (and in so doing, loving God with all their soul) by hunting down and killing Hamas fighters for almost two years. The soldiers and people of Israel have endured worlds of pain and fatigue in performing this great mitzvah.
Let us, my brothers, conduct a thought exercise. Imagine hundreds or even thousands of years from now, when the people of Israel reflect upon this moment in our history. It will surely be remarkable to future generations that during this war against evil men, one community of Jews stood out—openly, and without shame—by publicly proclaiming for everyone to see that they have no part in this great mitzvah. Who can forget the scenes of Haredi men dancing to the tune, “We have no part in this heretical government,” and so declaring their separation from the community not only in words but in joyous song and celebration? The ways of God are just, and measure for measure they will be remembered forever as declaring that they had no part in this great mitzvah. My brothers, is this truly how you wish to inscribe yourselves in the memory of our people?
My Haredi brothers, the wise King Solomon said there is a time for everything, and this is a time for war. We did not choose this reality, it was imposed upon us. But, like every change, if we accept the challenge with grace and gratitude, new paths in our avodat haShem, our service of God, open before us.
If you remain unconvinced that you should participate with the nation in fulfilling this great mitzvah, let us, at the very least, agree on the nature of the act itself. That it is indeed a great mitzvah is undeniable. In the years ahead, we can and must discuss the religious character of the IDF, the realities of Jewish law as it pertains to military service, and stringencies of the Law that you demand to uphold everywhere you go as if they are fundamental obligations, iqar ha’din. But be that as it may, even if you decide that active participation is not your path, let us at least agree that the foundation of your response should be humble gratitude to those who risk their lives on your behalf in performing this great mitzvah, even if you do not join them.
~~~~~~~
Banner image credit: Firearms training for Haredim during Israel’s War of Independence (IDF Spokesperson’s Unit/Israel HaYom)
~~~~~~~
Upcoming Events or Opportunities
Announcing a new Online Course
Soundtrack of a Nation: An Introduction to Israeli Music
Explore and enjoy Israeli music as a way to understand Israel as it is—beyond the headlines. Guided by Dr. Aryeh Tepper, a dynamic instructor with deep knowledge of Israeli culture and extensive experience teaching in Israel and the United States, this course invites you to discover the fascinating stories and vibrant pluralism of Israeli society through the diversity of its music, while avoiding the polemics that often bedevil conversations about Israel in academia and the media. No prior experience is needed—just a sense of curiosity, an open mind and a receptive soul, and you’ll come away with a playlist to last a lifetime.
Sign-up Now!
Twelve Sessions Starting on 11 September
~~~~~~~
Our friends at 14Y, Be’chol Lashon, and the Center for Traditional Music and Dance present:
Reimagining Ladino Song: Lily Henley Live in Concert
“Join groundbreaking singer-composer Lily Henley and multi-instrumentalist Duncan Wickel as they reimagine Ladino music, blending its lyrics with the rich textures of Celtic and Americana folk. Once spoken across the Mediterranean by Jewish communities, Ladino is now a language spoken by fewer than 100,000 people. A blend of Old Spanish, Hebrew, Turkish and Arabic, Ladino carries centuries of Sephardic history, storytelling, and cultural tradition. Lily isn’t just preserving this 500-year-old tradition—she’s reinventing its music for today.
In Henley’s one-hour concert, she and Wickel will perform brand-new songs from her upcoming album, alongside selections from their acclaimed release Oras Dezaoradas (Lior Editions Paris, 2022). After the concert, Henley and Ladino expert Bryan Kirschen will engage in an insightful conversation about the cultural history, resilience, and ongoing revival of the Ladino musical tradition.”
Thursday, 18 September, at 7:00 PM
Sign-up Now!
@14Y – 344 E 14th St, NYC
Tickets: $16.99 – $19.99 including fees
This program is presented by 14Y, Be’chol Lashon and the Center for Traditional Music and Dance, and cosponsored by the American Ladino League, American Sephardi Federation, Hebrew Union College Jewish Language Project, Jalopy Theater and School of Music, and Kanisse. This event is also sponsored by a Humanities New York Action Grant.
~~~~~~~
Our friends at Qesher in partnership with Nora Kaplan Learn-in-trips presents:
Jewish History Tours to Spain
BARCELONA-CORDOBA-GRANADA
SEVILLA-TOLEDO-MADRID
Embark on a 12-day journey this October and November 2025 to experience the history of Jews in Sepharad: explore museums and world heritage sites, walk through the old cobbled lanes of Jewish quarters, take in the splendid architecture, and enjoy delicious food and Spanish wine.
Learn about the Golden Age of Jewish life in Spain on this unique, family-run Jewish Heritage Tour.
26 October – 6 November, 2025
For questions or more information, please visit www.norakaplan.com or email alexis.learnintrips@gmail.com.
Note: While this is not an ASF program, the American Sephardi Federation is proud to serve as a promotional partner for this unique educational experience.
