Rabbi Yonatan Reiss, CEO of Hedvata, a Haredi Hesder yeshiva network, this week announced his plan to establish a Haredi Hesder yeshiva in one of the towns surrounding the Gaza Strip immediately after the war.
Hesder (Hebrew: arrangement) is an Israeli yeshiva program that combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the IDF. The program allows Orthodox Jewish men to serve in the military while still engaging in Torah study. The Hesder service lasts from five to six years, during which the participants are officially IDF soldiers. Sixteen to 24 months of this time are dedicated to army service, comprising both training and active duty. The vast majority of Hesder yeshiva students serve as combat soldiers.
“Our answer is to build the Gaza Strip and make it bloom again,” declared Rabbi Reiss, adding, “They wanted to destroy and demolish, we will rebuild.”
Haredi youth from the Gaza envelope settlements, such as Sderot and Netivot, will be invited to enroll in the new yeshiva. There is high demand in Israeli Haredi circles these days for a yeshiva that combines Torah and military service in a Haredi environment. This demand has been gaining momentum in recent years, and today, hundreds of young Haredi students are studying and enlisting in combat and cyber warfare units. But following the events of October 7, Haredi interest in serving, as well as serving and learning, has reached an unprecedented peak.
“Haredi fighters will graduate from the yeshiva we will establish here, to continue the tradition of the people of Israel and strengthen the State of Israel,” Rabbi Reiss said.
