Chief rabbis call on public to adhere to IDF guidelines, stay home from synagogues
Shas party’s ruling Council of Torah Sages calls on Israelis to pray and for yeshiva students to increase their Torah study, without specifying if people should adhere to rules
The chief rabbis of Israel, Kalman Ber and David Yosef, urged the Israeli public on Friday to adhere to the IDF Home Front Command instructions and avoid indoor or outdoor gatherings, in a statement that practically implied a request not to pray in synagogues on Shabbat.
“The public is obligated to observe and comply with the Home Front Command’s instructions in every location,” the statement read, adding in bold: “Gatherings should not be held in open areas or in buildings.”
In the first hours of the morning, as Israel carried out strikes in Iran, the Home Front Command prohibited all educational activities, gatherings and workplaces, with the exception of essential sectors until at least Saturday at 8 p.m.
The chief rabbis also invited the public to increase their prayers and to recite Psalms 20, 121 and 130.
Meanwhile, the ultra-Orthodox Shas party’s ruling Council of Torah Sages, which is closely linked to Yosef, also called on the public to pray for God to have mercy on the Jewish people and grant success to the security forces so that they “may succeed in their mission and return home to a good life and peace.”
In a statement released via a party spokesman, the rabbinic body also called for repentance and instructed yeshiva students to increase their Torah study to ensure victory.
“Every person should strengthen his heart and the hearts of his household with confidence in the Creator of the World, who is the one who fights the wars of Israel, and the Lord will not abandon his people and his inheritance,” the council said, without noting whether synagogue attendance should be avoided.
Leading members of the council, including former Sephardic chief rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, have repeatedly argued that Torah study provides Israel with divine protection while also insisting that no members of the Haredi community, even those not learning in a full-time yeshiva, should be conscripted.
In March, Yitzhak Yosef claimed that Hamas and Hezbollah missiles fired at Israel since October 7 would have killed and wounded many more people if there had not been large numbers of ultra-Orthodox men engaged in full-time Talmud study.
“What would have happened if there had been no yeshiva students? What would have happened if there had been no Torah? How many would have been killed and injured,” he asked. “God protects us in the merit of those who learn Torah.”
Israel attacked Iran early Friday morning, targeting nuclear sites, military facilities, missile bases and Iranian senior leadership.
Multiple waves of Israeli strikes were reported throughout Iran for several hours, starting at around 3 a.m. and into the morning. Over 200 Israeli Air Force aircraft were involved in the opening strikes, and fighter jets dropped over 330 munitions on some 100 targets, the IDF said.
In its initial response, Iran fired 100 drones toward Israel, but the Israel Defense Forces said it had the situation “under control,” with Israeli Air Force fighter jets shooting down the drones outside Israel’s borders, with none reaching the country.
The Times of Israel Community.