Chief rabbis indicate public should avoid synagogues in line with rules as Shas calls for prayer, study

The Chief Rabbis of Israel Kalman Ber and David Yosef urge the Israeli public to adhere to the IDF Home Front Command instructions and avoid indoor or outdoor gatherings, in a statement that practically implies 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 reads.

“Gatherings should not be held in open areas or in buildings,” it added, in bold.

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 Saturday, June 14, at 8 p.m.

The chief rabbis also invite the public to increase their prayers and to recite Psalms 20, 121, 131.

The ultra-Orthodox Shas party’s ruling Council of Torah Sages, which is closely linked to Yosef, also calls 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 calls for repentance and instructs yeshiva students to increase their Torah study in order 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 says, 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 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.”