New top Sephardic rabbi backs rulings that soldiers in combat must eat on Yom Kippur

Seeking to allay concerns of ultra-Orthodox troops in Gaza, David Yosef notes existing protocols barring them from fasting, says when in doubt they should turn to IDF rabbis

Mati Wagner is The Times of Israel's religions reporter.

Illustrative: Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip, in photos released on October 10, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Illustrative: Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip, in photos released on October 10, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

In response to questions from Haredi combat soldiers fighting in Gaza’s Beit Hanoun, newly appointed Chief Sephardic Rabbi David Yosef on Thursday affirmed existing IDF protocols prohibiting them from fasting on Yom Kippur.

Yosef quieted the concerns of Haredi combat soldiers who sought out the opinion of an ultra-Orthodox rabbi willing to affirm existing IDF rabbinate rulings ordering active combat troops to eat on the holiest day of the year on the Jewish calendar.

“I have diligently perused the IDF rabbinate’s halachic decisions presently in use and have found them to be satisfactory,” said Yosef in a letter to Yossi Levi, the director of Netzah Yehudah, an organization that encourages and facilitates the drafting of Haredi men into the IDF.

“You should follow the halachic ruling of the IDF rabbinate and in cases of doubt you should turn to your IDF rabbi and follow his directions,” wrote Yosef.

In Jewish law, saving human life takes precedence over adhering to religious strictures, including the prohibition against eating on Yom Kippur, a day of fasting dedicated to introspection and repentance.

Yosef, son of the revered late Haredi spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who also served as Sephardic chief rabbi, has said on a number of occasions in the past that he is adamantly opposed to drafting yeshiva students into military service.

Son of late Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Rabbi David Yosef, leaves after giving a Torah lesson during a visit to Safed, November 16, 2017. (David Cohen/Flash90)

Levi said that Yosef’s letter sought to strengthen the IDF rabbinate in the eyes of Haredi soldiers.

“It’s not easy for a Haredi soldier to eat on Yom Kippur,” Levi told The Times of Israel. “These soldiers wanted to be reassured.”

Rules relating to warfare are almost entirely absent from the “Shulchan Aruch,” the 16th-century codex of Jewish law that governs all aspects of religious life.

Since the creation of the State of Israel and the renewal of Jewish sovereignty and military capabilities, a vast halachic literature has developed around the laws of warfare.

But this literature has been generated primarily by Modern Orthodox and Religious Zionist rabbis who had to adjudicate for students and members of communities.

Haredi rabbis, in contrast, have either eschewed ruling on matters of warfare altogether or have issued decisions privately to specific soldiers without making their rulings known to the wider public.

Their aloofness is designed to prevent the impression they support military service by Haredi Jews.

Young ultra-Orthodox men, whether Hasidic or members of the Lithuanian yeshiva world, feel more comfortable turning to their own rabbis.

“This doesn’t mean Netzah Yehudah’s Haredi soldiers reject the authority of the IDF’s rabbinate,” said Levi. “If there is a contradiction between a Haredi rabbi’s ruling and the IDF’s rabbinate, the Haredi soldier is obligated to adhere to the latter.

“But just because a Haredi soldier enlists in the IDF, it doesn’t mean he cuts ties with his past. Whether he is Hasidic or Lithuanian, he often still maintains contact with his Haredi rabbi,” said Levi.

Illustrative: Troops of the Kfir Brigade’s Netzah Yehuda Battalion operate in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun, in a handout image published April 23, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Haredi soldiers, particularly those who come from Sephardic families, sought out Yosef, a member of the Council of Torah Sages, which is the supreme halachic authority for ultra-Orthodox Sephardi Jews.

The chief rabbi wrote that it was “clear” that IDF combat soldiers actively involved in fighting are prohibited from fasting on Yom Kippur. They are also not to limit the amount they eat and drink, but to consume food and liquids as they normally do.

IDF soldiers supporting combat units, but not directly involved in fighting, are also allowed to eat in accordance with their needs if fasting at all impairs their ability to function at full capacity.

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