Rosh Yeshivas Rashbi Rav Meir Tzvi Bergman delivered an emotional message to United Torah Judaism lawmakers on Tuesday, declaring that protecting yeshiva bochurim must remain their overriding priority in the upcoming Israeli elections. During the meeting, MK Yaakov Asher pledged that the party would refuse to join any government that fails to reach an acceptable arrangement safeguarding the status of yeshiva students.

The meeting took place at Rav Bergman’s home, where members of the United Torah Judaism faction gathered to seek his guidance and receive his bracha ahead of an election campaign in which the future of yeshiva students and their military service exemptions has become a central issue.

Speaking with deep emotion, Rav Bergman told the lawmakers that the continued existence and protection of the yeshiva world must guide their political decisions.

“We must understand that everything that concerns us revolves around the yeshiva bochurim,” the rosh yeshiva said.

MK Yaakov Asher described the approaching elections as an unusually consequential political battle over the future of Torah learning in Israel.

“The entire campaign now, both from our side and from the secular side, is a battle over the yeshiva bochurim, more than in any previous election,” Asher told Rav Bergman.

The rosh yeshiva responded emphatically, stressing that the issue was fundamental to the chareidi community’s very existence.

“This is what we must stand firm on. If we have no yeshiva bochurim, we have nothing!”

Asher then outlined the commitment that United Torah Judaism has made regarding participation in a future governing coalition, making clear that the party’s position would not depend on which political bloc emerges from the elections.

“We have publicly declared that we will not enter any government without an agreed-upon arrangement for the yeshiva bochurim,” Asher said. “We do not know what will happen in the elections, whether the right wins or the left wins. It makes no difference. We will not enter any government that does not regulate and guarantee this matter. We have stated this absolutely clearly. This is the main thing. They are trying to destroy this precisely because it is the foundation upon which everything rests.”

Rav Bergman reiterated that the preservation of the yeshiva world must remain the foundation of the party’s political approach, regardless of the challenges and negotiations that may follow the election.

“Our entire essence is that we stand firm on this, and without it, we have nothing. This must be remembered. And indeed, once we know this ‘secret,’ we can approach the matter,” the rosh yeshiva said.

MK Yitzchok Pindrus also addressed Rav Bergman, emphasizing that the elected representatives view themselves as carrying out the directives of the Torah leadership.

“All of us act by the authority of the one who sends us. An emissary acts by the authority of his sender, and we are the emissaries of the rosh yeshiva,” Pindrus said.

The meeting concluded with the lawmakers receiving Rav Bergman’s bracha for success in the upcoming elections and for their efforts to increase and sanctify the honor of Hashem.

{Matzav.com}