HILCHOT TZAVA - HALACHOT OF THE ARMY

Hilchot Tzava - Halachot of the Army

Posted by Mordechai Friedfertig at 5:36 AM
remplaza_fecha('31 December 2008');
31
Dec
2008
A soldier/cohain who killed an enemyQuestion: Can a soldier/cohain who kills an enemy still say the "Birkat Cohain" (In the Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 128:35, Rav Yosef Karo rules that a cohain who killed another person may not recite this blessing)?Answer: Certainly. He is not a murderer but, on the contrary, a rescuer of Jews (see Shut Yechaveh Da'at 2:14).

A soldier who did not davenQuestion: If a soldier did not daven because of a military operation or guard duty, should he do "tashlumim" (one who misses davening the Shemoneh Esrei due to circumstances beyond his control can compensate for the missed Shemoneh Esrei by davening a second Shemoneh Esrei during the next davening)?Answer: There is no need. One who is involved in a mitzvah is exempt from another mitzvah.

A soldier mistakenly killedQuestion: Is a soldier who is mistakenly killed by another soldier who thought he was a terrorist considered to have been killed "al Kiddush Hashem" (sanctifying Hashem's Name)?

Answer: Yes, since there are errors within the framework of Tzahal's activities and this is taken into consideration by the military. This is also the ruling for someone who is killed in training exercises, since the exercises also contain a level of deterrence.

Freezing semen before being draftedQuestion: Is it permissible to freeze semen before being drafted into the army or is it wantonly destroying one's seed?Answer: It is not wantonly destroying seed since the purpose is to produce offspring. However, we do not act in this way since if a child is born from a soldier who is killed, he will be fatherless. This would also cause a weakened sense of military courage."Get Milchama" – A wartime divorceQuestion: We learn in the Book of Shmuel (2 11) that anyone who went to war in King David's army wrote a divorce for his wife to avoid her becoming an "Agunah" (a wife unable to remarry) in case he went missing in battle. Why don't we act this way during our time?

Answer: The truth is that Rabbis did do this various times, including when Jews served in non-Jewish armies, but they ceased doing so when they saw that it broke the soldiers' spirit. By the way, the Ba'al Ha-Turim says that Moshe Rabbenu already acted this way, and King David learned it from him (See Ba'al Ha-Turim to Bamidbar 31:21).

An order to evacuate

Question: I understand the need to obey military orders in order to prevent a breakdown in the army and a crisis, but I simply am unable to evacuate my brothers. I have served in the reserves for over a year and am loyal to the State and army, but I am unable to fulfill this command. I can refrain for participating with any excuse, but I see an importance in my commanders knowing that in my view it is impossible to be involved in this sin. What should I do?

Answer: If you are unable, then you are unable, Baruch Hashem. Although they say in the army: "There is no such thing as unable, there is only 'I don't want to,'" this is not always true. Occasionally, a soldier is truly unable. A soldier is sometimes unable to shoot, because he simply does not have a weapon, and sometimes a soldier is unable because he does not have motivation. Motivation is essentially built upon the soldiers’ world of ideals. Napoleon said: motivation is three times greater than a weapon. If I had to evacuate my brothers, I would either faint on the spot or feel sick, lacking any ability to perform it. I have seen nurses faint in a hospital from what they saw. But waving the flag of refusal as an instrument to influence the political process is a very distant path. It is not possible that soldiers, with all their value and importance, can alone decide the political process. It must be decided by the entire Nation.

An aliyah to the Torah on a fast day for a soldier who ateQuestion: Can a soldier who must eat in order to perform his duty on a fast day receive an aliyah to the Torah?

Answer: There are arguments either way, and everyone should act in a manner which seems proper to him.

taken from:Torat HaRav Aviner