I respect Haredim.
I think that their counter-cultural ethos is inspirational and the construction of a lifestyle revolving around the study and observance of Torah is admirable.
I, too, value the study of Torah and in fact I think that it can be a valid form of national service, on par with army service, in its own way.
The past century has painfully reminded us, again and again, that we need soldiers, pilots, and commanders.
In this stage of history, in this world of violence, that is undeniable.
But we also need – have always needed – dedicated researchers, thinkers, and writers, imbued with the values and commitments of the Torah, to study and contemplate and illuminate the pressing questions of state and communal policy, from the unique perspective of the Torah’s texts and traditions.
We need units of kollelim studying the major sugiyoth of our time and presenting informative literature and lectures to advise and guide our leaders through the crises of this era and of this year.
We need the best and brightest Talmudic minds expending every effort to plumb the depths of Torah for solutions to our society’s problems.
Now it’s true that this form of national service isn’t right for everybody – there will have to be standards for enrollment and maintenance, tests and evaluations, and supervision by qualified, competent heads of kollelim and yeshiboth.
Those who would rather hang out at the pizza shop, or protest army service in the streets, or climb construction cranes, instead of dedicating their lives to Torah study for the sake of teaching it to our nation at the most critical times, need not apply.
But the religious reform I envision for this country can and should recognize the unique contributions the Haredi sector can make to our national defense and welfare, on our own terms as the nation of Israel.