Rav Yehoshua Dovid Turchin: “Connection with the Zionists Is the Greatest Curse”
At a mass demonstration held outside Military Prison 10, thousands of members of the Yishuv HaYashan gathered to protest the imprisonment of yeshiva bochurim and avreichim who were recently arrested in Yehud and transferred to military custody.
The central address was delivered by Rav Yehoshua Dovid Turchin, who drew on the posuk, “Re’eh anochi nosien lifneichem hayom… See, I set before you today a blessing and a curse.” He declared that those who connect themselves with the Zionist establishment transform the curse into a supposed blessing, calling this “the greatest curse of all,” as it destroys separation from secularism and uproots the most basic foundations of Jewish identity.
Rav Turchin emphasized repeatedly the principle of havdalah—maintaining separation—and said that without it, there is no continuity of the mesorah. He sharply criticized those who have strayed from this path, charging them with bringing the current decrees upon Klal Yisroel. In contrast, he lauded the yeshiva students and avreichim who are sacrificing themselves, calling them the ones who “declare the truth, sanctify Hashem’s Name, and thereby save all of Klal Yisroel, the Torah, and the mitzvos.”
In a lengthy and impassioned speech, the rosh yeshiva painted the present crisis as a fulfillment of the verse, “And the land was chaos and void, and Hashem separated between light and darkness.” He argued that those who blur the distinction between holiness and secularism bring only confusion and destruction, while those who remain steadfast in separation preserve the light of Torah.
Turning to the imprisoned yeshiva students, whom he referred to as Asirei Tzion, Rav Turchin praised them as the true saviors of Klal Yisroel. “Those who stand firm in the test are saving themselves, saving the Jewish people, and saving everyone,” he proclaimed, adding that “a little bit of light pushes away much darkness.”
{Matzav.com Israel}