Rav Ben Zion Mutzapi: “The Authorities’ Goal Is to Secularize the Chareidim and Break Our Spirit”
Rav Ben Zion Mutzapi, leading Sephardic posek and rosh yeshiva of Bnei Tzion, delivered a forceful message addressing what he described as mounting decrees against Torah learners, set against the backdrop of the ongoing struggle over the draft law and the legal status of yeshiva students.
Rav Mutzapi’s remarks came in response to a question from one of his talmidim, who described the severe financial pressure facing many kollel families. The avreich explained that while the men learn in kollel throughout the day and their wives work and earn limited incomes, the cost of placing infants in licensed daycare facilities has become overwhelming. For families with two young children, he said, the expenses are often impossible to meet, leaving many avreichim without a viable way to support their households.
In his response, Rav Mutzapi said the hardships are not incidental, but intentional. He stated that the aim of the authorities is to break the spirit of Torah learners, distance them from Torah study, and secularize the chareidi community. He added that those advancing these policies neither recognize nor believe in Hashem or His Torah, and he sharply criticized what he described as rampant incitement against yeshiva students who are already struggling to obtain even basic necessities.
Rav Mutzapi went on to say that the Torah community has been brought low and called on the public to cry out to their Father in Heaven. He expressed hope that Hashem will hear their voices, have mercy on them, and bring salvation. He davened for better days, asking that Hashem overturn unjust rulings and disrupt the plans and schemes directed against Torah learners.
He concluded his response with words of faith, stating that just as Hashem saved Klal Yisroel from Paroh and his forces, He will save them again in the present time as well.
{Matzav.com}
