Weekly Commentary: 45 Righteous Sustain the World - We Don't Need Myriads in
Yeshiva Instead of the IDF
Dr. Aaron Lerner, 22 October 2026
https://youtu.be/ac29ET7ymPI

"Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak. these are
the forty-five righteous by whom the world is sustained, and I do not know
whether thirty are here and fifteen in the Land of Israel, or thirty in the
Land of Israel and fifteen here."
- Chullin 92a

Many Israeli politicians have embraced the idea that every draft-age Jew
should have the right to choose yeshiva study over service in the IDF.

This rests on a mystical claim that our survival depends on satisfying some
insatiable divine need for an unlimited number of draft-age men to study
rather than serve.

Yet if only forty-five righteous people are required to sustain the world -
and not even necessarily draft-age ones - then the notion that we have a
mystical need for tens of thousands of draft-age men in yeshiva makes no
sense.

The State of Israel could reasonably sponsor a limited number of Torah
scholars - chosen by the Haredi "Gedolim" - to serve as the "righteous" who
sustain the country.

Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak put the number at forty-five. To allow for
possible errors in identifying them, we can double it to ninety.

To ensure the program runs smoothly, the full annual budget can be
transferred to the Haredi "Gedolim" to administer as they see fit.

How many of the selected ninety "righteous" are of draft age would, of
course, be decided solely by the "Gedolim."
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