In Israel, one of the most common refrains is "שוויון בנטל" - Equality in bearing the burden. It is NOT FAIR that non-Charedim serve while Charedim don't. All over the place שוויון בנטל שוויון בנטל שוויון בנטל.
What is the Charedi response? Well, Charedim are bound by ONE THING - the will of Hashem as expressed in the Torah. And it turns out that "שוויון בנטל" appears exactly ZERO times in all of Tanach, Chazal, Rishonim and Acharonim. So such a concept doesn't obligate them.
Now, it is a basic Jewish belief that when a Jew sins, it brings evil and suffering to the world. So when a non-yet-observant/Chiloni Jew is מחלל שבת or has relations with his wife [or someone else's wife] who didn't go to mikva - he is bringing terrorism to Israel, cancer to innocent people and ALL TYPES of suffering. Why is THAT fair that others should suffer because of them??
What is the Chiloni response to this claim/accusation? Oh - we don't believe in that. We don't have to live based on your belief. We follow our own beliefs and disbeliefs!
Well, that is EXACTLY what the Charedim say about שוויון בנטל. That is a Chiloni belief, not a Jewish one.
The argument that the Torah requires the boys to leave Yeshiva and enlist in the army is something that requires a response. And the response [in my opinion] is that emptying out the Yeshivos and sending boys to the secular establishment's [who are hell bent on destroying the Charedi world] army would spell the end of the Charedi world and that, for those who really believe in Torah Mi-Sinai and have deep Yiras Shomayim, would be an unspeakable tragedy. That is why there is not ONE serious Charedi Gadol/Rosh Yeshiva/Rosh Kollel [and if there is then he is a rare exception] who is in favor of telling the bochrim to enlist. That is besides the well known maxim that Torah study protects us and that is part of the war effort, no less than what is happening on the battlefield [which, nebuch, many Jews don't believe].
Nothing of the above should in any way detract from our appreciation of the tremendous Mesirus Nefesh of the soldiers who are defending [בעזרת השם] all of us and have had to pay heavy prices in life and limb and their families as well - particularly the heroic mothers and wives.
On that note please daven for the chayal משה אהרן בן לאה ביילא who is a true ben Torah that was seriously injured and is unconscious for over a month and is on life support.
