Halacha or Denial? You Decide.

The Halachic Excuses Are Missing the Bigger Picture

On a range of major issues, the classic Charedi position tends to be negative, often justified through intricate Halachic calculations. Each issue—whether Aliyah, the army, the Beis HaMikdash, Techeiles or Korban Pesach—is treated as its own isolated Halachic question. But when we zoom out and look at the big picture, a clear pattern begins to emerge: these Halachic arguments are, consciously or not, mechanisms for denying the new status of the Jewish people as a sovereign nation.

Let’s start with the draft. The Charedi position is that learning Torah is the greatest mitzvah, even greater than fighting in a war. Not only that, but the army presents spiritual dangers—exposure to secular influences, a potential weakening of religious commitment, and a lack of proper Halachic accommodations. Therefore, they argue, it’s simply not an option for the Charedi public.

Next, take the question of rebuilding the Beis HaMikdash. Here too, the position is that we can’t proceed due to a host of Halachic complications. We don’t know the precise location of the Mizbeach. There are concerns about tumah and taharah. It might be a matter of pikuach nefesh. We don’t have the proper vessels or the full knowledge of the Avodah. Each reason sounds serious in isolation.

Then comes Korban Pesach. Again, similar arguments arise—too many unresolved Halachic issues, too much risk of error, and a general sense that "the time just isn’t right." So even though bringing the Korban Pesach is a chiyuv de’oraysa, it too is indefinitely postponed.

And of course, there's the issue of Aliyah. Once again, the response is framed in Halachic and practical terms. Questions are raised about parnassah, about chinuch for the children, about the lack of established kehillos, about the secular nature of the government, and about the dangers and uncertainties of life in Eretz Yisrael. For many, these are enough to justify staying in chutz la’aretz indefinitely, even if that means never really considering whether Aliyah is a mitzvah that applies in our time.

And then there’s Techeiles. The pushback here is familiar: we’re not absolutely certain that this is the correct chilazon, the mesorah was lost, the process might not be exact. So the status quo remains—most people continue wearing plain white tzitzis, and the discussion never really advances.

And finally, there’s Aliyah to Har HaBayis. This one goes even further: not just hesitancy, but outright prohibition with fiery language. We’re warned of severe issurim, of spiritual danger, of kareis. Despite serious Halachic debate among contemporary poskim, the mainstream Charedi approach is not to weigh the Halachic opinions, but to shut down the conversation entirely. No nuance. No room for the possibility that the time has come. Just a categorical “assur.”

But here’s the underlying issue: all of these are mitzvos that become relevant primarily when the Jewish people function as a nation that has returned to its land. A nation needs an army. A nation must build the Beis HaMikdash. A nation is commanded to bring Korban Pesach. A nation, obviously, must return to its land. A nation that sees Techeiles return must consider what time it is in Jewish history. And a nation that has access to Har HaBayis must ask whether its sanctity calls not only for fear, but also for presence. These are not just individual obligations—they are national imperatives.

What ties these Charedi positions together is not just Halachic caution. It’s an unwillingness to accept the basic fact that the Jewish people today are a nation-state. That we have entered a phase of history in which these collective mitzvos are no longer theoretical—they are live obligations. The return to sovereignty brings with it a new kind of responsibility, and that responsibility is being quietly denied under the cover of Halachic complexity.

This isn’t to say that the Halachic questions aren't real. They are. But when every single national mitzvah gets shut down with a "not now," it becomes hard to ignore the broader pattern. It's not just about technicalities. It's about worldview. And the Charedi worldview, for all its commitment to Torah and mitzvos, fundamentally resists the idea that Jewish sovereignty in Eretz Yisrael is a religiously transformative event.

And in this light, Har HaBayis becomes the clincher. The unusually severe rhetoric, the categorical bans, the refusal to even entertain alternate views—it all reveals how central this issue really is. Because Har HaBayis isn’t just another Halachic question. It’s the beating heart of the Geulah. To ascend it is to declare that the Shechinah is no longer in exile. That the dream is real. And that is the one conclusion this worldview cannot allow.

Until that changes, no amount of political negotiation or Halachic problem-solving will move the needle. Because at the root of it, what’s being rejected is not just a policy—it’s a reality.