For a Haredi soldier serving alongside secular units, what’s actually permitted regarding Shabbat during active war?
Q. Thank you. I’m aware that there are Charadi units. Can a Charadi man serve in a non-Charadi unit? Can a Charadi person work on Shabbat while at war?
Anything that is necessary for the war is obviously not only allowed on Shabbat but is a great mitzva! Anything which isn’t necessary on Shabbat is not done anyway during all Shabbatot all year round. Shabbat is the legal day of rest in the IDF, and it’s even illegal for an officer to give any order, even to a non-religious soldier, which desecrates the Shabbat in any way. There may occasionally be an officer who isn’t aware of all the details of Shabbat, but every soldier can notify his commander if any command is prohibited. If a Haredi has a personal talent and can especially contribute to Am Yisrael and the army in a field where there is no Haredi unit, he should check out the details and verify if he can continue his way of observance there, and act accordingly. In general, today, most of the combat units are comprised of mostly religious soldiers, and minyan, kashrut and Shabbat are usually not problematic (one just has to keep his eyes open for occasional questions which may arise, just as anywhere outside of your home/yeshiva, and be in touch with his platoon rabbi), and in the real crack combat units, there are by definition no women, except in perphereal jobs, not in the unit itself. Nevertheless, it’s clearly easier to be in a unit where there are many Haredi men by definition.
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