HaGaon Rabbi Avraham Salim Calls Mother of Imprisoned Yeshiva Student: 'Your Son Is Making a Great Kiddush Hashem'

In a rare and deeply personal gesture amid the intensifying confrontation over yeshiva draft enforcement, HaGaon Rabbi Avraham Salim, a member of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah, initiated an emotional phone call to the mother of Meir Sabag, a yeshiva student currently detained in military prison for draft evasion.

The conversation, facilitated by the Chai Olam organization, represents an extraordinary display of rabbinic leadership during what has become one of the most volatile periods in relations between Israel's Torah world and state authorities. Rabbi Salim's outreach comes as Haredi municipal leaders threaten to sever all cooperation with police over the wave of arrests targeting yeshiva students.

'Your Son Is Making a Great Kiddush Hashem'

During the conversation, Rabbi Salim emphasized that Meir Sabag's detention is not an isolated incident but part of a broader phenomenon of mesirus nefesh among Torah students. "Your son and all the imprisoned Torah learners are making a great Kiddush Hashem," the senior rabbi stated, his voice conveying both gravity and encouragement.

The member of Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah recounted his recent participation in a major gathering for the preservation of the Torah world, where he highlighted the extraordinary dedication of Sephardic yeshiva students. "Even when they are arrested and all the decrees are directed against them, nothing moves them," Rabbi Salim noted. "They sacrifice themselves so that Torah will continue and endure."

The Arrest That Shocked the Yeshiva World

Meir Sabag, a student at Yeshivat Darchei Ish in Moshav Tirosh, was apprehended last week in what witnesses described as a calculated police ambush on the road between Beit Shemesh and Tirosh. According to testimony from those present, law enforcement officers initially assured the yeshiva students that military police had no intention of making arrests and were merely delivering summonses.

Within fifteen minutes, plainclothes investigators arrived at the scene, placed Sabag in handcuffs, and transferred him to military detention. The incident has become emblematic of what the Torah community views as deceptive tactics employed in the escalating enforcement campaign against draft evaders.

Prayer and Hope for Swift Release

Rabbi Salim concluded his conversation with the worried mother on a note of optimism and blessing. "All of the Torah world is praying for him and for all the imprisoned yeshiva students," he assured her. "B'ezras Hashem, Meir will be released soon. May you merit a complete recovery and much nachas, and may salvation come speedily."

The phone call reflects a growing pattern among gedolei Yisrael of personally engaging with families affected by the draft enforcement measures. Several months ago, Rosh Yeshiva HaGaon Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch and members of Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah visited Prison 10 to strengthen imprisoned Torah students, in a gathering that left a profound impression on all participants.

Rabbinic Leadership in a Time of Crisis

Similarly, the posek HaGaon Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch recently received a yeshiva student who had been released after twenty days in military prison, greeting him with exceptional warmth and defining him as a "partner of HaKadosh Baruch Hu" while bestowing heartfelt blessings upon him.

Within the yeshiva world, Rabbi Salim's initiative is being recognized as an expression of leadership responsibility toward yeshiva students and their families during this challenging period. The personal phone call and strengthening messages provide significant encouragement to numerous families confronting similar circumstances.

The broader context includes postponed large-scale enforcement operations and mounting institutional tensions between Haredi communities and state authorities. Recent days have witnessed an increase in arrests of yeshiva students, with two students from Yeshivat Maalot HaTorah detained on Route 6 this past Friday evening, an incident that sent shockwaves through the Haredi public and prompted the declaration of an emergency gathering on motzaei Shabbos.