Soldiers in infantry combat units and members of various special forces in both the IDF and the police have been on operations throughout Judea and Samaria these past several days as part of the country's attempt to quash the latest wave of terrorism.
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A number of missions have resulted in armed clashes between the forces and terrorists or local supporters. With Ramadan in full swing, tensions are high, and the work is dangerous.
One soldier, a member of a unit whose personnel cannot be named for security reasons, shared his concerns in a recent appeal to Rabbi Baruch Efrati, a religious Zionist rabbi who heads the organization Derech Emunah, for advice.
"Good morning, Rabbi. We are being deployed to Judea and Samaria. On … my wife is supposed to go to the mikveh, and it doesn't look like I'll get leave. Should I freeze my sperm (in case, God forbid…)" the soldier asked.
Efrati sought to comfort the worried man.
"God will protect you as you go and return. You have the privilege of fighting for the people of Israel and the Land of Israel," he said.
"Don't freeze your sperm. We cannot assume that you will be wounded in battle, heaven forbid, and thereby hurt your morale," Efrati assured the soldier.
"This is one of the reasons why when the state was first founded, [religious Zionist] Rabbi Shlomo Goren cancelled the military tradition from the House of David of [soldiers] granting decrees of divorce to their wives prior to going to war. There were some who disagreed because of the fear of a woman being unable to marry if the husbands were to disappear [and not be confirmed dead], but there is certainly no need to freeze sperm in advance," Efrati waid.
"Even if you do not go home on Wednesday, your wife should visit the mikveh, in case you do," the rabbi instructed, explaining that if the soldier is unable to join his wife after she visits the mikveh, she should sleep wearing his clothing, or with a knife under her pillow, or with a baby in the room.
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