Election events were held throughout the country to start the efforts to bring out the vote for United Torah Judaism. At the even held in Jerusalem, HaRav Yosef Efrati, faithful shammash of Maran HaRav Eliashiv, delivered the following message.
Honored Chairman and participants. I would like to share with the public a few simple and well known thoughts. I do not come to innovate, since these words are already familiar to those sitting here. Nevertheless, let us repeat these well known messages.
HaRav Eliashiv joined the majority of gedolei Yisroel who established that it is obligatory to participate in the elections. It was HaRav Shach who said that one who goes to vote is actually sanctifying Hashem's name thereby, and if he refrains from doing so, he is not only transgressing a positive command but is also held responsible for those harmful laws and decrees passed by our enemies (see Letters and Essays, Vol. 5, p. 157).
Maran not only directed others to vote and work for the elections, but also voted himself in practice. We ourselves saw how he exerted himself fully even at his advanced age to go and vote and be counted among the voters electing representatives [to the government] who are subordinate to daas Torah, devoted to the increase of Torah prestige and who operate with all their energies to abolish the harsh laws and decrees facing us.
Furthermore, aside from the convening of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah which dealt with the issue of mamzeirim, and another meeting which discussed the problems of Chinuch Atzmai, the only other gathering of the Moetzes in which Maran participated focused on choosing who should be the shluchei derabbonon.
He had clear cut practical directions on these matters. I remember that there was a chareidi representative in Jerusalem, a fine and benevolent man per se but whose party did not fulfill the requirements. During the election period, several people came to Maran to praise him and note that we owed him a debt of gratitude. Despite the fact that gratitude was highly valued by Maran and practiced stringently, in this matter he felt that we must support the representatives which were elected by our leadership. When one person was insistent, he said that if he was so concerned about showing appreciation then he could send him flowers. But to vote? Vote only for one who has the support of gedolei Yisroel.
It is no secret, and the following took place not long ago, that certain people had claims against a representative to the point that they said it was impossible to vote for him, and they argued that one should abstain from voting. As difficult as it was for him, Maran refused to hear of it and came out strongly for participating in the elections and voting for this man.
It should be superfluous to speak at length about the importance of the campaign. If once there was handwriting on the wall, now here is the wall before us, a wall of hatred, incitement, of cutting Jewry off from Torah, of a mutual antipathy from the right and the left to draft yeshiva students. Can anyone doubt the need to vote and for whom to vote?
In a gathering that took place on the 3rd of Adar, 5772, in the home of HaRav Shteinman, we brought the words of the Rivash's response (siman 390) quoting the Beis Yosef in several places that a person is obligated to conduct himself in spiritual matters as he does in material ones, and just as in material matters, "Every thinking person chooses the most secure and reliable path," how much more so does this apply to matters of Torah and mitzvos.
Let us imagine that a person's property was being threatened and someone came and whispered to him that if he participated in the elections he would be able to save himself. Wouldn't he surely make every effort to go and vote? How much more so is this true in matters of sublime import, when our cause is to protect ourselves from the lion and the bear. From both the Right and the Left, all are determined to force the draft upon yeshiva students. Could anyone conceive of abandoning the battlefield, knowing how much power the representatives can gain by natural ways through the elections?
If we only had HaRav Eliashiv here with us, I believe he would agree to what I have said here.
