The sacred yeshivos, and the possibilities of modern day education for all of our children and offspring in Torah institutions without limitation, constitute the very underpinning of the preservation of the Jewish people. Without yeshivos, there cannot be a Jewish nation. It is our obligation to see that the yeshivos continue their objective of Torah learning without hindrance to the students, each one inclusive.
"Believe me, I am speaking with the last vestige of strength. I am no longer young nor do I know the number of my days. I don't even know what will be with me in an hour's time. But I cannot help but express the truth! I heard talk about the mobilization of yeshiva students, may Hashem preserve us from this. For if it does take place, it will be the ruination of our community. Know that the yeshivos are not merely places of study. The yeshivos build Eretz Yisroel. If there are yeshivos, there is a land. Without Torah, who knows what will be five years from now?
"We have seen with our very eyes how the countries of the Soviet Union with their tens of millions [of people] disappeared overnight. What will avail our people with another army, another industrial plant? What will this help towards the existence of our nation?
"Our yeshiva students are the ones who build up Eretz Yisroel and not the directors of factories in the country. So what does help to build up the country? The yeshivos, the chadorim - they build up Eretz Yisroel!" (Quoted from a message by HaRav Shach at an election rally for United Torah Jewry in the Yad Eliyahu stadium, 5752.)
"Rav Saadya Gaon says that our nation is a nation only by virtue of its Torah and its teachings. We are not like other nations who are dependent upon area/land. Jewry is a nation only through its Torah. If one possesses a Sefer Torah in his bookcase, this is not enough. We must live our whole lives according to the Torah as our people studied it and taught it throughout the ages. This is the very lifeblood of the Jewish people. Without it, we cannot be considered a nation!
"Without Torah, without Torah study, without Torah [and mitzvah] observance, we are not a nation.
"And now there are those who wish to take action to eradicate our people. But if Torah is not studied and kept, this is tantamount to the wiping out of our people! (From a message of HaRav Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman at a gathering of roshei yeshivos in Israel for "The world cry of Torah against the decree of army service", 13 of Teves, 5774).
