Israel’s Military Rabbinate has unveiled a portable Holy Ark containing a Torah scroll for use by army rabbis in the field.
The lightweight case is designed to be worn like a backpack and can be converted into a small bimah for reading scripture.
Military religious chiefs developed the gadget for use in combat conditions in connection with the outbreak of war in Gaza, according to Srugim.
“When it comes to transporting a Torah scroll, an ark is necessary to prevent damage from humidity,” said Colonel Rabbi Shoham Orkabi, the head of the operational department of the Military Rabbinate.
Prior to the design of the portable ark, troops transported Torah scrolls in cases that were neither comfortable to carry nor waterproof, Orkabi added.
Troops using the new portable ark can use the carrying case as a bimah, and place the scroll on it while reading. The case has short legs that allow it to be placed on the ground without getting water, mud, or dirt on the case’s body.
The legs are also important to avoid placing the Torah scroll on the ground, which is forbidden in religious law.
The development comes at a tense moment for the strictly religious complement in the IDF, particularly regarding the recruitment of Charedim into the armed forces.
A Supreme Court decision last year saw Charedi men eligible for conscription for the first time in eighty years, ending an exemption designed to allow them to study in yeshivot as an alternative.
But the ruling has met with resistance from the community, with many arguing that compulsory service will interfere with the religious education of its young men.
Latest official figures show that 916 Charedi men have enlisted since the court’s decision, around a fifth of the annual target of 4,800 by June this year.
The government target will then be increased to 5,700 in the 2025-26 cycle, a major contrast to the roughly 1,200 recruited each year from 2019-22.
