Talmud studies credited for sniper excellence

Soldiers from the Netzah Yehuda battalion came in first place in a sharp-shooting course at the Adam Training Facility near Modi'in.

By YAAKOV KATZ
While members of the Nahal Haredi Battalion have decided to abandon the yeshiva benches in exchange for an M-16 rifle in the IDF, their past study of intricate Talmudic passages is assisting them today in turning into top-of-the-line combat soldiers. Last week, soldiers from the battalion - also known as Netzah Yehuda - came in first place in a sharp-shooting course at the Adam Training Facility near Modi'in. Representatives of the Golani and Givati Brigades also participated in the course, during which soldiers are trained to become sharpshooters and are taught to use mathematical equations to calculate the affect wind and distance will have on their shot. Nahal Haredi, which belongs to the Kfir Brigade and is based in the Jordan Valley, was established eight years ago as a single company. Today it is a full battalion with three companies and an elite counterterror squad. Most of the battalion's 700 soldiers are recruited in Israel and come from a haredi or national religious background. A Haredi source involved with the battalion said Monday that the soldiers' impressive results were due to their past Talmud studies, which helped them develop analytical skills. The source said the battalion's scores were the best obtained this past year at the facility. "Since the soldiers are haredi, they never really studied advanced math," the source said. "The course trainers broke their heads trying to figure out how the soldiers caught on so quickly until they realized that due to their experience studying Talmud it was a piece of cake for them to understand how to solve the complicated equations."