Regular battalion
The Yonatan Battalion
Established in record time. Half a year of fighting in Southern Lebanon under the 91st Division, and from there, north.
About the Brigade The first Charedi brigade in the IDF
A brigade rooted in faith, leading the fight with Torah and the fear of Heaven.
Tracks & Roles2Battalions
32Months of service
07Rifleman
A Charedi warrior, true to who he is
The Chashmonaim Brigade is a combat infantry brigade, created to let Charedi young men perform meaningful combat service while fully preserving a Torah-observant way of life.
Service is carried out only alongside fellow Charedi soldiers, under commanders who understand the community’s needs, with personal guidance every step of the way, from enlistment to discharge.
The brigade’s combat soldiers train to the highest standard: marksmanship, warfare in urban and open terrain, night combat, infiltration and raids. Since its founding, the brigade has operated in Southern Lebanon, Judea and Samaria and the northern sector, locating and destroying terror infrastructure, neutralizing launchers and taking an active part in defending the border communities.
A full brigade, from training to the front
No longer a small unit: two battalions, a training base of its own, and commanders who rose from the ranks.
Chashmonaim Brigade
First reserve battalion
The Shimon Battalion (1200)
Completed its first battalion exercise in the Golan Heights and was certified for operational activity: demolitions, suppressive fire, drones, medics and mortars.
Training base
The Chashmonaim Training Base
Fully adapted to a Torah-observant way of life. All courses, professional and command alike, are held right here at home.
Command track
Squad commanders and officers
Cohort 3 of the squad commanders’ course was certified at the Tomb of Samuel the Prophet, and the first officers’ cohort completed the “Northern Arrow” exercise.
“We came here to be warriors, to write our own history”
A soldier of the brigade, at the completion of a tractate during the Beret March
Faith and trust
Our fighting spirit rests on faith in the Creator and in the justice of our path.
Brotherhood in arms
Shoulder to shoulder, one heart. Brothers on one path, in the field and in the beit midrash.
Operational excellence
First place among the infantry brigades in the platoon assessment of their proficiency tests.
Sanctifying God’s name
To lead, to defend and to sanctify God’s name in every mission.
An uncompromising Charedi environment
Even at the height of training, faith and halacha are an inseparable part of the soldiers’ operational identity.
- Fixed study sessions and prayer with a minyan
- Strict mehadrin kashrut, without compromise
- Full gender separation and separate field outposts
- A God-fearing command staff, devoted to holiness
- The Brigade Rabbinate and a Ram (company rabbi) in each company, every step of the way
- Study days and meetings with leading rabbis
Our sacred customs
Completing a tractate at every milestone
Receiving a Tanach and a weapon at the swearing-in ceremony
A Beret March that ends at the Western Wall plaza
“The War of Torah,” a book written by the brigade’s soldiers and Rams
The unit song, “I Am a Warrior and a Ben Torah”
The people behind the brigade
Personal Columns
Col. Shemer RavivBrigade Commander
“You are the proof that the People of Israel can be defended without giving up who you are.”
Maj. Rabbi Betzalel GivoniBrigade Rabbi
Rabbi Yehuda PoverskyHead of the Guidance and Policy Branch
The Brigade HotlineHere for every question, from your very first call
Voices of the warriors
“We enlisted with a deep understanding that defending our brothers, our own flesh and blood, is a great mitzvah, and the privilege of doing so while keeping every commandment, light and grave alike, is an enormous gift from Hashem.”
“Being a combat soldier in the Chashmonaim Brigade is a mission, and above all a privilege. When spirit and valor walk together, that is the Chashmonaim Brigade.”
“The framework here does more than allow me to keep a Torah-observant life. It strengthens it. There is a support system here that understands who you are, as a combat soldier and as a ben Torah.”
“We go out to the field ready to lead, to command and to defend the People of Israel, with the Torah scroll and faith in the Creator as the compass guiding our every step.”
