Furthermore, 16 years ago, I learned that of the “National Religious” men who enlisted in the IDF, 25% were no longer religious by the end of their service.
Who knows what the statistic is today?
Let us hope that this will also be a consideration for “National Religious” parents to reconsider the carrying on of this custom, until significant changes are made in IDF policy toward religious soldiers, being allowed to grow a beard, being minor in comparison to the many other gross violations of the Torah.
An excerpt from Esser Aggaroth, here.