A translation of Tanna D’vei Eliyahu Rabbah (Ish Shalom) Parsha 11″
Another interpretation [of the verse]: There let them recite the righteous acts of Hashem, the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel … (Judges 5:11):
If there is a small town in Israel, and the people stood up and built for themselves a synagogue and a house of study, and hired for themselves a Sage, and hired for themselves teachers for the children—then even another town close to it, once they saw this, they too stood up and built a synagogue and a house of study and hired for themselves teachers for the children.
The result is that many houses of study are established in Israel forever, as it is said: “Then the people of Hashem went down to the gates” (Judges 5:11).
And from within these many houses of study in Israel, happy is the one who innovates words of Torah from his own mouth; he is like one who is made to hear [the word] from Heaven. The Holy One, Blessed be He, says to him:
“My son, My great House of Study is yours,” as it is said: “Let the L-rd choose new things (ie. new innovations)“ (Judges 5:8).
From here they said: If forty thousand of Israel gathered and went out to war, and there is among them even a single pair of Torah scholars, it is as if [G-d] delivered [the enemy] into their hands, as it is said: “A shield if it shall appear and a spear among forty thousand in Israel” (Judges 5:8).
Comment #1 Tanna D’vei Eliyahu Rabbah interprets Judges 5:8 in a positive light. The shield and spear are symbols of the pair of Torah scholars appearing among the forty thousand soldiers.
Comment #2 Each person should consult with a recognized Halachic authority on how to implement this ideal in the face of current difficulties.
According to current surveys, Religious-Zionist families in Israel that encourage serving in the secular I.D.F. lose a much larger percentage of their children to the secular world in contrast to the Charedim who do not encourage joining the I.D.F.
I leave the responsibility of how to implement the ideal of Tanna D’vei Eliyahu Rabbah in the hands of others.
Here is the original Hebrew of Tanna D’vei Eliyahu Rabbah to double check the translation
תנא דבי אליהו אליהו רבה (איש שלום) פרשה יא
דבר אחר, שם יתנו צדקות ה’ צדקות פרזונו בישראל, עיר קטנה שבישראל, ועמדו ובנו להם בית הכנסת ובית המדרש, ושכרו להם את החכם, ושכרו להן מלמדי תינוקת, אף עיר אחרת קרובה לה כיון שראו עמדו אף הן ובנו בית הכנסת ובית המדרש ושכרו להן מלמדי תינוקת, נמצאו בתי מדרשות רבים בישראל (לעולם), שנאמר אז ירדו לשערים עם ה’ (שם /שופטים ה’/), ומתוך בתי מדרשות שרבים בישראל (לעולם) אשרי מי שמחדש דברי תורה על פיו, דומה כמי שמשמיעין אותו [מן השמים], (אמר) [ואומר] לו הקדוש ברוך הוא, בני בית המדרש (גדול) [הגדול] שלי שלך הוא, שנאמר יבחר אלהים חדשים (שם /שופטים ה’/ ח’), מיכן אמרו ארבעים אלף מישראל שנתקבצו ויצאו למלחמה ויש ביניהן זוג אחד של תלמידי חכמים דומה שהוא מסרם (בידו) [בידן], שנאמר מגן אם יראה ורומח.