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| The, Rosh Yeshiva of Tiferes Avigdor (screenshot) |
I am sad to report that Rav Keller is currently very
sick - suffering from the effects of COVID-19. Rabbi Keller is in his nineties and
his health is compromised. He is in need of our prayers. (Chaim Dov ben
Kreindel) He was among a few others that apparently caught the virus at the
Telshe Megilah reading last Purim. He has been suffering ever since.
A friend of mine in his 50s with no underlying health
conditions (an avid cyclist having competed in many grueling bike marathons)
is an alumnus of Telshe-Chicago. He attended that same Megilah reading in
Telshe (as he does every year) and caught the virus too. He was so sick that he
had to be hospitalized, placed in an ICU on a ventilator. Thankfully he is off
the ventilator and back home. But still weak and not fully recovered. He was
quoted recently saying that when he was on the vent he believed one foot was already
in the Olam Ha-Emes (the world to come)! He didn’t think he was going to make it.
I’m told that quite a few others that attended that Megilah reading caught the
virus too.
It is a story like this that makes me wary of attending any
Minyan now. It’s true that Megilah reading was done before anyone understood
the dangers of COVID-19 and none of the precautions now mandated were in place.
No one is to therefore to blame for what happened to Rabbi Keller and my
friend. I mention it to only to demonstrate how serious this insidious illness
is and how contagious it is even before any symptoms appear.
This is why I am still opposed to Shuls opening up right
now. Although many of them have, setting up the complex precautions recommended by
health officials, the idea that they will all be as strictly adhered to as Shul
officials intend them to be is at best questionable.
A factor complicating matters is that yesterday, huge numbers of people completely ignored the guidelines. Beaches, boardwalks, and parks all
over the country were filled with people not wearing masks crowded together oblivious
to the possibility of being affected by an asymptomatic individual right next
to them. Health officials have expressed concern that this may very well cause a spike in
the numbers infected – spreading out in all directions (while yet undetectable) making
contact tracing a nightmare.
Someone getting infected and ending up on
a ventilator a distinct possibility. Perhaps even greater than what it was just
a few days ago. Hopefully nothing will happen to those attending those Shuls
now. And if it God forbid does – they will end up the way most people who got it did - with
relatively mild cases and fully recovered 2 weeks after onset.
But as I am sure
my friend will tell you, it is definitely not worth taking the chance. That and
the near 100,000 people in this country that have died as a result of contracting
the virus should tell you all you need to know.
This is why a Teshuva (responsa) written by Rav Mayer Twersky
(who asked Rav Hershel Schachter to vet it and was advised to spread it far and wide) is so important.
He understands what is at stake.
He says that because of the threat to our lives (Sakana) our people must
stay home. It is forbidden to Daven with a Minyan (inside or outside) or any
other type of gathering in this country! No Yeshivos day schools or summer
camps. Even if it is now technically permitted by the government. Further details can be read (in Hebrew) at this website.
Pretty strong words. But necessary ones in my view. Which are being
listened to by the OU/RCA/CRC. And which contrasts with the view of the
right as expressed late last week in an Agudah public announcement in Chicago.
While they understand the dangers and are installing a massive amount of
precautionary rules, they felt that since the government allows it, they will
tempt fate with the hope that the relaxation of public restrictions based on solid medical advice, their precautions, and the merit of Tefilah b’Tzibur will protect them.
I hope they are right. But I agree with Rav Twersky. One
should not take chances with a disease like this and congregate for any
reason.
Which brings me to that Rosh Yeshiva in Wickliffe. He begins
by attacking those who photographed illegal Minyanim and reported them to
police. He said they are guilty of Mesirah (iInforming on fellow Jews to a hostile
government). And then incredulously he
says Halacha permits killing such a person without a Beis Din! (quickly adding
that one must first ask a Posek. That’s nice.)
He goes on to ridicule health officials and praises all the Minyanim
in Lakewood for having Minyanim all over the place - long before the relaxation of restrictions
of public prayer. And ridiculing any doctor or Posek that says Shuls should be
closed.
This is not an elderly Rav in Bnei Brak. This is an American that is
well aware of what is going on in the world. But he chooses to ignore what
health officials say – accusing them of not having sufficient understanding of
our religious needs. ‘Ki Heim Chayenu Ve-Orach Yameinu’ he says. What do these
health officials know about that?! Practically accusing them of being anti
religious he says: They allow grocery stores to be open so that families can
have fresh vegetables – why should houses of prayers be shut?!
Talk about being clueless. And more importantly dangerous. I
wish I could say I am surprised at his attitude. But there are some people on the
right who just can’t get passed the idea that the world is out to get us. For this Rosh Yeshiva, this isn’t about Pikuach Nefesh. It’s about
Esav Snoei L’Yaakov. The evil Goy, the gullible Jew, the ignorant doctors, and the incompetent Posek.
In his view, Shuls should have never been shut. I guess he doesn’t know about
Rabbi Keller. Maybe someone in Wickliffe should tell him?
