 |
| Charedi women - at greater risk of death from breast cancer |
Chasid Shoteh (idiot Chasid) is a term used by the Gemarah
to describe an act of piety that in reality is counter to Halacha. Chasid, as
used in the Gemarah does not mean what it does today. It simply means an
individual of great piety.
A Chasid Shoteh does not refer to the Chasid of today. It refers to any Jew whose piety is so extreme that it even prevents him from performing a life saving act. The Gemarah gives an example of that. If a man sees a naked woman drowning and
refrains from saving her because of his concern for modesty, he is called a
Chasid Shoteh.
What Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll describes in her JC article as the behavior of
Bnei Brak’s rabbinic establishment can only be described that way. They are
actually advocating that the prevention of potentially fatal illnesses for women not be addressed publicly because of modesty considerations.
Here is what she said in her JC article:
"There’s no greater value for a Charedi woman than modesty.” So said the former chief of staff for the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, Rabbi Dov Halbertal. He was explaining why posters raising awareness of breast cancer screening in Charedi society were inappropriate for the very population they were crafted to reach. No matter how carefully posters talking about women’s health are worded, he explained, the fact that they address women at all makes them inherently immodest.
I can’t think of too many things that more closely resemble
the Gemarah’s description of a Chasid Shoteh than this. They are putting modesty issues before life saving issues, just like that Chasid Shoteh in the Gemarah.
In the case of Bnei Brak, to say that addressing women at all is inherently immodest is the height of foolishness and irresponsibility! If
it wasn’t such a serious issue I’d be laughing my head off at a statement like
that!
Charedi women are not immune to breast cancer. Breast cancer affects them too. They can die from it, just like any
woman can as Mrs Keats Jaskoll notes:
Three major Israeli medical studies in the past decade have revealed that, despite the fact that Charedi women develop breast cancer at a lower rate than the general population, they suffer a 30 per cent higher mortality rate from the disease.
That breast cancer can be life threatening is unarguable. But
measures can be taken to prevent the disease from killing you. Especially if
there is early detection. That’s why mammograms are so important.
There has been some controversy about false positives that
occasionally occur raising questions among medical experts about what age screenings should begin. For example the American Cancer Society has recommended that the age
where annual testing begins should be raised from age 40 to 45. On the other hand 'the American College of
Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), say that starting at 40 is best.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Preventive
Services Task Force Services (USPSTF) says that women can wait until
50'.
There is no disagreement, however, about the need to be begin being screened
at some point and to do it annually from there. That rabbis in places like Bnei Brak forbid any public discussion of it for modesty reasons may be one
reason there is a higher mortality rate in the Charedi world despite their
lower tendency to get the disease.
I have to wonder about the thinking that goes behind the
kind of extreme modesty guidelines that can actually increase the incidence of
death. Surely the rabbinic leaders of Bnei Brak know about the concept of
Chasid Shoteh. How do they not see their attitude here being an application of
this very clear Gemarah?
I know they must think there are other ways to transmit
this message to their wives, mothers, and daughters. But there is no better way to get the word out than by
publicizing it. Shouldn’t getting the message out to as many people as
possible be the priority here?
That is after all how they get their other messages out. There is no reluctance to publicize those issues with public notices on billboards and the like. They are quick to call for an Asifa (public gathering) with speaker after speaker haranguing
their public about an issue like the internet. Isn’t the prevention of death from
breast cancer as important an issue as the internet?
Are they willing to tolerate a higher morbidity rate for
Charedi women with breast cancer so that they can maintain their extreme modesty
standards? It sure seems like it.
