A database for comparative study
We are writing with the guidance of our Poskim, Harav Hershel Schachter שליט״א, Harav Asher Weiss שליט״א, and Harav Modechai Willig שליט״א, concerning the issue of Mikvah use during the current pandemic.
While the unfailing dedication of Jewish women to this practice is profoundly inspiring, we must address its safety with the utmost seriousness, both for the sake of public health, and to allay fears.… Read the rest
Please find below a letter from Rabbi Joshua Heller, chair of the CJLS rites and ritual subcommittee providing guidance for communities affected by COVID-19. Thanks to Rabbis Pamela Barmash, Susan Grossman and Ashira Konigsburg for contributions. Please note that this is not an official responsum of the CJLS. … Read the rest
עם הוראות משרד הבריאות שאין להתפלל בציבור ופסק הרבנים להישמע להם, הרבה מעם ישראל החלו להתפלל במרפסות, ולצרף אליהם אנשים שונים שגם הם נמצאים במרפסת אחרת (מה שמכונה “מניין מרפסות”), הדבר מאפשר להם להתפלל לכאורה בציבור וגם לשמור על הנחיות משרד הבריאות.… Read the rest
What does loving your neighbor look like during this Covid-19 season? In Luke 10, when Jesus sends out the 72 to all the towns where Jesus himself was planning to visit in the near future, he tells them to do very practical, everyday things (eat and drink with them; pray for them; heal the sick; remain with them), all in the posture of one who is bringing the peace of God and proclaiming that the kingdom of God is near.… Read the rest
Tearfund: COVID-19 Guidance for the Local Church (undated, before April 2)… Read the rest
Since March 4, 2020, I have been asked many halakhic questions about the current crisis by rabbis and laypeople living in Israel, the US, France, Argentina, Chile and Ukraine. Some of the questions have been asked multiple times. I answered all of the questions as they came in.… Read the rest
Over the past several weeks, amidst a daily changing situation, the members of the Minnesota Rabbinical Association have been thinking deeply about how we can fulfill our rabbinic responsibility to honor the dead (k’vod hamet), comfort the mourners, (nichum aveilim), and protect the community (pikuach nefesh).… Read the rest
Dear Greater Washington Jewish Community:
Unfortunately, there has been a significant rise in the number of COVID -19 cases in the Greater Washington Jewish community, and more generally in Maryland and East Coast metropolitan areas.
While we are all affected and unsettled by the current unprecedented challenge, we remain steadfast in our faith that Hashem will bring us all the strength to serve him properly even as we face this difficult time.… Read the rest
My Dear Parishioners,
Lord, have mercy! “The prayers seem not to be answered or God doesn’t seem to be listening!” someone wrote me. Fear of the unknown, fear of contracting a possibly deadly disease or fear of becoming the one infected by showing no signs and then spreading it to others, causes our hearts to tremble and make statements like the one above. … Read the rest
