{"id":121,"date":"2020-03-20T22:56:59","date_gmt":"2020-03-21T02:56:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/?p=121"},"modified":"2020-07-27T11:47:03","modified_gmt":"2020-07-27T15:47:03","slug":"schachter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/2020\/03\/20\/schachter\/","title":{"rendered":"Rabbi Hershel Schachter: Coronavirus Q&A"},"content":{"rendered":"

Questions and answers with Rav\u00a0Hershel Schachter<\/a>\u00a0shlit\u201da,<\/strong>\u00a0regarding situations arising from the\u00a0coronavirus<\/a>\u00a0crisis.<\/strong>\u00a0Transcribed by Rabbi Pini Dunner<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(assisted by Michael Bernstein).<\/strong>\u00a0This transcript has been approved by Rav Hershel Schachter.<\/strong>\u00a0With many thanks to Rabbi Marc Dratch of the RCA, who posed the questions to Rav Schachter<\/strong>,\u00a0and to Rabbi Aryeh Richter for adding the footnotes (see PDF download<\/a>).<\/strong><\/p>\n

With regard to Mechiras Chametz (the sale of chametz) and appointing a Rav through a Shtar Harsha\u2019a (authorization document), if they are unable to be face-to-face. Can this be done via email, or on a phone call, if there is a Kinyan (act of acquisition) involved?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Rambam<\/a>\u00a0in Hilchos Mechira says that there are some things that do not require a\u00a0kinyan\u00a0<\/em>(act of acquisition), and he gives the example of appointing a\u00a0shaliach<\/em>. Both the Chazon Ish and the Steipler did not insist on a\u00a0kinyan<\/em>\u00a0when they did Mechiras Chametz, because the Rambam does not require a\u00a0kinyan<\/em>\u00a0when appointing a\u00a0shaliach<\/em>, and the rabbi is a\u00a0shaliach<\/em>\u00a0when he sells your chametz. Rav Soloveitchik thought that the Rambam initially says that it does not make sense to have a\u00a0kinyan<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 but afterward he explains it. In fact, Rav Soloveitchik gave a whole beautiful shiur on the nature of\u00a0Kinyan Chalipin<\/em>\u00a0(acquisition of exchange), of \u201cSudar,\u201d and he explained why it does make sense to have a\u00a0kinyan\u00a0<\/em>when appointing a\u00a0shaliach<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As Rav Soloveitchik says, every rabbi knows that on Erev Pesach, just before he is about to go and sell the chametz to the\u00a0nochri<\/em>\u00a0(gentile), some guy will call him up at the very last minute and say \u201cRabbi I forgot to come to ask you to sell the chametz \u2013 can I appoint you as my\u00a0shaliach<\/em>\u00a0over the phone?\u201d In such a case, Rav Soloveitchik said we should at least try to fulfill the minhag even on a phone call. The question is, how can you do that?<\/p>\n

According to Rav Soloveitchik there are two ways to do it. One way is this: the person who called on the phone \u2013 and by the way, you can appoint a\u00a0shaliach<\/em>\u00a0b\u2019al peh<\/em>\u00a0(via oral instruction), you do not have to do it\u00a0bi\u2019ksav<\/em>\u00a0(in writing). More correct is to have a written record, so you can give it over to the Nochri, and say to him, \u201call these people signed this document and they want me to sell their chametz to you on their behalf.\u201d But if the rabbi just writes down a list of the people it is also fine. If the person sends an email, that would be better \u2013 he sends an email to the rabbi that says: \u201cRabbi, I appoint you as my shaliach\u201d \u2013 strictly speaking that would certainly be good.<\/p>\n

Rav Soloveitchik thought we should also try to fulfill the custom of making a\u00a0kinyan<\/em>, even under these circumstances. The Chazon Ish didn\u2019t bother with the\u00a0kinyan<\/em>\u00a0at all, and nor did the Steipler, but the Rav insisted that we do it even under these circumstances. The Rav was a big stickler on\u00a0minhagim<\/em>; any\u00a0minhag<\/em>\u00a0(custom) that\u2019s mentioned in Shulchan Aruch, as far as he was concerned, you need to observe it, even if nobody observes those customs these days.<\/p>\n

He said there are two ways to do it. One way is to ask the Jewish person who\u2019s calling on the phone \u201cis there another Jewish person there with you?\u201d If there is, have the other person give his handkerchief to the one who wants to appoint you as his\u00a0shaliach<\/em>, and\u00a0mi\u2019din eved k\u2019na\u2019ani<\/em>\u00a0(the laws of a non-Jewish servant) it works. The\u00a0din<\/em>\u00a0is that if you want to free an\u00a0eved k\u2019na\u2019ani<\/em>, you can do it either\u00a0al yedei shtar<\/em>\u00a0(via a contract) or\u00a0al yedei kesef<\/em>\u00a0(via monetary means).<\/p>\n

The Tannaim (Talmudic sages) raise an issue: how is it possible for the\u00a0eved k\u2019na\u2019ani<\/em>\u00a0to have money? We have a principle:\u00a0Kol mah shekana eved kana rabbo<\/em>, which means that \u2018anything that the servant acquires belongs to his master.\u2019 The servant does not own any money \u2013 it is not his to own! The gemara explains, therefore, that it is\u00a0kesef al yedei acheirim<\/em>\u00a0(money given via a third party). If someone else gives the money on behalf of the\u00a0eved k\u2019na\u2019ani<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 that works.<\/p>\n

Tosafos points out that in fact we do this all the time. For example, when we write a\u00a0kesuba<\/em>\u00a0before a marriage, the bride acquires the\u00a0shibudim<\/em>\u00a0(obligations) from the groom. Surely the bride should have to give her handkerchief to the groom \u2013\u00a0keilav shel koneh<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 objects owned by the acquirer (see: Bava Metzia 47a) \u2013 in order for it to be binding?<\/p>\n

But we\u2019ve all been to a\u00a0chosson\u2019s tisch<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 the bride doesn\u2019t come into the room! Instead, the\u00a0mesader kiddushin<\/em>\u00a0(the person who performs the marriage) or the\u00a0eidim<\/em>\u00a0(witnesses) give a handkerchief to the groom, and by their giving him their handkerchief he accepts upon himself the responsibility to give the bride the amount of\u00a0tosefes kesuba<\/em>\u00a0(extra contractual obligations contained in the marriage contract) that is added on.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0ikkar kesuba<\/em>\u00a0(principal contractual obligations contained in the marriage contract) are binding in any event, but the\u00a0tosefes kesuba<\/em>\u00a0are not, there\u2019s no rabbinic requirement on that. Tosafos says that this way of doing it is the common practice \u2013 just like\u00a0kesef al yedei acheirim<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 and it is completely acceptable, which means that\u00a0kinyan chalipin al yedei acheirim<\/em>\u00a0is an acceptable form of\u00a0kinyan<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What do we do if there is no Jewish person to make the\u00a0kinyan chalipin<\/em>\u00a0on behalf of the rabbi? The Rav said the Rambam says that the whole reason that one does\u00a0chalipin<\/em>\u00a0when you appoint a\u00a0shaliach<\/em>\u00a0is a\u00a0minhag<\/em>. When a husband appoints a\u00a0shaliach<\/em>\u00a0to give a Gett (divorce document) to his wife, the one who is appointed as a\u00a0shaliach<\/em>\u00a0gives a\u00a0sudar\u00a0<\/em>to the husband in order to acquire the right to give the Gett to the wife. But it\u2019s a\u00a0minhag<\/em>, not a\u00a0din<\/em>. It is done to demonstrate that\u00a0be\u2019lev shalem gamarti ve\u2019amarti davar zeh<\/em>\u00a0(\u2018I agreed to this and said this with a full heart\u2019), in other words, that he really means it.<\/p>\n

The Rambam asks: what if the person appoints a\u00a0shaliach<\/em>\u00a0to give a Gett to his wife, or the man appoints the rabbi as a\u00a0shaliach<\/em>\u00a0to sell the chametz, and he says \u201cI\u2019m doing it with complete awareness of the seriousness of this issue, and I really mean it\u201d \u2013 then it is not an\u00a0asmachta<\/em>\u00a0(a conditional commitment), because the person really means it \u2013 and in that situation you have also satisfied the minhag.<\/p>\n

The whole\u00a0minhag<\/em>\u00a0to make a\u00a0kinyan chalipin<\/em>\u00a0is to demonstrate that you really mean it seriously. So if you use a text like this for an email that people can sign up to for the purpose of selling chametz, then they don\u2019t have to come in person, they can just add a line that says they are doing this with the full understanding of the seriousness of what it means to appoint a\u00a0shaliach<\/em>, and that they really mean it, that it\u2019s not a joke, and it\u2019s not an\u00a0asmachta<\/em>. In that way, you have even satisfied the\u00a0minhag<\/em>.<\/p>\n

By email, as long as there is such a text, would that be sufficient without any kind of kinyan?
\n<\/em><\/strong>
\nYes. It\u2019s good even without the special wording, but if you want to satisfy the\u00a0minhag<\/em>, so you add it on, and repeat in the email, \u201cI really mean it!\u201d \u2013 and in that way, you\u2019ll even satisfy the\u00a0minhag<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In terms of the selling chametz to a non-Jew, is there any way of doing it without the non-Jew being present? Is that crucial to the transaction, namely without it the transaction won\u2019t be valid?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I think it is crucial. You\u2019ve got to do the\u00a0chalipin<\/em>, you have to make the\u00a0kinyan<\/em>. You have to give them the contract to rent the\u00a0karka<\/em>\u00a0(land\/ground), and via the\u00a0karka<\/em>\u00a0all of the acquisitions. This kinyan has to be made in person in order for it to be valid.<\/p>\n

What about making a siyyum (completing a Talmudic tractate) online? You have said that it\u2019s not a problem if there\u2019s no choice, and people can be mitztareif (join together) over the phone or via a video conference?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I think that is the practice \u2013 normally, people travel on Erev Pesach in the morning to go to their parents or in-laws for Pesach, so those who are firstborn usually listen online to somebody making a\u00a0siyyum<\/em>\u00a0live, and in that way are considered to have participated in the\u00a0siyyum<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Is it possible for people to do a cursory kashering of part of their stove in order to cook for Pesach and freeze food in advance, in case they do not have a chance to kasher their whole kitchen and cook for Pesach if, G-d forbid, they get sick? They will only kasher part of the stove, cover part of the kitchen, to cook this food in advance.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes. Whatever they will kasher, they will certainly be careful. We are talking about religious people who are careful.<\/p>\n

There seems to be a run in some stores on Kosher LePesach items, and some of the shelves are becoming empty, and a lot of Pesach hotel programs are being canceled, so there may not be enough Kosher LePesach food items available for people when it comes closer to Pesach. Can we rely on batel beshishim (1 part in 60 nullified) of chametz for food cooked before Pesach, which is a devar heter (permitted) before yom tov, but is a leniency we might not rely on in any other year?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We pasken in Shulchan Aruch that if chametz became\u00a0batel<\/em>\u00a0(nullified) before Pesach, we don\u2019t say\u00a0chozer ve\u2019nei\u2019or<\/em>\u00a0(it reawakens). You can also call up the OU, the kashrus organizations, and find out: is it really so that you have shishim (60) against the chametz? Sometimes the product is a\u00a0nosein ta\u2019am<\/em>\u00a0(adds flavor), sometimes you don\u2019t have shishim\u2026 you have to call up the kashrus organization to find out details.<\/p>\n

Is there a preference this year for using machine matzas as opposed to handmade matzas for fear of the virus \u2013 people who hand baked them may not have washed their hands properly?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know. I think we would have heard. Actually, I think they probably finished baking all the\u00a0shmura<\/em>\u00a0matza some time ago \u2013 so there is nothing to worry about<\/p>\n

Someone heard that Rav Soloveitchik preferred machine matza over handmade \u2013 is that the case?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes. And many of the\u00a0tzaddikim<\/em>\u00a0in Yerushalayim also prefer machine-baked matza over hand-baked matza, because it is made much faster. It takes less than half the time from beginning to end to make the whole thing, so it\u2019s a better way to avoid\u00a0chimutz<\/em>\u00a0(becoming chametz). The reason why others insist on the hand-baked matza is because there is a question whether or not machine matza can really be called \u201clishma<\/em>\u201d?<\/p>\n

You set up a whole machinery system and you push the button and you say \u201cI\u2019m making all the matzas\u00a0lishma<\/em>,\u201d which means that when you harness this force of electricity and it does the\u00a0lisha<\/em>\u00a0(kneading), it does the\u00a0afiyya<\/em>\u00a0(baking), it does everything \u2013 \u201cisho mishum chitzo<\/em>\u201d (it is analogous to shooting an arrow). Whenever you harness a natural force to bring about a certain result, it all relates back to you.<\/p>\n

But the question is whether \u201cisho mishum chitzo<\/em>\u201d is only a\u00a0din<\/em>\u00a0in\u00a0nezikin<\/em>\u00a0(damages)? Or is it also a\u00a0din<\/em>\u00a0in\u00a0kol haTorah kula<\/em>\u00a0(the entire body of Jewish law)? That question is the subject of a big\u00a0machlokes<\/em>\u00a0(debate) among the\u00a0Rishonim<\/em>\u00a0(medieval-era halachic authorities).<\/p>\n

The Vilna Gaon writes that according to the Rambam it is only a din in\u00a0nezikin<\/em>. The Brisker Rov quotes a\u00a0Shittas haGeonim<\/em>\u00a0(an opinion of the Geonic period) which says the same thing. The Avnei Nezer quotes a Machlokes Rishonim whether harnessing the fire in the oven, putting the raw dough into the oven to bake \u2014 that relates back to me even though I am not the heat source that bakes the dough into matzah, but despite that it is called\u00a0afiyya lishma<\/em>\u00a0(purposeful baking) \u2013 even though I don\u2019t do it, and really the fire does it. Harnessing the fire, the natural force, relates back to me, and it is considered as if I did the baking.<\/p>\n

But the\u00a0she\u2019elah<\/em>\u00a0(halachic question) regarding machine baked matzah is that you push a button and it does the\u00a0lisha<\/em>\u00a0also \u2013 and the\u00a0lisha<\/em>\u00a0also has to be done\u00a0lishma<\/em>. That\u2019s a good question. Tosafos assumes that \u201cisho mishum chitzo<\/em>\u201d is actually a\u00a0din<\/em>\u00a0in\u00a0kol haTorah kula<\/em>, in other words, it\u2019s not only a\u00a0din<\/em>\u00a0in\u00a0nezikin<\/em>. But other\u00a0Rishonim<\/em>\u00a0and some\u00a0Geonim<\/em>\u00a0are not so convinced that it applies in other areas of halacha.<\/p>\n

Rav Moshe Soloveitchik lived in Warsaw for a while before coming to America, and in Warsaw they were all extremely fussy to have only hand-baked\u00a0shmura<\/em>. All the leading Polish rabbis were opposed to having machine\u00a0shmura<\/em>. A local newspaper in Warsaw interviewed Rav Moshe Soloveitchik \u2013 he wasn\u2019t very savvy regarding politics, and they quoted him as saying \u2013 imagine, he lives in Warsaw, a chassidishe city \u2013 \u201cyou don\u2019t gain anything at all by having hand-baked\u00a0shmura<\/em>, it\u2019s a\u00a0minhag shtus<\/em>\u00a0(pointless custom) to insist on it, there\u2019s no kiyyum, no hiddur (enhancement), nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everyone attacked him. Somebody wrote a whole essay on this episode a year or two ago, maybe in the journal Hakira. This was part of the trouble he suffered from when he was in Warsaw. They interviewed him in the newspaper, and he said it isn\u2019t even a\u00a0middas chassidus<\/em>\u00a0(an act of piety) to have hand-baked\u00a0shmura<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But, truthfully, it is not so simple. Although it is certainly true that the Rav thought that machine-baked\u00a0shmura<\/em>\u00a0is better.<\/p>\n

There have been many questions concerning virtual minyanim. If there is a minyan in a certain place and somebody can listen into the minyan via phone or video \u2013 they certainly can\u2019t count as one of the 10 for the minyan \u2013 but can they answer kaddish and kedusha? Would they be able to say kaddish? And if there\u2019s no way to assemble a minyan anywhere, is there an advantage for a community to daven together, biyechidus (each separately and on their own), but linked with each other over the Internet?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Can someone say kaddish without a minyan? I don\u2019t think so. Let\u2019s say a woman wants to say kaddish because one of her parents has died. So fine, we assume a woman can say kaddish. But she has to be in the same room with 10 men. If the woman is in a particular Ezras Nashim (women\u2019s section in a shul) and the\u00a0mechitza<\/em>\u00a0is attached to the floor creating a comprehensive barrier, then the Ezras Nashim constitutes a separate room.<\/p>\n

The fact that there are 10 men on the other side of the mechitza doesn\u2019t help \u2013 in such a case the rabbi or the board of the shul has to decide whether they should allow the woman to come into the men\u2019s section to be able to say kaddish. You can\u2019t say kaddish without 10 men present in that same room.<\/p>\n

What about answering kaddish or borchu over the internet?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Tosafos points out that to be\u00a0mitztareif<\/em>\u00a0to (i.e. join in with) the\u00a0minyan<\/em>\u00a0you need all 10 people to be in the same room. The simple understanding is that you can join up when you have 5 people in one room and 5 people in another room at a\u00a0beis aveil<\/em>\u00a0(mourner\u2019s house), and they can see each other \u2013 but in separate rooms when you can\u2019t see each other, just hear each other, it only works with respect to\u00a0Birkas Hamazon<\/em>\u00a0with a mezuman of 10.<\/p>\n

But when it is a\u00a0davar shebik\u2019dusha<\/em>\u00a0(a sacred prayer that requires a full\u00a0minyan<\/em>), like kaddish, kedusha, or borchu, you have to have all the 10 people in the same room, or at least they need to see each other from one room to another.<\/p>\n

But to\u00a0answer<\/em>, \u201camein yehei shmeih rabba<\/em>,\u201d the gemara says\u00a0afilu mechitza shel barzel eina mafsekes bein Yisrael l\u2019Avihem Shebashamayim<\/em>\u00a0(\u201ceven an iron wall cannot separate the Jewish people from G-d\u201d), and Tosafos says that\u2019s that this means if there\u2019s a\u00a0minyan\u00a0<\/em>in a shul and I\u2019m in the street, I can answer\u00a0amein yehei shmeih rabba<\/em>, kaddish, kedusha, and borchu.<\/p>\n

The question we are addressing here, though, is that I\u2019m not even hearing it directly, I\u2019m hearing it many blocks away, in a different location in the same city, or maybe not in the same city. There are those who cite the halacha of\u00a0amein yesoma<\/em>\u00a0(an orphan amen), which means you\u2019re not allowed to answer\u00a0amein<\/em>\u00a0too late after the completion of the bracha. In electronic communication there\u2019s a delay of a few seconds between the time the person says the bracha and the time I say amein.<\/p>\n

Personally, I\u2019m not so convinced that this is what is meant by an\u00a0amein yesoma<\/em>. If I answer\u00a0amein\u00a0<\/em>right after I hear the bracha \u2014 I didn\u2019t hear the bracha 2 seconds ago, I heard it just now \u2013 let\u2019s say there\u2019s a 2 second delay, I answered\u00a0amein<\/em>\u00a0right after I heard the bracha, I don\u2019t think that can be considered an\u00a0amein yesoma<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The gemara tells us, in Alexandria, Egypt, there were so many people in the shul there that it wasn\u2019t always possible to hear the brachos directly from the chazzan and answer\u00a0amein<\/em>\u00a0to what was heard, but nonetheless they used to wave a flag so that they knew when the chazzan finished his bracha \u2013 they knew what bracha he was saying, so they were able to answer\u00a0amein<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The simple fact is that you can answer\u00a0amein<\/em>\u00a0like this, and not just\u00a0amein<\/em>\u00a0to a bracha, but\u00a0amein yehei shmeih rabba<\/em>, in other words you can also answer\u00a0amein<\/em>\u00a0to a\u00a0davar shebik\u2019dusha<\/em>. If I know what he\u2019s saying, and I know that it\u2019s time to answer, just like the question we are dealing with: someone is saying kaddish miles away, and I say\u00a0amein yehei shmeih rabba<\/em>, I know that he\u2019s saying it right now, so then it is obvious that you can answer\u00a0amein<\/em>.<\/p>\n

With regard to\u00a0tefillah betzibbur<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 if you have 10 people davening in the shul and I\u2019m davening in the street, Rav Soloveitchik said, and the Aruch Hashulchan also said this, it is considered\u00a0tefillah betzibbur<\/em>. In Yeshiva University, we used to daven Mincha in Furst Hall on the 3rd<\/sup>\u00a0floor, the Beis Midrash was not big enough, so instead of everybody pushing in, a lot of boys used to daven in the hallway. They asked Rav Soloveitchik whether they could daven outside the Beis Midrash if they could hear the chazzan, and he thought it was ok, just like the Aruch Hashulchan.<\/p>\n

In our situation right now it could be also\u00a0tefillah betzibbur<\/em>\u00a0even though I\u2019m many miles away. After all, I know that they\u2019re davening over there. Maybe it\u2019s\u00a0tefillah betzibbur<\/em>\u00a0like Rav Soloveitchik and the Aruch Hashulchan said, or maybe \u2013 at the very least \u2013 I\u2019m davening\u00a0besha\u2019ah shehatzibbur mispallellin\u00a0<\/em>(at the time that the congregation is praying, which also has value in halacha..<\/p>\n

But if there is no minyan anywhere, but there are ten people in separate locations and each one knows that the other 9 are davening right now, probably there is\u00a0some<\/em>\u00a0advantage. It\u2019s not the same as when the gemara says he\u2019s davening\u00a0besha\u2019ah shehatzibbur mispallelin<\/em>, because here you don\u2019t even have a\u00a0tzibbur mispallelin<\/em>, but probably there is at least\u00a0some<\/em>\u00a0advantage \u2013 and it\u2019s certainly better than davening on your own at whatever time you\u2019d decide to daven.<\/p>\n

There is a question from a rabbi from Florida\u2026 they have a daily mincha-maariv where mincha is davened before plag hamincha (one and a quarter hours before sunset) and maariv just the other side of plag, as a convenience for people who have to go to sleep early, or eat meals, etc. If a person is davening biyechidus (on his own), can they rely upon that approach, or is it better to daven maariv later on in the evening?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Rishonim say that there\u2019s an issue of\u00a0tartei d\u2019sasrei<\/em>\u00a0(an inherent contradiction) \u2013 all year long we daven mincha right before\u00a0shekia\u00a0<\/em>(sunset), and we\u2019re not careful to finish before plag. It\u2019s a contradiction of one time of year to the other. You should certainly avoid that.<\/p>\n

For the purpose of\u00a0kabbolas tosefes Shabbos<\/em>\u00a0(bringing Shabbat in early to add time to Shabbat), we\u2019re\u00a0meikil<\/em>\u00a0(lenient) \u2013 even though all year long we daven right before\u00a0shekia<\/em>, to bring in Shabbos early we\u2019re\u00a0meikil<\/em>\u00a0on the\u00a0tartei d\u2019sasrei<\/em>\u00a0from one day to the other. But we try not to be\u00a0meikil\u00a0<\/em>on a\u00a0tartei d\u2019sasrei\u00a0<\/em>on the same day. We should try not to daven mincha after the\u00a0plag\u00a0<\/em>and maariv before the\u00a0shekia<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 although many kehillos are\u00a0meikil<\/em>\u00a0on that also; for the sake of\u00a0tosefes Shabbos<\/em>\u00a0they\u2019ll daven mincha late after the\u00a0plag<\/em>\u00a0and maariv before the\u00a0shekia<\/em>. For the purpose of\u00a0tosefes Shabbos<\/em>\u00a0or the purpose of\u00a0tefillah betzibbur<\/em>\u00a0many are\u00a0meikil<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Mishna Berura quotes\u00a0lehalacha<\/em>\u00a0from the sefer Olas Tamid that if the only minyan in town davens tartei d\u2019sasrei on the same day, mincha after the\u00a0plag\u00a0<\/em>and maariv before the\u00a0shekia<\/em>, it\u2019s better to daven with a minyan even though you have a\u00a0tartei d\u2019sasrei<\/em>\u00a0on the same day. The first Tosafos in Brachos discusses this\u00a0machlokes<\/em>, namely: is there an issue if you have a\u00a0tartei d\u2019sasrei<\/em>\u00a0on the same day. Apparently Rabbeinu Tam was not worried about it, although all the other Rishonim were not happy about it.<\/p>\n

There are those who are\u00a0meikil<\/em>\u00a0in a\u00a0she\u2019as had\u2019chak<\/em>\u00a0(extenuating circumstances). If you have a\u00a0she\u2019as had\u2019chak<\/em>, you can certainly be\u00a0meikil<\/em>\u00a0on\u00a0tartei d\u2019sasrei<\/em>\u00a0one day to the other \u2013 for instance, in Breuer\u2019s (Kehal Adath Jeshurun in Washington Heights, NY), all summer long they have a lot of people daven at the early minyan which davens mincha before\u00a0plag<\/em>, and maariv right after the\u00a0plag<\/em>. But during the rest of the year they daven mincha after\u00a0plag<\/em>. From one day to the next they are\u00a0meikil<\/em>. We try to avoid it, and many Rishonim say that only for the sake of\u00a0kabbalas tosefes Shabbos<\/em>\u00a0is there room to be\u00a0meikil<\/em>, but there are others who are meikil as they do it in Breuer\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Rav Moshe Feinstein has a teshuva in Igros Moshe where he talks about this topic, and he discusses the Mishna Berura\u2019s question about the only minyan in town davening\u00a0tartei d\u2019sasrei.<\/em>\u00a0Rav Moshe doesn\u2019t refer to the psak of Olas Tamid in the Mishna Berura, but he discusses the same\u00a0she\u2019elah\u00a0<\/em>and he actually thinks that the Mishna Berura is not correct. According to Rav Moshe the advantage of davening\u00a0tefillah betzibbur\u00a0<\/em>is because it means one truly davens properly \u2013 in other words, by davening together with a minyan you enhance your\u00a0Tefillah<\/em>, making it much better. But if it\u2019s going to be\u00a0tartei d\u2019sasrei<\/em>\u00a0Rav Moshe thinks it\u2019s better to daven on your own. I personally always follow what Rav Moshe said \u2013 it\u2019s better not to daven\u00a0tartei d\u2019sasrei<\/em>\u00a0even if you\u2019ll miss\u00a0tefillah betzibbur<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Many have a minhag not to sell chametz gamur (proper chametz, like bread or pasta). But this year because of fears of supply shortages after Pesach, is that something they can be meikil on?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes.<\/p>\n

Does it require hataras nedarim (nullifying a vow)?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

No. There\u2019s a Dagul Me\u2019revava on Yoreh De\u2019ah at the beginning of the 3rd<\/sup>\u00a0cheilek in Hilchos Nedarim and Sh\u2019vuos. There\u2019s a whole siman (maybe 214) on whether a\u00a0minhag tov<\/em>\u00a0(good practice) is binding\u00a0mita\u2019am neder<\/em>\u00a0(because it has turned into a halachic vow). The Ran in Nedarim cites this concept from the Baalei Tosafos on Nedarim Daf 81b, and the Shulchan Arukh assumes that this is the way it should be.<\/p>\n

Whenever you want to give up a minhag that you\u2019ve been observing for years you have to do\u00a0hataras nedarim<\/em>. But the Dagul Me\u2019revava explains that this is only if you want to give it up\u00a0mikan ul\u2019haba<\/em>\u00a0(from now and forever). If you just happened to have a one-off event,\u00a0she\u2019as had\u2019chak<\/em>, he says it\u2019s self-understood that when you have a\u00a0minhag tov<\/em>, once in a long while you get stuck, you won\u2019t be able to do it, that does not require a\u00a0hataras nedarim<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Let us say someone\u2019s family doesn\u2019t eat\u00a0gebrokts<\/em>\u00a0on Pesach, and he\u2019s in Eretz Yisrael for the year learning in yeshiva, and the only place he has to stay over Pesach is at a relative who is eating\u00a0gebrokts<\/em>. Does he need a\u00a0hataras nedarim<\/em>? The\u00a0pashtus<\/em>\u00a0is you can\u2019t make\u00a0hataras nedarim<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 you\u2019re not even the\u00a0ba\u2019al haneder<\/em>! It\u2019s a\u00a0minhag hakehilla<\/em>\u00a0(community vow), and you belong to that\u00a0kehilla\u00a0<\/em>that is careful about\u00a0gebrokts<\/em>. If they just got stuck one year, for that you don\u2019t really need\u00a0hataras nedarim<\/em>, and it wouldn\u2019t really help anyway. So according to Dagul Me\u2019revava if once in a while you get stuck in a\u00a0she\u2019as had\u2019chak<\/em>\u00a0you don\u2019t need\u00a0hataras nedarim<\/em>, since it is understood from the start that if it is not feasible, the minhag is not binding.<\/p>\n

If we\u2019re afraid that a person who lives alone might become depressed, especially if God forbid depression could lead to suicidal ideation, can they leave on a TV or radio over Shabbos to have other voices in the house and to pass the time? Someone elderly or alone with no human interaction for 25 hours?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a problem, we must not allow someone with such problems to let these problems get worse. One should definitely tell them to leave something on. Although, if a person listens to the news and it makes them depressed, maybe they shouldn\u2019t listen to the news.<\/p>\n

Can a rabbi refuse to officiate at a wedding that doesn\u2019t conform to the guidelines and the standards which were set in terms of numbers of people attending?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I think the rabbi should refuse. It\u2019s not right. It is putting people at risk. The rabbi should say he\u2019s not going to officiate unless they have a\u00a0minyan metzumtzam<\/em>\u00a0(a very small number of people). The pasuk:\u00a0\u00a0Shomer psoyim haShem<\/em>\u00a0(G-d protects the simple) does not apply in this situation, as people are fully aware of what is going on and are nervous about it. The rabbi should refuse to officiate.<\/p>\n

A bris does not require a minyan, so should it be only the family who are present at a bris?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, that\u2019s a very good idea. The\u00a0minhag<\/em>\u00a0is to have a\u00a0minyan<\/em>, but in the current situation one should only do a\u00a0minyan metzumtzam<\/em>, and if you can convince them not to have a minyan [at all], it\u2019s even better.<\/p>\n

How does one deal with krias sheim (giving a name) for a new baby daughter?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

You just give the baby a name. When it is a boy the practice is to give the name at the bris, based on a Matei Moshe they quote, because when G-d told Avraham Avinu to have his bris \u2014\u00a0 at that point He changed his name. But when it comes to a girl there\u2019s no such\u00a0drasha<\/em>\u00a0and therefore no such\u00a0minhag<\/em>. You don\u2019t have to wait.<\/p>\n

Even in the case of a boy, if let\u2019s say they postpone the bris for an extended period of time, you don\u2019t have to wait another week, or another month to give the name.<\/p>\n

I remember hearing a story from my father, who told me that in Einstein Hospital there was once a couple that had a baby and they had to postpone the bris, and they didn\u2019t give the baby a name. The nurse asked for the name of the baby and the couple said they didn\u2019t give him a name yet. As a result of this, the nurses thought the parents had given up hope, and that the parents believed that the child was not going to live. Consequently, they were careless in treating the baby, thinking that the parents had already given up hope! But that wasn\u2019t the reason why \u2013 the parents were chassidish, and didn\u2019t want to say the name out loud before the bris.<\/p>\n

Under those circumstances, I think it\u2019s not right. You should say the name before. I think Rav Moshe has a teshuva like that, in other words if one has to postpone the bris for a while, you give the name before the bris. And when it comes to girls there\u2019s no such\u00a0minhag<\/em>\u00a0anyway, you don\u2019t wait \u2013 any delay is a\u00a0minhag<\/em>, until you get an\u00a0aliya<\/em>\u00a0and give the name. But you can give a name without the\u00a0aliya<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Does someone bentch gomel (say the \u2018gomel\u2019 blessing) after leaving quarantine, and how much time does he have to make the bracha afterward, if the shuls are closed for a while?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

If he was quarantined because he was sick, the halacha is that\u00a0choleh shenisrapei<\/em>\u00a0(a sick person who recovers) has to say\u00a0birchas hagomel<\/em>. If it was just that he was in quarantine because we\u2019re afraid maybe he has the disease but in the end it turned out he did not have it, then he was not really in\u00a0sakana<\/em>\u00a0(physical danger), and he does not need to say\u00a0birchas hagomel<\/em>.<\/p>\n

How much time does he have? The Shulchan Aruch says he shouldn\u2019t wait too long. Perhaps in that situation you don\u2019t really need 10 people altogether. Maybe 10 people on a conference call is enough.<\/p>\n

On a conference call he is praising G-d and 10 people can hear him. I should look that up in Shulchan Aruch. I am not sure that they have to be in the same room. It\u2019s not a\u00a0davar shebik\u2019dusha<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If we\u2019re still in quarantine on Pesach and on the first day of yomtov we have to switch from mashiv haruach to not saying it, generally the gabbai makes some kind of announcement. But in quarantine we will be biye\u2019chidus \u2013 do we just stop saying mashiv haruach?
\n<\/em><\/strong>
\nI guess so. We have no choice. The Shulchan Aruch says there\u2019s a difference between\u00a0mashiv haruach<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0vesein tal umattar<\/em>.\u00a0Vesein\u2019 tal umattar<\/em>\u00a0is a\u00a0bakasha<\/em>\u00a0(request) tefillah \u2013 \u2018Hashem, please give us rain\u2019 \u2013 so when you need the rain you just say it.\u00a0Mashiv haruach<\/em>\u00a0is describing Hakodosh Boruch Hu\u2019s essence. So to change it to that, you need the\u00a0koach hatzibbur<\/em>\u00a0(strength of the congregation), and therefore the gabbai has to announce it in shul, and whoever is not going to daven in shul, before they daven in shul they shouldn\u2019t say it. But in\u00a0she\u2019as had\u2019chak<\/em>\u00a0when nobody is davening in shul, so you have no choice.<\/p>\n

Can you review the dinim of making up parshiyot that were missed?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In\u00a0Hilchos Krias Hatorah<\/em>, in Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim starting in 135, in the second se\u2019if, the Rema quotes the story from the Ohr Zarua that there was once a minyan on a Shabbos morning and there was some problem during the davening, and they never got to lein the whole day. The Ohr Zarua says that the next Shabbos they needed to lein both sedras\u00a0mechubarin<\/em>\u00a0(joined together), like we lein Vayakhel-Pekudei together, with revi\u2019i (the fourth aliya) connecting the first sedra and the second sedra, because we don\u2019t want to be\u00a0mechabeid<\/em>\u00a0(give superior \u2018honor\u2019 to) one sedra by giving it more\u00a0aliyas<\/em>\u00a0(call-ups) than the other one. Instead you give 3-and-a-half in the first and 3-and-a-half in the second, and revi\u2019i connects between them.<\/p>\n

The Magen Avraham says, and Mishna Berura quotes it, that if the following week is already a double parsha like Vayakhel-Pekudei, you\u2019re not obligated to say 3 sedras in one go, as it is a\u00a0tircha detzibbura<\/em>\u00a0(a burden on the community) \u2013 therefore we never lein 3 sedras together in one shot.<\/p>\n

The Mishna Berura quotes other Acharonim (later halachic authorities) disagreeing with that Magen Avraham; they say that the more correct way to do it is to lein a whole bunch of sedras together. In the biography of the Chazon Ish there is a story that he was put in prison by the British authorities in Palestine before 1948, as he had participated in a demonstration against Chillul Shabbos (Shabbat desecration) by Jewish shops in Bnei Brak. He was in prison for a few weeks, and he missed\u00a0krias haTorah<\/em>. Everybody else heard\u00a0krias haTorah<\/em>, but he missed it for a few weeks.<\/p>\n

In order to make up the missing sedras he would have to have 3 or 4 sedras read for him. He asked 9 people whether they would agree to listen to a very long \u2013 extremely long! \u2013 \u00a0krias haTorah<\/em>, four times as long as normal, and the 9 people agreed. The Chazon Ish explained that the whole reason you don\u2019t do more than 2 sedras in one reading is\u00a0tircha detzibbura<\/em>, but he had a tzibbur that liked him, and they agreed to go along with him. So it wasn\u2019t\u00a0tircha detzibbura<\/em>, and he could do it.<\/p>\n

But some Acharonim say that if the whole tzibbur missed\u00a0krias haTorah<\/em>\u00a0then it is worthwhile to lein even 4 sedras. Rabbi\u00a0Ephraim<\/em>\u00a0Zalman Margolies in Sefer Sha\u2019arei Efraim writes that the story cited in the name of the Ohr Zarua was talking about a minyan that gathered together on Shabbos morning, they davened shacharis, and then they weren\u2019t able to do\u00a0Krias haTorah<\/em>. But what if there was a snowstorm and nobody went to shul on Shabbos, like in our current situation with the coronavirus, where nobody is going to shul? There was no\u00a0tefillah betzibbur<\/em>\u00a0on Shabbos?<\/p>\n

The Sha\u2019arei Efraim is clearly working on the assumption that\u00a0krias haTorah<\/em>\u00a0is a\u00a0chovas hatzibbur<\/em>\u00a0(a congregational obligation) not a\u00a0chovas hayachid<\/em>\u00a0(an individual obligation). Rav Soloveitchik used to say that his grandfathers, Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk, and Rav Eliyahu Halevi Feinstein of Pruzhany, had a halachic disagreement about this exact point.<\/p>\n

Sha\u2019arei Efraim assumes that if the people were together on Shabbos morning and they were\u00a0nischayvu<\/em>\u00a0(obligated) in\u00a0kriah<\/em>\u00a0and didn\u2019t lein, then you have to do a\u00a0tashlumin<\/em>\u00a0(make-up reading) next week and maybe even 4 weeks later. But if they were never together, he thinks that\u00a0me\u2019ikkar hadin<\/em>\u00a0(according to the essence of the law) there is no obligation to make up what you missed. I think many would agree with that. Or even, let\u2019s say, if you hold like the Magen Avraham, that this coming week is going to be Vayakhel-Pekudei, so you don\u2019t lein 3 sedras: Ki Sisa, Vayakhel [and] Pekudei \u2013 it is\u00a0tircha detzibbura<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s say this situation of not going to shul does not change until Shemini? Of course, we hope everything will be back to normal by Parshas Shemini. But if it doesn\u2019t get back to normal, even if you agree with the Magen Avraham, you don\u2019t do all of them: Ki Sisa, Vayakhel, Pekudei, Vayikra, Tzav \u2013 you don\u2019t do excessive\u00a0tashlumin<\/em>, you just do the sedra of that week and of the week before, let\u2019s say Tzav and Shemini. You can do 2 sedras.<\/p>\n

Although,\u00a0Me\u2019ikkar hadin<\/em>\u00a0the Sha\u2019arei Efraim is of the opinion that if the\u00a0tzibbur<\/em>\u00a0never gathered together in the first place, they were never\u00a0nischayvu\u00a0<\/em>to lein all those sedras, so you don\u2019t really need to read\/hear the parshios that you missed anyway.<\/p>\n

You had mentioned that a community can read extra krias even if they\u2019re not chayav in them?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes. On Shabbos and yomtov,\u00a0me\u2019ikkar hadin<\/em>\u00a0you\u2019re allowed to make\u00a0hosafos\u00a0<\/em>(extra readings or call-ups). We have a minhag not to make\u00a0hosafos<\/em>\u00a0on yomtov, but on Simchas Torah we do allow it. And every yomtov we actually do make a\u00a0hosafa<\/em>, because we do a\u00a0maftir<\/em>.\u00a0Me\u2019ikkar hadin maftir<\/em>\u00a0is\u00a0oleh l\u2019minyan hakeruim<\/em>\u00a0(counts towards the number of those called up). And we always have\u00a0maftir<\/em>\u00a0in addition to the 5\u00a0aliyos<\/em>.\u00a0Midina deGemara<\/em>\u00a0(according to the law established by the gemara) it never says you have to lein a piece from Parshas Pinchas, namely from Parshas haMusafim. I think that the Beis Yosef says that it was the Geonim who introduced that.<\/p>\n

When you make hosafos not only are you allowed to add on extra\u00a0aliyos<\/em>, you can even lein from a totally different parsha. On Simchas Torah we take out a different Sefer Torah and lein Bereishis. I don\u2019t think it is based on the gemara; it\u2019s a\u00a0minhag<\/em>\u00a0that developed later. In our situation, let\u2019s say that some people will have missed Parshas Zachor, and some missed Parshas Para, and there will be people who will miss Parshas Hachodesh. When everything is clear and everyone is healthy, you can lein\u00a0krias haTorah<\/em>\u00a0and then make a\u00a0hosafa<\/em>\u00a0to lein those parshiyos you missed, although it probably doesn\u2019t make sense to read Hachodesh when it\u2019s no longer the month of Nissan.<\/p>\n

If it is still before Pesach it will make sense to lein Parshas Para, which is \u201cuneshalma parim sefaseinu<\/em>\u201d \u2013 since we don\u2019t have the ability to be\u00a0makriv<\/em>\u00a0(sacrifice) the\u00a0temidim<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0musafim<\/em>\u00a0(regular sacrifices offered up in the Beit Hamikdash), instead of actually offering them up we talk about them, and the gemara says at the end of Megillah \u2013 \u201cmaaleh aleihen k\u2019illu hikrivam<\/em>\u201d, Hakodosh Boruch Hu will consider it as if he offered up the\u00a0korban<\/em>.<\/p>\n

When the time comes, we will all have to become\u00a0tahor<\/em>\u00a0(ritually pure) \u00a0to bring\u00a0Korban Pesach<\/em>, and the way to become\u00a0tahor<\/em>\u00a0is by bringing a\u00a0Para Aduma<\/em>\u00a0(red heifer), and\u00a0Para Aduma<\/em>\u00a0is also \u201cChatas karyei Rachmana<\/em>\u201d (it is called a \u2018sin-offering\u2019 by the Torah) \u2013 which means that in a certain sense it is like a\u00a0korban<\/em>, which means that we also apply the rule to\u00a0Para Aduma<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 therefore, if we are all able to get together in shul before Pesach, maybe it makes sense to make a\u00a0hosafa<\/em>\u00a0and lein Parshas Para.<\/p>\n

But after Pesach I don\u2019t think it makes sense to lein Parshas Para. That\u2019s the usual explanation, others have a different explanation as to why Parshas Para is\u00a0De\u2019oraisa<\/em>\u00a0(mandated by the Torah). But with regard to Parshas Zachor, it would make sense to make a\u00a0hosafa<\/em>\u00a0whenever everything clears up and we can go back to shul. If a lot of people missed Parshas Zachor, so they should lein it at a later date.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s a bar mitzva boy who prepared his whole leining, but missed reading it in shul, could the tzibbur (congregation) say we\u2019ll hear that parsha in addition to whatever the parsha is the week that the shul is able to reconvene?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, if the shul is in agreement, that is totally okay. If you\u2019re going to lein two consecutive\u00a0parshiyos<\/em>, then it is generally accepted to lein them together, connected with revi\u2019i. But if the bar mitzva boy missed Ki Sisa and now he has to lein it the week of Parshas Tzav, for example, then it\u2019s probably better to lein Parshas Tzav normally, and after you give the seven aliyos of parshas Tzav, have the bar mitzva boy roll back the Sefer Torah and lein Ki Sisa after the\u00a0krias haTorah<\/em>\u00a0as a\u00a0hosafa<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There is an emotional concern about kaddish and yahrzeit. What should rabbis recommend to their balebatim who are longing to do something to recognize a yahrzeit?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

What can you do? Learn mishnayos. A friend of mine just lost his mother, and he says kaddish for his mother, and I told him I think he should not go to minyanim. His mother was a\u00a0tzadeikes<\/em>\u00a0(righteous woman), she doesn\u2019t need his kaddish anyway, so he shouldn\u2019t feel so bad that he\u2019s missing the kaddish. His wife has a weak immune system and if he were to get the coronavirus, maybe he\u2019ll survive, but his wife may G-d\u00a0 forbid get sick, so she\u2019s asking him not to go to a minyan. I told him she\u2019s right, he shouldn\u2019t go even though he\u2019s going to miss kaddish.<\/p>\n

What haftara should we say when shul returns? Should it be for the week\u2019s parsha, and not impacted by any hosafos?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

When you lein two sedras together, there are two\u00a0minhagim<\/em>\u00a0in Shulchan Aruch as to whether you say the haftara of the first sedra or the second sedra. When you lein from two Sifrei Torah, the\u00a0minhag<\/em>\u00a0is that the haftara should always be connected to the second Sefer Torah. In this case, I\u2019m not sure. If they\u2019re going to lein Parshas Zachor after Pesach, I think they should say the haftara of Parshas Zachor. The haftara should always be connected to the last thing that was read.<\/p>\n

If the bar mitzva boy were to read a parsha from 3 weeks earlier as a hosafa in a different Sefer Torah, you would then read the haftara of that hosafa?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Probably, I think you would, yes.<\/p>\n

If a shul misses a number of parshiyos, does it have any impact on Simchas Torah?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Even if they missed a number of\u00a0parshiyos<\/em>, they still celebrate Simchas Torah as usual.<\/p>\n

For a siyyum, does it make a difference if the baal hasiyyum is not with a minyan, but by himself making a siyyum in his own house, and everyone is listening from their own houses, does that impact the ability to be mitztareif?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a din that you need a minyan for a\u00a0siyyum<\/em>, or for\u00a0seudas mitzva<\/em>. Whoever participates in the\u00a0siyyum<\/em>, it\u2019s considered a\u00a0seudas mitzva<\/em>\u00a0for them, even if they are on their own. This is a little bit of participation. Almost as much participation as the\u00a0bechorim<\/em>\u00a0(first-borns) have when they come to shul! In reality they have no connection with the whole\u00a0masechta<\/em>\u00a0(tractate) that was finished, they just hear the person finishing it say the last few lines of the gemara, and they celebrate along with him. In that case they celebrate in the same room \u2013 here they\u2019re celebrating at a different location. It\u2019s the same\u00a0seudas mitzva<\/em>\u00a0that would\u2019ve been if they would have been in the shul.<\/p>\n

What about Rav Eliyahu Henkin\u2019s suggestion of being podeh with tzedaka for taanis bechorim?
\n<\/em><\/strong>
\nTo be podeh? I don\u2019t know. I have never heard of it. I\u2019m not familiar with it at all. Wow!<\/p>\n

Is there any benefit for a person to make his own personal siyyum of something like a Sefer in Tanakh, or a masechta mishnayos, as opposed to listening in to somebody else on the phone?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It has to be something like a full Seder Mishnayos or a\u00a0masechta<\/em>\u00a0 of\u00a0gemara<\/em>. I have heard that in Eretz Yisrael they have a\u00a0fleishig<\/em>\u00a0restaurant, and during the 9 days they have someone run through all of Pirkei Avos every night and they make a siyyum and then \u2013 they say! \u2013 everybody can eat meat. That\u2019s a joke! What do you mean you run through Pirkei Avos? If a person is afraid they won\u2019t hear a siyyum and will have to make their own, let him start now! Start now learning a short masechta. We have Artscroll, it will help them out.<\/p>\n

What should the criteria be for re-opening shuls?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

When the health organizations will tell us that everything is okay and people will be much less nervous, and the Federal Government Department of Health, and different state and city authorities, and different countries, will determine that you can relax disease-related restrictions, then it will be okay!<\/p>\n

Some people are pushing to make minyanim in houses or standing outside with people at distances from one another. Is this something you would encourage? Or is it forbidden?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Minyanim in houses is a bigger problem than in the shul! They will be closer to one another \u2013 10 in a room! Outside? Okay, maybe. Maybe! But only if there\u2019s no risk. I don\u2019t know. If the government or the Board of Health think it\u2019s okay, then it\u2019s fine. I\u2019m concerned though. I\u2019m over 70. I\u2019m concerned about the outdoor approach too. Personally, I wouldn\u2019t want to participate.<\/p>\n

Some concerns have been voiced about setting these requirements and people not following them and endangering others, and there is the question of \u201clo plug\u201d (no differentiation) about these precautions.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s right! You have to have a\u00a0lo plug<\/em>. If you say the healthy people can go to shul and people over 50 cannot go, then you\u2019ll have people over 50 who will say they are healthy \u2013 and they have a lower resistance, it\u2019s a danger for them. There are also people who are actually sick and they will say \u2018we feel healthy\u2019, and they go to shul. It\u2019s beautiful that people want to daven\u00a0tefillah betzibbur<\/em>, but they\u2019re putting their lives at risk \u2013 and putting other people at risk. It is\u00a0sakonas nefoshos<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 a life threatening risk. It is not right. Not right at all. You are correct, we have to make a \u201clo plug<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is concern that if shmura matzas are not available, is one allowed to use regular (non-shmura) matza for the seder.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For years the practice used to be that the matzah manufacturers would bake all the matza they made \u201clesheim mitzvas matza<\/em>\u201d (for the sake of the mitzva of eating matzos), which means it can be used for the seder even if it is not shmura. We need to find out if they still have that practice. They used to, because they knew that most Jews in America do not buy shmura, they buy peshuttos (non-shmura matzah). The Shulchan Aruch says you can be lenient in that situation, but you still need the\u00a0asiyya lishma<\/em>, it needs to be baked for the purpose of the mitzva of matza. If the manufacturers still make it all\u00a0lishma<\/em>, you can use the regular matza for seder night.<\/p>\n

Many shuls have scheduled communal kashering \u2013 should they be cancelled? And do rabbonim have an obligation to review the dinim of kashering with their congregants so that they do it properly?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

They have to cancel scheduled koshering. And it\u2019s not so difficult to kasher. Balebatim can be educated to do\u00a0hag\u2019ala<\/em>\u00a0on their own. The rabbis should teach their balebatim.<\/p>\n

What about washing hands with soap a second time, after washing one\u2019s hands before hamotzi?
\n<\/em><\/strong>
\nThat\u2019s okay. It\u2019s completely fine.<\/p>\n

What about women going to mikva during this period?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Governor of New Jersey is now saying nobody is allowed out after 8 PM. This is going to pose a problem. A lot of women have to go to mikva, they can\u2019t all go after 8 PM. The Shulchan Aruch Yoreh De\u2019ah at the end of siman 197 says that whenever there is an \u2018oness\u2019 (unavoidable situation) and the woman can\u2019t go to mikva at night, we\u2019re lenient, and she can go to mikva the next morning\u00a0bayom\u00a0<\/em>(during the day). Usually we don\u2019t even allow\u00a0tevila bayom<\/em>\u00a0on day 8 or 9. But if it\u2019s because of an \u2018oness\u2019, and the current situation is certainly an \u2018oness\u2019, you have no choice, and the woman may go\u00a0bayom<\/em>. This is explicit in the Shulchan Aruch.<\/p>\n

I received a call today from the chair of a hospital Ethics Committee asking our position on a situation for which the hospital unfortunately feels a need to prepare: would we permit the removal of a respirator from an end-of-life coronavirus patient to be used by another patient whose life, in the opinion of the medical staff, could be saved?\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Every legal system has a principle that the ends justify the means.\u00a0The question however is, which ends, and which means.\u00a0If a woman is in labor and her husband is rushing her to the hospital at three o\u2019clock in the morning on the highways where there are no other cars, the police will radio ahead to let the husband pass through all the red lights so that the woman can arrive in the hospital on time.<\/p>\n

The halacha considers the mitzvah of \u201cvo\u2019chai bohem<\/em>\u201d (no mitzva is there so that it will cause loss of life) to be of supreme importance and it takes precedence over almost all of the other mitzvos in the Torah.\u00a0Sick or elderly people whose life might possibly\u00a0be endangered by fasting on Yom Kippur are required to eat.\u00a0Likewise, if one\u2019s life may be in danger, we all know that we must violate Shabbos by driving to the hospital even if there is only a\u00a0sefek sefeka<\/em>\u00a0(the slightest chance) of a danger to life, and even though driving a car on Shabbos constitutes a\u00a0melocha d\u2019oraisa<\/em>\u00a0(Torah prohibition).<\/p>\n

The halacha, however, has three exceptions to the rule where\u00a0pikuach nefesh<\/em>\u00a0does not take precedence.\u00a0One of the three is murder.\u00a0We may not kill one person in order to save the life of another person.\u00a0We may not make calculations that the life of one individual is more valuable than the life of another individual (see: Mishnah at the end of seventh chapter of Oholos; see: Gemara Pesochim 25B).\u00a0Even if one individual is on a respirator and his chances for survival are very slim, and even if he survives he will not live that many added years, and another person is in need of the respirator whose chances of survival are much better and will probably live many more years, the halacha declares that we have no right to make such calculations.\u00a0Even if the individual on the respirator is a\u00a0gosses<\/em>\u00a0(certainly going to die within a very short period of time), the\u00a0din<\/em>\u00a0is still the same.\u00a0One who kills a\u00a0gosses b\u2019yidei shomayim<\/em>, is given the death penalty (Sanhedrin 78A).<\/p>\n

The Rash in his commentary on the last Mishna in the eighth chapter of Terumos, quotes a passage from the Talmud Yerushalmi which has been codified both by the Rambam (Yesodei HaTorah 5:5) and by the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 157:1 in the Rema).\u00a0The Yerushalmi states that if murderers surround and capture the city and threaten to kill all the people in the city unless they will hand over one person whom they will kill, this is not permitted.\u00a0The Kesef Mishna in his commentary on the Rambam points out that this Yerushalmi is adding a\u00a0chidush<\/em>, that even if the situation is such that at the end of the day we will be saving more lives by killing that one person, the halacha still forbids this as an act of murder.\u00a0Even if the murder is only in the form of\u00a0Garam Retzicha<\/em>\u00a0(one caused a death), which would not deserve a death penalty, the halacha still does not permit it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Questions and answers with Rav\u00a0Hershel Schachter\u00a0shlit\u201da,\u00a0regarding situations arising from the\u00a0coronavirus\u00a0crisis.\u00a0Transcribed by Rabbi Pini Dunner\u00a0(assisted by Michael Bernstein).\u00a0This transcript has been approved by Rav Hershel Schachter.\u00a0With many thanks to Rabbi Marc Dratch of the RCA, who posed the questions to Rav Schachter,\u00a0and to Rabbi Aryeh Richter for adding the footnotes (see PDF download). With regard to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1764,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7681,524639,514272,524999,524373,217169,507548,32713,509577,525314],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1764"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1730,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121\/revisions\/1730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}