The general assumption in your question, that Orthodox Jews are not compliant with CDC regulations could not be farther from the truth. The vast majority of Orthodox Jews throughout the US and worldwide have been, and are, extremely careful and compliant, for exactly the reason you stated. The concept of “pikuach nefesh,” the supreme sanctity of life over all else, is a key driving force in Jewish law. As you mentioned, saving a life supersedes the sacred day of the Sabbath.
This is true not only if the patient will, if saved, live to observe further Sabbaths. Even to prolong the patient’s life only for a few moments would override the laws of Shabbos. Every moment of life is precious beyond the most hallowed of the mitzvos of the Torah.
Locally, here in Dallas, the Orthodox rabbinate have been in constant contact with each other since the outset of Covid via a Whatsapp group and frequent Zoom meetings, to discuss our joint efforts in running our synagogues and communities in the safest and healthiest manner possible, in consultation with health professionals who are experts in this field.
This has meant taking the extreme measure of shuttering our shuls for extended periods, painful as that was, because pikuach nefesh is supreme. Even now that most local Orthodox shuls are open, it is with the requirement of masks, social distancing, and many other protocols to enhance and ensure the safety of the synagogue experience. The mikvah ritual bath has had the most rigorous standards in place as well, to ensure the safety of both the users and the attendants.
This is not at all unique to Dallas but is the rule in Orthodox communities throughout most of the country and the world.
I am fully cognizant that there have been, unfortunately, certain Orthodox communities which have been less than vigilant in their fulfillment of some of the protocols of Covid. Some of those communities have been lax due to a, perhaps, erroneous understanding that they have attained herd immunity by virtue of most of the community already having contracted Covid in the early days of the pandemic, before it was really understood and protocols put in place. Sadly, for those reasons those communities had, at the time, high infection percentages and, sadly, many losses.
Health professionals have pointed out that those communities have become the key donors of life-saving plasma to save countless others. The recent uptick in cases in some of the areas has, sadly, exhibited the erroneous assumption of herd immunity, urging the members of those communities to return to Covid protocols.
Some of the leading scholars of Jewish law of our day have delivered a strong rebuke to anyone within the Orthodox community who does not take heed of this new wave and observe CDC regulations, stating that one who does not should should know they are “guilty of spilling blood.” Anyone not compliant before that rebuke hopefully has taken that to heart. Anyone in the Orthodox community who does not take the present situation seriously are very much the exception and not the rule.
A bigger concern I have is something far more insidious. The remarks uttered, time and time again, by Governor Cuomo of New York, have made it sound like Covid is a Jewish Orthodox problem, being contracted and spread mainly by Orthodox Jews. Former New York State Assemblyman the Hon. Dov Hikind has sounded the alarm that Cuomo’s remarks hearken back to darker times in our history when we were accused as the spreaders of the black plague and other epidemics, leading to pogroms and great destruction. The more recent Nazi demonization of the Jews as a disease-ridden people led to our separation, ghettoization and we know well where that eventually led – to the murder of 6 million of our people.
Cuomo’s comments and obsession with the Orthodox Jewish community, which have no scientific basis and, nevertheless, have been picked up by the media nationwide, have created a situation which we need to be very wary of and keep our finger on the pulse of their affect. Our rocky diaspora history doesn’t allow us to take such statements and inferences lightly…
May our Jewish vigilance in the supreme value of life – pikuach nefesh – be evidenced throughout the country and the world and may the scourge of the pandemic end quickly. May the vicissitudes and tragic losses of this time give us a greater appreciation for the preciousness of life, the gift of every moment of life and not to take life for granted. May it give us the strength and wisdom to take advantage of every day and live life to the fullest, with our families, communities and G-d.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Yerachmiel Fried
