Orders of senior ultra-Orthodox rabbis on school closure remain unclear
Neither rabbi addressed directly the issue of whether or not they would instruct school principals to close their institutions in the upcoming lockdown.
By JEREMY SHARONAn Orthodox Jewish man wearing a surgical mask rides by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, April 22, 2020.(photo credit: ERICA PRICE/GETTY IMAGES)
Two of the most senior rabbinic leaders of the ultra-Orthodox community have remained tight-lipped on whether schools in the sector should stay open or close during the coming COVID-19 lockdown.Both Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky and Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, the two leading rabbis in the Ashkenazi, non-hassidic community, issued strong messages on Tuesday night and Wednesday calling on the public to be vigilant in observing health regulations regarding the virus.But neither rabbi addressed directly the issue of whether they would instruct school principals to close their institutions in the upcoming lockdown.During the country’s second lockdown in September and October, Kanievsky refused to issue a blanket order closing the sector’s schools and told individual school principals, who asked him what to do, to keep their schools open.According to reports on Tuesday, Kanievsky and his assistants had come to an agreement with Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion that ultra-Orthodox schools in the capital would close for two weeks.But overnight Tuesday, Kanievsky apparently reversed himself and told the principal of a large school in Jerusalem that he should keep his institution open.Representatives for the rabbi declined, however, to say what precisely his position is.On Wednesday morning, a spokesman for Kanievsky issued a statement saying the rabbi had received a briefing from his personal doctor about the high infection rate in the ultra-Orthodox community and the country at large, including from the highly infectious “British mutation.”The statement said that Kanievsky called on the public “to increase their Torah study, their fear of Heaven, and prayers and instructed [people] to observe and be strict about the instructions of doctors and the regulations that have been determined to stop the plague, and to be extra diligent regarding the sick and old who are in extra danger.”A representative for Edelstein said the rabbi had not decided his position yet. During the second lockdown, Edelstein was somewhat more cautious and urged principals who asked him not to come into conflict with the government and police, but to open schools, if possible.On Tuesday night Edelstein issued a statement that criticized the public for negligence in obeying health regulations, and called those who are lax in observing health warnings “rodef” – that is, someone who poses a danger to the lives of others.“The public needs to take 100% care in line with doctors’ instructions so as not to harm others,” the rabbi said.
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