Letter from Rabbi

Dear friends,

It has been brought to my attention that some members of our community have become lax with their adherence to social distancing and wearing of masks. I discussed the situation with a number of local physicians, and they felt this new trend is alarming and potentially dangerous.

Please remember that our community has been so greatly blessed to have been relatively spared the suffering and devastating effects that this terrible virus has visited upon other communities.

There can be no doubt that this relatively positive outcome came as result of our efforts and determined vigilance we have had as a community in maintaining our strict adherence with social distancing and the wearing of masks as per the guidelines advised by the health department, government directives and our local physicians.

To hear that members of our community have become lax in these vital practices should give us reason for concern.

We remind everyone the words of our Sages

חמירא סכנתא מאיסורא

That issues regarding dangers to health and well being supersedes all other considerations.

Please read the following open letter by local physicians that clearly articulates the seriousness of this situation.

Rabbi Kaufman

Dear Friends,

The Covid-19 virus has caused much illness, pain and death in many nearby Orthodox communities and throughout the United States. Thank G-d our community has been relatively spared from the Covid -19 pandemic in large part due to the exemplary behavior of our population in social distancing, wearing masks and avoiding large crowds. It is natural that people think it is OK to socialize now because the incidence of the disease is extremely low, but that is a false sense of security. Many states are now experiencing a significant spike in the disease precisely because things were going so well that the population thought that it was all over. However, the reality of increased outbreaks in these states demonstrated the error in their judgment. ICUs throughout the country are also overwhelmed with critically ill Covid patients, indicating that cases of life threatening illness are also spiking.

To be sure, outdoor gatherings are less dangerous than inside gatherings in terms of virus spreading. However, even outdoors, large gatherings of people, without social distancing and without masks, are very risky. Precisely because our community has been spared to a large degree from the virus, few of us are immune and the risk of viral spreading is still great. All it takes is one Covid infected person at one of these gatherings to spark a large outbreak in our community, G-d forbid. In addition to risking lives, accelerating the rate of “normalization” threatens the greater community goals of returning as many as possible to work and school and of being able to observe the Yomim Noraim in unity.

We urge everyone to 1) try to keep crowds to a minimum, 2) enforce social distancing, 3) wear masks. The baal simcha or the host of the gathering should be responsible for strictly enforcing these rules. Furthermore, even in smaller gatherings it is important to wear masks and maintain social distancing.

Dr. Elliott Frank
Dr. Daniel Rosenblatt
Dr. Marc Scheiner
Dr. Barry Wolf