Acting Commissioner of Police in Bnei Brak: "Do more for our health"; Edelstein: "I will pray outside" | Israel today

6,000 police and about 1,000 soldiers will be deployed across the country to continue enforcing regulations • Rabbis today called for preferring outdoor prayer • About 8,000 reports were recorded for closure on weekends • Whether indoors or outdoors, this holy day will look completely different this time

• Prayer in Jerusalem // Photo: Oren Ben Hakon

Yom Kippur under full closure conditions: Millions of Israelis will fast and pray in a completely different way from anything they have known so far.

Against the background of morbidity data that broke new records over the weekend, many prayers on the holiest day of the Hebrew year will be held for long hours outdoors, in not-so-simple weather conditions.

About 6,000 police officers and about 1,000 soldiers will be deployed throughout the country to enforce quarantine regulations.

According to data released by the police, over the weekend more than 8,000 reports were given to violators of the closure guidelines.

For example, there were 5,691 reports of leaving the place of residence for an action or purpose that is not allowed, 1,836 reports of not wearing a mask, 191 reports of refusing a police officer to disperse a crowd, 105 reports of violating the isolation obligation and more.

Archive photo: GPO

Enforcement focuses on three circles: a ban on leaving homes up to a range of 1,000 meters and a ban on staying in another's home including going to vital work, enforcement against shops and businesses other than food and drug stores, and enforcement against crowds in synagogues and demonstrations.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Superintendent Moti Cohen, met this morning, on the eve of Yom Kippur, with the Mayor of Bnei Brak, Avraham Rubinstein, and with Arik Adler, the Corona in charge of the Bnei Brak Municipality.

"A mitzvah between a person and a previous friend and a person to the place. This is the opportunity to keep a mitzvah between a person and his friend and you are saved for your souls. An opportunity that each of you on this Yom Kippur Eve can do for our health," said Cohen. "At this time for the sake of maintaining your safety and health. Even on Yom Kippur, we will be here together to maintain the security of us all."

In a video he posted last night on social media, Prime Minister Netanyahu admitted that he made mistakes and read: "I ask for what the rabbis asked, as the Israeli prime minister who prays in the synagogue every Yom Kippur, do not go to synagogue this year, pray outside." .

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein this morning referred to Yom Kippur in the shadow of the closure and said he would pray in a small minyan outside with a mask: "In a few hours the Yom Kippur fast will enter. For one day with Israel he will be one in one heart. I will pray in a small minyan outside with a mask for all the hours of prayer and in social distance. I appeal to each and every one of you, let us keep the guidelines and let us win together. I want to end with a small part of the prayer 'Our Father our King': A helpful fast and a good signature finish. "

A new record in daily morbidity data was recorded on Thursday last week, when 8,178 tests were diagnosed as positive, out of 66,640 conducted.

As of last night, the death toll from the virus was 1,412.

In the shadow of the jump in infections in the ultra-Orthodox sector, where infection rates are significantly higher, ultra-Orthodox cities and Hassidim are holding Yom Kippur prayers.

Large Hasidim, in which disregard for Rosh Hashanah guidelines was recorded, are expected to act much more responsibly, after hundreds of Hasidim have already infected Corona.

Efforts continued on Friday to persuade the various rebbe to follow Corona's guidelines. Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke with the Rebbe of Belz and presented him with the data on the spread of the virus.

Also on Friday, a letter was published in the "Yated Ne'eman" magazine by the greatest of the ultra-Orthodox-Lithuanian generation, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky and Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, in which it was clarified that all the guidelines must be observed.

"Unfortunately, there are those who find it difficult to observe all precautions and this is a factor that belittles it, and as we know there were many who were seriously harmed," the two rabbis wrote, "therefore it is a great duty to be careful according to the precautionary rules. It is an experience from heaven and there is a great obligation to withstand this experience, because in our minds it is. "

During the fast there will be a further rise in temperatures and a heavier heat load.

Thus, the recommendation for fasting is to maneuver the prayer hours outdoors, for fear of dehydration.

From a halakhic point of view, it is better to keep the fast and pray in units than to pray in public in case it poses a danger to the health of the worshiper.

For fasting - it is recommended to drink water in small portions throughout the hours before fasting.

The intermittent meal is recommended to be composed of various carbohydrates and proteins and to avoid spicy foods and caffeine.

It is recommended to break the fast with a small food that contains some sugar, in order to raise blood sugar levels.

Conflict over regulations

Meanwhile, the Knesset's Constitution Committee disbanded on Tuesday after a heated debate, without approving the law and new regulations related to the fight against the corona virus.

The committee's chairman, MK Yaakov Asher, was forced to dissolve the meeting in the afternoon near the closure, after Knesset committee chairman MK Eitan Ginzburg claimed that the reservations raised by Likud representatives were a new issue and therefore could not be voted on. .

At the same time, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health gave up last night on the attempt to approve in the government the emergency regulations intended to reduce the demonstrations, following the delay in passing them in the Constitution Committee.

Instead, the government will again try to limit the demonstrations through an amendment to the law, as decided by the government in the first place.

This means that all gatherings in the country are prohibited, except for demonstrations where under current law there is no limit on the number of participants.

The issue led to a confrontation in the government on Friday, after it was made clear in blue and white that they would vehemently oppose Minister Edelstein's proposal to approve emergency regulations for only a few days, to prevent mass demonstrations that would cause the public not to respect the closure.