Rabbi Yitzchak Batzri arranges burning questions of Halachic issues • How to hold a bar mitzvah or wedding, what about a memorial service and is it permissible to accompany an elderly person to a health fund?
Defending the Corona // Photo: Oren Ben Hakun
Passover is behind us, but the halakhic issues related to the Corona virus still plague quite a few Israelis, secular, traditional, religious and ultra-Orthodox alike. Common Rabbi Yitzhak Batzri arranges the burning questions of the chapter.
Do you have weddings and bar mitzvahs and how to have these celebrations?
On holidays, we do not usually get married because "there are no happy blends." Even after Passover, it is forbidden to marry according to Halacha until Lag Ba'omer. However, according to the reception, you should not marry even after Lag Ba'omer until Shavuot. Jerusalem.
(Editor's note: It should be noted that the Chief Rabbis allowed this year's weddings in Sefer HaOmer as well, and there is much to ask about individual cases)
Bar Mitzvahs should not be rejected and up to ten people who are family members are allowed to sit in the dining room while maintaining distances. For ultra-Orthodox families, it is easier because the Blessed are blessed with children and have a separate quorum for ten people.
How are seven and consolations fulfilled?
All but obliged to sit seven in his house with the nuclear family. If the families are large, everyone in their home and their children will complete a quorum. If the immediate family does not complete a quorum, you can comply with the Ministry of Health guidelines, when praying from the private balcony or each from their own yard and closing a quorum. It is not worth losing a quorum that is necessary for the "dedication" prayer, as the latter works to raise the soul of the dead.
Are memorials allowed?
A memorial should only be done in the family. Personally invited me to give a lesson at a memorial and I would not go, just over the phone. In no way come to the memorials. Up to ten people are allowed and only with the nuclear family.
If an elderly person needs to go to a hospital or for tests, is it allowed to accompany him?
The issue of hospitals has a serious problem that many elderly people are afraid to go to hospitals because they are isolated. They need escort and a solution must be found to accompany them to the tests as well. You can't send beards alone. There are old people who, with fear, may die and endanger their lives.
What Can You Do About Halachic Work?
Regarding going out to work - if a person is committed and adheres to the Ministry of Health guidelines in the workplace, he should go out for a living. People should not be arrested for bringing a living to their home because it brings life to the person. God forbid if you quit all jobs and people don't work it could be worse. There can be very severe suffering of poverty and grief and this can subsequently cause serious cases of violence etc.
That is why I believe that the adults and those in a risk group should be quarantined and allow the young, whose problem and ability to keep themselves, to earn a living. It is impossible to create a situation that will eliminate the people of Israel from livelihood and work. Those who do not have to go out and can work from home will do so and those who cannot and must go to work as in hospitals take part in a huge and great commandment.
Saving the Laws in Closed Conditions in the Haredi Cities
In the ultra-Orthodox cities, in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods we find it very difficult to manage the laws and precepts we owe. The public observes the Torah and the Mitzvot, which are very strict about routine prayer services in a synagogue, Torah study and Beit Midrash, in a bunch of classes, having a lot of trouble with this practice. But, we understand that this is a danger and so we are careful not to hold seminars and churches, classes and prayers.
I regret the total cancellation of prayers and quorum in public. You could perhaps hold a prayer in public as we all see a broadcaster from the Western Wall, which is held daily in the morning, facilitator and Arabic with distance between worshiper and worshiper. Even in the neighborhoods. How about I recommend having everyone on their private balcony with a mask away from the Ministry of Health guidelines so there is really no infection.
The Torah commands us 'and you are very saved for your souls'. The fasting must not be fasted during the epidemic because the body must not be weakened. This was the case even when the plague was very severe. Tales of Israel's great men in previous generations saw a plague. On Yom Kippur they made a sanctuary in the synagogue and let people eat so that they would not die. Each of us needs to maintain health and this is part of the commandment "you have been very saved for your souls" and the Torah said "live in them and not die in them." It is forbidden to cause a situation that a person is detrimental to his health and must maintain his health and care for his soul.
How do you deal with breaking the community structure and closing the synagogues?
These days, everyone goes through an internal soul-searching when the family is at the top and we are more united. The community is a secondary thing. I believe that once the restrictions are removed, it will be more strict to preserve the sanctity of the synagogue, which is sometimes derided.