Q&A: In light of the crisis, does the Rabbi feel any urge to pray?
In light of the crisis, does the Rabbi feel any urge to pray?
Question
Hello Rabbi
In light of the crisis: true, thank God here in the Land of Israel, at least for now (30.3), we are in a relatively good situation. There are not many people on ventilators, and there also are not many deaths relative to other places in the world. The Rabbi will probably hold that this is due to “relatively correct decision-making,” while others will say that along with decision-making there is also divine providence in this country.
Even so, very hard reports are coming in about what is happening to Jews abroad, especially in the United States. They say that in the United States the Jewish communities have been hit relatively hard compared to the general population there, which is itself taking some very serious blows. Rabbis and community leaders are hospitalized, and some have even passed away. There are already quite a few children who have been left fatherless. This pains the hearts of many Jews.
My question for the Rabbi is a somewhat intimate one—
Intellectually, the Rabbi is fairly convinced that there is no divine involvement, and even if people pray it probably does not have much significance. But does the Rabbi nevertheless have some feeling that awakens him to cry out to God and ask Him for healing and providence in the face of the difficult situation the whole world is experiencing?
With blessings, Ehud
Answer
Hello Ehud.
It seems to me that if you examine the data without bias, they point to the opposite of the intervention thesis. The Haredim are getting sick more than others. Most of the infection is taking place in synagogues. There are places in the world whose situation is no worse than ours (so this is not unique only to us). And now add to that the data you mention about Jews abroad, including rabbis and leaders, who are also Jews. To conclude from this that there is divine involvement, one really has to be especially tendentious.
I do not.
Discussion on Answer
Oh, and one more thing, regarding mass infections in synagogues—
I don’t know which sources the Rabbi studies, but in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) it says that the Temple was burned, and it is reasonable to assume that masses of Jews died right in the Holy of Holies.
Moreover, there are examples of people who clung to the horns of the altar (I assume the Rabbi knows them), and nevertheless they were harmed—and not only harmed, but harmed specifically by prophets of God!!!!
Meaning, contrary to what the Rabbi is trying to say, a serious examination of the sources (the reliable ones, of course) shows that sometimes there is no protection in holy places when the attribute of judgment is operating against a person.
If so, I would be very grateful if the honorable Rabbi could show me the source he is reading that says there is *constant* physical rescue in a holy place when the attribute of judgment is stretched taut against a person.
I would be glad to hear the Rabbi’s answer regarding these sources (with the conditions clarified above). Thank you.
Ehud, I did not cite any source, nor do I see any need to. You are missing the logic of the discussion.
What I wrote is that to bring proof from the coronavirus situation in favor of the intervention thesis is absurd. If anything, the conclusion from the situation here is the opposite. True, if you already believe in that thesis, then the coronavirus situation can be explained by you accordingly. The gates of excuses have not been locked.
Pardon me, despite the introduction to my question, the question was simply whether the Rabbi has a feeling toward prayer.
The Rabbi answered it in two words: “I do not.”
I agree that maybe one cannot prove divine involvement from the coronavirus case.
But I have a question for the Rabbi: in the Rabbi’s opinion, is the fact that there is mass infection דווקא in synagogues proof that there is no divine involvement?
I think you can see intervention and providence here with your own eyes,
Whoever is normal gets infected less, and whoever is Haredi-ish—more.
Isn’t that providence?
As I explained: no.
Hello B.,
Apparently the Haredim here in Israel did not implement the Health Ministry’s decisions. They “mixed.”
The Haredim abroad were the same—they mixed as well (though there they probably were not warned in advance to any significant degree).
Factually, *until now*, we are hearing heartbreaking horror stories from Haredi Jewry in the United States, mainly from Boro Park and Brooklyn.
https://www.bhol.co.il/news/1090602
But by contrast, *until now*, for the Haredim in Israel, thank God, blessed be His name forever, there are no horror stories.
True, there are relatively many sick people compared to the rest of the situation in the country (as in Kiryat Ye'arim), but overall the mortality rate and also the serious illness rate are truly very, very negligible—probably even in absolute terms compared to what is happening in the world, and probably relative to what is happening among Haredi Jewry in the United States.
This is the third time I’m mentioning—it is the situation *right now*.
Assuming the epidemic spread here and in the United States at roughly the same time, and in both places the synagogues and yeshivas were full until just about two or three weeks ago, and based on my prior assumption that one can establish some frame of reference between the number of Haredim here and the Haredim in the United States,
as someone who supports the thesis of divine involvement, I believe that when the final calculations are made, it will be possible to check whether the trend of providence here in the Land of Israel was indeed real.
It is important for me to emphasize: I do not know Heaven’s calculations, and I am not saying that this will necessarily turn out to be correct, but on the other hand, “the wise man has his eyes in his head.”
Much success!
The intervention thesis of a Jew like me, who does not hold by the Satmar approach, is that:
1. Jews are under greater providence in the Land of Israel than Jews who live abroad.
2. When permission has been given to the destroyer, the likelihood of providence over the individual becomes smaller.
This is stated explicitly in Jewish sources. For example, “And it shall come to pass, if you surely heed” clearly speaks on the collective level.
And likewise, in the holy Zohar (and Rashi) it says that when permission has been given to the destroyer, he does not distinguish between righteous and wicked.
And there is no shortage of other sources saying that we are all in the same boat, and that when there is a hole in the boat, it harms everyone.
So in that sense, quite the opposite is plausible—the current situation fits the rules of divine involvement as they appear in the sources.
3. Israel’s situation is relatively good compared to the world, and excellent relative to its geographic location, and relative to the amount of mixing there was here with people from other countries in Europe. Factually.
Why Egypt’s situation is better right now (assuming their reporting is reliable)? I don’t know.
By the way, I haven’t checked this, but logic suggests that the reduced traffic on the roads over the last three weeks has probably in practice prevented many dozens of serious accidents, including a large number of deaths and severe injuries (with lifelong consequences). Simple statistics.
Therefore, *at least for now*, with the 16 dead from coronavirus and those on ventilators, it is quite likely that there would have been more deaths and severe injuries from serious traffic accidents, which right now are probably hardly happening at all, thank God.
4. As for the fact that many Jews are sick relatively speaking in Haredi towns in Israel—
Where is it written that one can measure righteousness in a way that determines that the Haredim necessarily have the highest level of righteousness that should secure for them “ultra-private providence” that must override the rule that “the destroyer does not distinguish between righteous and wicked”?
Besides, even if they are righteous and deserve “ultra-providence,” why are they at the moment placing less emphasis on mutual responsibility?
I hope the Holy One, blessed be He, will awaken in the Rabbi a feeling to pray and cry out to Him for the healing of Israel.
I believe the Rabbi’s prayers are important and effective, just like any prayer.