Q&A: Obey? Or Use Common Sense?
Obey? Or Use Common Sense?
Question
There is an instruction not to gather in groups of more than 3 people.
They say there are reasons for it and that one must listen to the guidelines.
On the other hand, it doesn’t seem logical not to gather in groups of more than 3 even in a place that has a safe room or is within walking distance of one.
Should one obey because maybe there are things we don’t know, or because there is an obligation to obey?
Or if it seems to a reasonable person that there is no danger, should he act according to his own understanding?
Answer
I haven’t heard of this hysterical instruction. Is a family allowed to gather in its own home?
Discussion on Answer
A friend who served in the Home Front Command told me that the guidelines are derived from dry statistics, not from the reasoning of “experts.”
Of course, this isn’t really law; there’s a limit between caution and anxiety. A family can gather. And it’s excessive to run down to the neighborhood shelter with a towel and wet hair. The benefit of taking shelter is for the public as a whole, so that there will be few casualties or none at all.
For a specific person, the chance of being harmed is vanishingly small.
A family, yes.
Gatherings that are not for basic needs (grocery store, health clinic) are forbidden.
That includes a prayer quorum.
And that brings us back to the question: obey? Or let common sense decide?