What In The World Happened To Dina d'Malchusa Dina?

"Under New Jersey's COVID-19 restrictions, funerals, memorial services, weddings, and religious and political activities protected under the First Amendment must be limited to 100 people or 25% of a room's capacity -- whichever number is lowest. All attendees at indoor gatherings must wear face coverings and stay six feet apart. The Press reporter was asked to leave the event shortly after it began. Mourners continued to arrive just before 1 p.m."

Lakewood funeral: Hundreds turn out for funeral of prominent Chicago rabbi

Gustavo Martínez Contreras

Asbury Park Press

LAKEWOOD — Hundreds of mourners are gathering in the main classroom at Beth Medrash Govoha, hosting a funeral for a prominent Chicago rabbi with strong local ties to the township's rabbinical college.

Rabbi Chaim Keller, 90, whose survivors include children who live in Lakewood, died Monday after a months-long battle with COVID-19, complicated by other prior conditions, the Chicago Tribune reported. His funeral, which began about noon Tuesday, has attracted at least several hundred mourners.

"His passing marks the end of an era," said Moshe Stern, who studied under Keller in Chicago and now resides in Lakewood. "He has thousands of students living here in Lakewood and for us it is an opportunity to come out and show our respect."

Keller was the senior rabbi at Telshe Yeshiva Chicago, a prestigious rabbinical college that enrolls 200 students and was founded in 1960. 

A Press reporter inside the large classroom observed none of the mourners wearing masks or any other face covering; likewise, mourners crowded in the rear of the classroom and stood just inches apart. Those who were seated typically were observed not practicing social distancing either.

Under New Jersey's COVID-19 restrictions, funerals, memorial services, weddings, and religious and political activities protected under the First Amendment must be limited to 100 people or 25% of a room's capacity -- whichever number is lowest.

All attendees at indoor gatherings must wear face coverings and stay six feet apart. The Press reporter was asked to leave the event shortly after it began. Mourners continued to arrive just before 1 p.m.

Rabbi Aaron Kotler, president of Yeshiva Beth Medrash Govoha, could not immediately be reached for comment. The Tribune said that at the time of his passing, Keller was the senior rabbi at "the 200-student Telshe Yeshiva Chicago, a nationally recognized member of his denomination, and a teacher to generations of Midwestern Jews, from high school students to rabbinical candidates."

A funeral for him was held Monday in Chicago. At least three of Keller's children lived in Lakewood: Rabbi Elya Meir Keller, of Yeshiva Yesodei Hatorah; Sori Schechter, principal at Bais Yaakov; and Chani Treff, according to Jewish news site Hamodia.

Large indoor gatherings, including funerals, dinners and parties, have frequently been nexus of so-called "super spreader" events linking COVID-19 cases.

https://www.app.com/story/news/2020/08/18/lakewood-funeral-prominent-chicago-rabbi/3390923001/?fbclid=IwAR0RfZMgNEE-Z3HK7gpK58KMqBF87seH_c3lD7vaMtcgkg9IOFGmujlj4gE