Unfortunately, the uptick in COVID-19 cases in our communities, noted in Agudath Israel of America’s recent statement regarding simchos,
continues its upward trajectory. While there have been
hospitalizations, boruch Hashem most of the recent cases have not been
as serious as those in March and April. Theories to explain this
phenomenon abound, and much remains unclear. Some medical experts see
the slow rise in cases now in our community as echoing what we
experienced in early March, chas v’sholom, and
are concerned that we may be at the cusp of an exponential rise. Others
see the past month, in isolation, as less alarming.
The truth is, we do not know where this is headed.
And that is exactly why we must remain vigilant.
So, this Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, please remember to daven fervently for tichleh shona v’kililosaho. We must all resolve to improve our limud and support of Torah, kavod hatefila, and kedusha, as the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah has instructed. And, with the guidance of your rabbonim, please also take the precautions you’ve heard about so many times in the past 6 months – for yourself, and for the people next to you who may have health conditions that put them at greater risk.
Medical
experts and health officials are recommending that, as much as
possible, people mask and social distance, especially given the uptick.
They further advise that for indoor gatherings, ventilation should be
enhanced by opening windows and/or increasing the fresh air input
settings of HVAC systems. This is especially so in the context of the
Yomim Noraim, when we spend additional time together in shul.
Of
course, the elderly and those at high risk should be especially
careful. Individuals who have had exposure to a COVID case or attended a
high-risk event should seek medical advice before attending shul. And
if you feel at all ill with COVID symptoms, please stay home; do not
risk endangering your fellow man.
May our renewed focus on bein adam lamakom and bein adam lachaveiro merit a k'siva va'chasima tova for all of us.
13 comments:
https://www.thejc.com/comment/columnists/on-the-radar-more-charedi-flight-chaos-1.506370
Let’s not mince kosher burgers: the Chareidi world has not behaved well during Covid, its chaotic conduct outdone only by the writhings of a desperate prime minister to keep beards in his Cabinet and his own butt out of jail.
Matters came to a disreputable nadir over this year’s pilgrimage to Uman in Ukraine. It has become customary of late for pious men to pray at the grave of Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810) around the Jewish New Year.
Nachman, a reclusive mystic of blessed memory, never used to be a big deal and his followers blew the black shofar of excommunication at any who pried into their affairs.
But since the turn of the century the Nachman boys have taken to the streets of Israel in Hari Krishna gangs – white skullcaps and gowns, music blaring – exhorting passerby to join their cult. So many have done so that immense crowds now converge on Uman for the holy days, raising Ukraine’s doddery GDP by several percentage points.
Until Covid, that is. This year Israel’s health chief asked the Government to ban the Uman exodus in order to stem a resurgent virus. Netanyahu first agreed, then retracted under Charedi threats to bring him down. Instead, he asked the Ukrainian authorities to block incoming pilgrims, a move that went down just about as well
Flying from Tel Aviv to give a lecture in Budapest, I caught the red-eye at seven in the morning and was hunkering down for a catch-up nap when a bunch of Chasidim came on board and reorganised the seating like Foreign Office wallahs at the Queen’s jubilee, only less decorously. My wife told them she was suffering from a virus and could not be moved. A woman in front of us invited them to perform an improbable act of self-pleasuring. Neither objection made the slightest impression on the rampant latecomers until the captain came out with an announcement that if all passengers were not seated by the time he counted three he’d cancel the flight without compensation.
That worked. There was a final flurry of Charedim stuffing every inch of cabin space with shtreimel and sheitl boxes, presumably to prevent them commingling out of sight in the baggage hold below.
They forgot the part about women dressing with too short skirts and sleeves, and the wrong style sheitels.
No wonder why Kaminetzky's letter said not to make any changes to tekias shofar
https://www.thejc.com/community/community-news/government-forbids-garden-minyanim-councils-to-decide-on-other-outdoor-religious-gatherings-1.506538
The UK government has issued instructions on shofar blowing, it says the shofar should “not be blown towards worshippers”.
The Fressers are still manipulating R' Chaim through his grandson
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/HJsJS4rVv
Meanwhile, there is another war going on inside the community - a power struggle between Kanievsky and the rightful leader of the ultra-Orthodox-Lithuanian sector, Rabbi Gershon Edelstein.
According to Edelstein, the sector must abide the Health Ministry's instructions without fail. And despite his many efforts, it seems Edelstein remains unsuccessful in his attempts.
When Kanievsky ordered the yeshivas open for fear of "canceling the Torah," Edelstein expressed a completely opposite position, supporting the health experts' recommendations.
We all know what happened in the end and how the pandemic spread in Bnei Brak and led to numerous deaths in the city. That came to pass because the ultra-Orthodox population decided to preserve its way of life, instead of abiding by the responsible position of Edelstein.
Beautiful how we Fressers get to hold all yeshiva employees over a barrel, threatening their jobs if they ask to work from home with some laughable excuse they call pikuach nefesh which is not a precept in the Agudah Fresserism religion
https://www.nj.com/education/2020/09/for-all-40000-of-lakewoods-yeshiva-students-fall-means-in-person-full-time-classes.html
Lakewood’s 40,000 Orthodox Jewish children enrolled in 135 private yeshivas.
Those students have gone back to school — all of them full-time, in-person, said Rabbi Avi Schnall, director of the NJ Office of Agudath Israel.
“We're up & running,” Schnall said. “They're all in-person, they're all full-time.”
Unlike public schools, yeshivas aren't unionized, Schnall said.
“That’s the beauty of private schools. You don’t like private schools, you don’t have to teach there.”
To others, the beauty of a teachers union is it can advocate, without fear of retribution, for the safety & well-being not only of its members, but also of students, families & the community at large.
That’s exactly what the local union, Lakewood Education Association is doing, challenging the effectiveness of measures the district put in place to curb coronavirus among students, teachers & staff, in classrooms, libraries, gyms & buses.
Under Executive Order 175, non-public schools are required to certify they have anti-virus plans in place that meet guidelines.
A spokesman for the education dept, Michael Yaple, said the state received certifications from 67 private schools in Lakewood, roughly half the number of yeshivas there.
“If there are non-public schools yet to submit their assurance — or if those 67 submitted documentation that's incomplete — our office will make sure they complete certification,” Yaple said.
Lakewood school board attorney & Vaad puppet, Michael Inzelbuch, urged reporting any failure to meet the district reopening plan, which includes reduced occupancy on buses.
However, Inzelbuch stipulated, non-public routes would not be subject to reduced occupancy. Inzelbuch said reduced bus occupancy is not mandated by the state, and the district lacks authority to impose a reduction on nonpublic schools.
Schnall, citing the town’s 40,000 yeshiva students, said the sheer numbers bused makes reducing occupancy unworkable, though he acknowledged the capacity situation is problematic.
Schnall said a significant reduction in capacity would create a bus shortage, not to mention a shortage of bus drivers, who were already in short supply long before the virus outbreak.
“Right now, not every route for non-public buses is at full capacity. It depends on the school, on the route, whether children on that bus comply.”
Opponents of in-person education say children risk transmitting not only to one another, but to family, teachers & the community, making in-person learning a broad public health issue.
Lakewood Mayor Ray Coles said COVID's taken a heavy toll on Lakewood, with 2,914 confirmed cases & 197 deaths, Ocean County’s highest totals. He acknowledged some Orthodox draw unwanted attention by defying rules on the virus.
“I think the virus hit Lakewood from the celebrations,” Coles said.
“As bad as it was, it really did go down in the summer,” Coles added. “A lot of the Orthodox have been in day camps. I hate to say it because I don’t want to jinx us, but they’ve been a success.”
In yeshivas, there are additional reasons, both cultural & pedagogical, why remote learning is problematic.
Schall said many Orthodox discourage Internet, which means remote learning telephonically or via conference call, a far more challenging instruction than on Zoom. And Talmudic studies involve a constant back & forth that’s difficult to simulate remotely.
“We need to open,” Schnall said. “There's no choice.”
(& like we told all the yeshivos from our secret Fresser meeting, force all the immunocompromised kids back in too by making their remote learning as miserable as possible!)
The Vilna Dayan R' Betzalel Hakohen writes something in his Shu"t Reishis Bikurim daf 69, that says a lot about the Agudah Convention.
Fressing until the boych is stuffed with foods that are shver on the guf, is more dangerous to people's gezunt than the danger from a pandemic!
And by the way, the Elef Hamagen 618:1 writes the halacha is that it is assur during a pandemic to be matriyach the oylam with the full monty of piyutim & negunim. So what's the story with R' Shmuel's weird tzavoah this week? He has a romantic attachment to the Philly nusach tefillah?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_full_monty
But that's what the Agudah's about, full Fressing & full monty.
This is exactly the kind of inane 'academic research' that is mocked by the Wall St Journal with their punchline: "what would we do without experts?"
YU is not embarrassed even an iota that they spent so much time & money to come to a simple conclusion about bottom barrel batlonim?
But at least it provides more of a window into that psychopath OU mashgiach Ribowsky who is always bashing unzerra Rosh Gedolei Moetzes haInternet.
Ribowsky spent most of last week complaining on other blogs that there is a mohel with an unclothed baby on the sidebar of this blog. He was acting more obsessed than usual which is seriously saying a lot. Readers started pointing out there's likely more than meets the eye with his behavior last week.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/women-porn-chocolate-man-coronavirus-160414730.html
Rob Waugh
Yahoo News UK
15 September 2020
In stressful situations, men turn to pornography and women reach for chocolates – it’s not just stereotyping, it’s scientific fact, according to Israeli researchers.
But curiously, in the wave of stress due to the coronavirus, men are turning to chocolates (while still indulging in alcohol and porn).
Women, likewise are turning to pornography and alcohol (while still eating sweets), according to a paper submitted for publication by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and Yeshiva University researchers.
More Bone Headed & deadly Fresser "advice"!
Today's latest Agudah communique was meyaetz with this gem:
"opening windows and/or increasing the fresh air input settings of HVAC systems"
There has to be a science to this. It's proven that being downwind from infected people in front of windows & AC vents dramatically increases the virus spread rate!
When science is the guide to protecting crowds, windows are kept closed and the HVAC is replaced or retrofitted with special equipment that is neutralizing any potential bad air plumes. In NY State, Cuomo forced it on select industries as a condition to reopen. Part of the selection process appears to be whether those mandated could afford the upgrades in Cuomo's estimation. But it doesn't mean other building classes not forced to upgrade are by any means safe!
but the Agudah Fressers keep on truckin' - only with blinders on, not masks
https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2020/09/new-coronavirus-research-shows-how-kids-spread-virus-from-day-care-camps-to-family-members.html
New coronavirus research shows how kids spread virus from day care, camps to family members
(Diabolical cackling)
Routing for my Yishmoeli cousins to make it all the way to the heimishe geggen of Antwerpen & London. What a bonanza of infection spreading these chevra are!
You need to help out an alter monotone like me with the chazzonus: yomim al ymei ...
https://www.ekathimerini.com/256727/article/ekathimerini/news/1000s-flee-fire-at-migrant-camp-on-virus-lockdown-in-greece
1,000s flee fire at migrant camp on virus lockdown in Greece
More than twelve thousand Arab & Muslim migrants fled a camp under COVID lockdown after multiple fires gutted much of the site on the Greek island of Lesbos, authorities said early Wednesday.
Some 12,500 people were living at the Moria camp, where additional restrictions have been imposed after a Somali resident tested positive for coronavirus.
"The fire spread inside & outside the camp and has destroyed it ... There are more than 12,000 migrants on a highway," Stratos Kytelis, mayor of the island's main town, Mylinene, told Skai radio.
"It is a very difficult situation because some are positive for the virus."
The fires broke out overnight, police & fire officials told The Associated Press, adding the cause of the blazes 7 the full extent of damage, remain unclear. They did not confirm reports the fires had been set deliberately in protest at the lockdown but said firefighters "met resistance" from camp residents.
Early Wednesday, riot police were deployed along the highway that connects the camp to Mytilene.
Lesbos was Europe's busiest crossing point in 2015-16 for illegal migration during a massive westward movement of "refugees", many fleeing Syria & Iraq. After that wave of migration, Greece set up camps on Lesbos & other islands.
Oy Shmuel! I've been mispalel for something like this!
(Gushing)
Funny!:-)
Just checking in with the Philly boys at Yeshiva Gedolah of LA. We were worried at first that California wildfires might slow down the virus spread. This was the best besurah they heard all week!
https://theconversation.com/smoke-from-wildfires-can-worsen-covid-19-risk-putting-firefighters-in-even-more-danger-145998
Emerging research suggests that smoke firefighters breathe on the front lines of wildfires puts them at greater risk from coronavirus, with lethal effects.
At the same time, firefighting conditions make social distancing & hand-washing difficult, increasing chances that, once the virus enters a fire camp, it quickly spreads.
Today, there's a consensus among researchers that air pollution, specifically very fine particles called PM2.5, influence respiratory illness. These particles are 50x smaller than a grain of sand & travel deep into the lungs.
Italian scientists reported in 2014 that air pollutants increase viral load in the lungs & reduce ability of special cells called macrophages to clear out viral invaders. Researchers in Montana connected that effect to wood smoke. They found animals exposed to wood smoke 24 hours before being exposed to a pathogen ended up with more pathogen in their lungs. Wood smoke exposure decreased macrophage ability to combat respiratory infection.
Research now suggests long term exposure to PM2.5, produced by wildfires, power plants & vehicles, make the virus particularly deadly.
Scientists at Harvard’s School of Public Health found even a small increase in PM2.5 was associated with a large increase in death from COVID. While small increases in PM2.5 also raise risk of death from other causes for older adults, the magnitude of increase for COVID was 20x greater.
These findings suggest air pollution, including wood smoke, increase risk that firefighters & others will develop severe COVID.
Doctors also found heart & lung damage in COVID patients, raising additional concerns for physically demanding jobs like firefighting.
The risk of the virus doesn’t surprise firefighters.
They’re familiar with “camp crud,” a combined upper-lower respiratory illness accompanied by cough & fatigue that's common in firefighting camps. The illness ramps up in line with the idea that repeated exposure to smoke suppresses the immune system & makes the body more vulnerable.
Further evidence that wildfire smoke impacts risk of infection can be found in a flu study in Montana. Results indicate wildfire smoke influences flu months later.
Guidance from the National Interagency Fire Center, acknowledges wildfire smoke leads to increased susceptibility to COVID, worsen the severity & pose a risk to those recovering from serious infection.
The NIFC encourages fire teams to make sure PPE is available & to maintain records to track the virus.
Guidance also calls for better hygiene, such as hand-wash stations & mobile showers, as well as access to medical care. Single-person tents would allow social distancing.
That's hard during quickly changing fire conditions. Fire camps include 100s of personnel. One control is firefighter “pods”, small groups that work, eat & bunk away from others.
Personnel can also stop the spread by having coronavirus test kits on hand & quarantining infected firefighters.
Firefighter numbers are already down due to pandemic complications, but become particularly strained as the season progresses. There's a fear COVID cases along with camp crud, which could be mistaken for COVID, could severely deplete firefighter numbers.
The safety of western communities depends on firefighter ability to respond to emergencies. Protecting their health helps protect public health, too.
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