Wednesday, December 02, 2020

But in the context of a raging pandemic, we are not animated by a desire to search for allowances or dispensations. We are not interested in how many people we can legally cram into a given space. Our goal is not simply to satisfy the requirements of the state so that we can check a box. Our goal is to protect the health and well-being of every person who passes through our doors and, in turn, the health and well-being of every member of our broader community.

 

The Supreme Court’s repeal of synagogue restrictions won’t change anything for Orthodox congregations like mine

(JTA) — As the rabbi of a synagogue on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, I have been keeping a close eye on pronouncements by the governor about the ever-changing New York state guidelines governing houses of worship. Since reopening in the summer, we have taken note of how quickly synagogues have had to adapt when they found themselves subject to occupancy limits of 10 or 25 people. When the U.S. Supreme Court rendered a decision about the legality of these state-imposed restrictions, we followed it with great interest. 

In last week’s split decision, the court set aside the attendance limits that Governor Cuomo had imposed on houses of worship in red and orange zones. The decision does not immunize synagogues, mosques or churches against government restrictions. It simply insists that those restrictions must not be more severe than those placed on comparable secular gatherings.

Champions of religious freedom cheered. In their view, the court had beaten back an overreaching state. But for a synagogue community like ours, the decision is largely academic. 

From the outset of this pandemic, it has been our position that while adherence to the dictates of the government is required by halakha, or Jewish law, those dictates represent a floor rather than a ceiling. In the halakhic calculus, few issues are treated more conservatively than those pertaining to public safety. That a given activity may be legal does not necessarily mean it is advisable or even permitted. Our synagogue closed before being mandated to by the government. We waited to reopen until well after the state proclaimed reopening permissible. And while the government’s occupancy limits would have allowed us to seat 100 or more people in our sanctuary, our internal guidelines restricted capacity to a fraction of that number.   

We can all agree on the need to protect the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment.

 But in the context of a raging pandemic, we are not animated by a desire to search for allowances or dispensations. We are not interested in how many people we can legally cram into a given space. Our goal is not simply to satisfy the requirements of the state so that we can check a box. Our goal is to protect the health and well-being of every person who passes through our doors and, in turn, the health and well-being of every member of our broader community. If that requires the expenditure of more time or more funds on our part, so be it. 

As Americans, we are conditioned to think about rights. As Jews, we are also meant to think about responsibilities. Mitzvot are not good deeds; they are obligations dutifully performed by those who aspire to better the world by making it more sacred or more godly.  

 Rather than pursuing concessions from the state, we ought to be pursuing opportunities to contribute to it. For Jews, the best way to celebrate the triumph of religious freedom is to treat that freedom responsibly.

Justice Neil Gorsuch filed a separate opinion in this case in which he wrote that “[e]ven if the Constitution has taken a holiday during this pandemic, it cannot become a sabbatical.” 

 By the same token, those of us operating houses of worship cannot afford to rest for even a moment. By insisting on protocols that meet and exceed the expectations of public health officials, we can model responsible civic conduct. Maintaining these high standards represents an ongoing challenge, but we are obliged to do nothing less. 

As citizens of the United States, each of us is called upon to abide by the laws of the nation. What kind of citizen a person will be remains a question of personal preference. But in the Jewish conception, the Talmud tells us that we are charged with an affirmative requirement to be “good neighbors.” When the need arises, each of us has to make a concession for the benefit of a greater good. It’s not about how many people in our community we can fit into a service. It’s about how our people can fit service to the community into their lives. 

 

https://www.jta.org/2020/11/30/opinion/the-supreme-courts-repeal-of-synagogue-restrictions-wont-change-anything-for-orthodox-congregations-like-mine?utm_source=JTA_Maropost&utm_campaign=JTA_DB&utm_medium=email&mpweb=1161-25239-462090

5 comments:

  1. Levine's got 12 hours to take this apikorsis down before I escalate things.

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  2. Noch a mohl our Gerrorist homeboy Litzman fails?

    Israel's Supreme Court convenes in the morning to adjudicate maybe the last appeal by Malka Leifer, as the 6 year fight to prevent the child rapist's extradition to Australia's out of options

    The latest appeal is vs Jerusalem District Court ruling to extradite the ex-headmistress of Melbourne Adas Israel girls school back to Australia, where she's wanted on 74 charges of child sex abuse

    The 9 am hearing is the 74th court date in a drawn-out saga whose delays test Jerusalem-Canberra relations. Frustration in Australia — who demand Leifer’s swift return at the highest levels of Israeli govt — peaked when UTJ-Agudah's Yaakov Litzman forced state psychiatrists to diagnose Leifer mentally unfit. The lead doctor changed his assessment 3 times on Leifer’s mental state. Police recommend Litzman be indicted for his conduct

    The hearing's to last hours & a decision's likely days later. Victim advocates feel the appeal will be tossed as the judicial panel's makeup mirrors the last one ruling vs Leifer

    Judges Anat Baron, Isaac Amit & Ofer Grosskopf unanimously rejected to overturn a psych panel determination that Leifer feigns mental illness to evade justice. The judges scolded the Jerusalem Court who allowed proceedings to drag so long

    If the Supreme Court again rules vs Leifer, her extradition will hinge on Justice Minister Nissenkorn to sign. The Prosecution said while Leifer may file 1 more appeal after the Minister, it's unclear the Supreme Court will agree to hear the case again so soon

    Once Nissenkorn signs for extradition, Israel has 60 days to put Leifer on a plane out

    Manny Waks, CEO of VoiCSA, combating child sex abuse in the global Jewish community, said today, “It’s clear to everyone — including countless experts — Leifer took the judicial system for a major ride. This charade must finally end”

    Once Leifer's back down under, Waks's org will “repeat our call for full review in Israel why the case dragged so long & if political interference is substantiated”

    Last month, 2 Leifer lawyers representing her since early in the Sisyphean legal process, announced they stepped down from the case

    Tal Gabay revealed the decision to Globes, saying the appeal's a “side issue of the long ongoing process questioning Leifer’s mental fitness”

    Gabay & legal partner Yehuda Fried, didn't comment further

    Nick Kaufman, who defended Muammar Gaddafi’s sons at the International Criminal Court, becomes lead attorney for a defense with no problem financing high-profile lawyers

    Leifer left Israel to work at Adass Israel Melbourne in 2000. When sex abuse surfaced 8 years later, the Adas board bought the mother of 8 a return ticket, paving her escape before charges were filed

    After her 2014 Interpol sting arrest, hearings were postponed due to a "debilitating" condition. A court stopped proceedings in 2016, deemed her mentally unfit. She was rearrested in 2018 after being filmed leading a full functional life

    After years more hearings, Judge Chana Lomp ruled Leifer’s health was still a question & ordered experts probe if she fakes incompetence

    Last Feb, the panel concluded Leifer's faking, leading Lomp to concur in May. The ruling was followed by the Sept decision to green-light extradition to Australia

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  3. Another planted mole to spread agitprop for the Philly led Agudah Fressers? They thrive off this kind of propaganda to force kids back into in petri dish classrooms.

    No way the figures, being promoted by the usual suspect Fresser internet outlets, are this high:

    "Avner Ben-Shoshan, director of the Elam Association for at-risk youth, presented dismal data during a discussion in the Knesset’s State Audit Committee, according to which 30% of yeshiva students have left their yeshivas since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis. “Out of 80,000 bochurim, 24,000 are now on the streets,” he said."

    Meanwhile old Samuel K must be dancing the Hora tonight around the theater seats in Philly's beis medrash now that the virus has claimed another collateral damage korban, 92 year old R' Aron Chodosh ztl, Mir-Yerusholayim Mashgiach

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  4. https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/jp.jpg

    Europeyisher & Eretz Yisroeldik Fressers making chassunos in the Arab Emirates, ranked globally as a Red Zone.

    They are in any case insane even if the virus doesn't fell them. All Middle East countries are crawling with sleeper cells from Iran, ISIS & al Qaeda.

    ReplyDelete
  5. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/whistleblowers-post-office-labeled-trump-mail-undeliverable-388-000-ballots-backdated-disappear

    Whistleblowers: Postal Service labeled Trump mail ‘Undeliverable,’ 388,000 ballots backdated, ‘disappear’

    by Paul Bedard, Washington Secrets Columnist
    Dec 01, 2020

    Several whistleblowers today cast new uncertainty on the 2020 election process, claiming up to 288,000 ballots disappeared, another 100,000 improperly backdated & mail promoting President Trump junked while mail for Joe Biden was delivered.

    In the most extraordinary report, a US Postal Service contractor said his trailer full of 144,000-288,000 completed mail-in ballots, which he drove between New York & Pennsylvania, disappeared after he delivered it to a Lancaster, PA, depot.

    Another claimed ballots were backdated by postal workers & in Traverse City, MI, Trump campaign mail was put in bins labeled “Undeliverable Bulk Business Mail” while the same type of mail for Joe Biden was ordered delivered on time.

    A 3rd raised new issues about the integrity of Dominion voting machines.

    The claims were unveiled by the Amistad Project of the Thomas More Society, which mounted an independent investigation of voting & registration in several key battleground states. It recently made headlines revealing the FBI requested findings of its Voter Integrity Project.

    The project uncovered flaws & fraud in ballots + voter registration of several states that certified counts in favor of Biden.

    In today’s release at a press conference, the group said whistleblowers found election officials in Democratic areas manipulated ballots & campaign mail, potentially influencing the outcome.

    “The whistleblower accounts detail failure of officials in blue jurisdictions to maintain ballot chain of custody, allowing for infusion of fraudulent ballots. The accounts include photos of individuals improperly accessing voting machines & a detailed eyewitness account of breaking sealed boxes of ballot jump drives & commingling those jump drives with others,” said the outfit.

    It adds, “The accounts also reveal multi-state illegal efforts by USPS workers to influence the election in at least 3 of 6 swing states. Details include 100,000s completed absentee ballots transported across 3 state lines & a trailer filled with ballots disappearing in Pennsylvania.”

    Previewing the whistleblower accounts, the Amistad Project said:

    Postal subcontractor Jesse Morgan on Oct. 21 moved 144,000-288,000 completed mail-in ballots from Bethpage, NY, to Lancaster, PA, where his trailer holding the ballots disappears.

    Postal subcontractor Nathan Pease is told by 2 postal workers on 2 occasions that USPS in Wisconsin was gathering 100,000+ ballots on the morning of Nov. 4 to backdate ballots so the ballots would be counted even if they arrive after the statutory deadline.

    Computer expert Gregory Stenstrom of Pennsylvania witnessed a vendor of Dominion machines & local election officials download & update counting machines in violation of election protocol & comingling machine jump drives in violation of protocols & rendering audits impossible without direct forensic access to the machines.

    Postal workers in Traverse City, MI; Coraopolis, PA; Erie, PA & Elkins Park, PA, indicate widespread malfeasance in the Postal Service including backdating ballots, ordering Trump mail be interdicted to be placed in ‘Undeliverable Bulk Business Mail’ bin & emphasizing Biden mail be delivered on time.

    ReplyDelete