An Analysis of the Current Pandemic

16/4/2020

Note: Links alluded to within the post can be found at the bottom of the post.

I must admit that when this whole coronavirus mess started, I didn't take it so seriously.

In fact, I quickly developed a fatalist attitude when I heard that recovering from a coronavirus infection might not confer immunity.

What's the point? I thought.

There is no way to be immunized from the disease. Even if you recover, you'll be just as vulnerable after recovery as everyone else. This means there's no one who can care for patients without getting infected too.

(Now I realize that they don't know for sure there's no immunity. Maybe yes, maybe no.)

Anyway, my hishtadlut was to go out and buy extra vitamins, soap, aluminum foil for Pesach (and other Pesach supplies), and tzitzit for my 5-year-old in the expectation that shopping would be more difficult at some point and to get stuff then, when I still could do so easily.

(This expectation has since been fulfilled, unfortunately.)

I still don't take the masks seriously, although if I were to go out, I would put one on to avoid problems with the police.

The only reason why I ended up going out less was because of what Rav Avigdor Miller warns about leaving home during a time of dever (plague), and also what Rav Yehudah Petiyah describes in Minchat Yehudah (which will be described in a future post – hopefully soon).

Much of what's resulting from coronavirus simply doesn't make sense.

Let's look at how this whole coronavirus fiasco being mishandled.

Irrational Quarantine Strictures

First of all, there is a lack of clarity about COVID-19's source.

Is it a naturally developing disease that mutated from China's wet market to human beings?

Or is it a human-cultivated bioweapon that either escaped or was released?

There is evidence for both.

But no one knows for sure.

And apparently, figuring out how to treat it most effectively and possibly develop a vaccine (if you can vaccinate against something that maybe does not confer immunity naturally) is influenced by whether it's manmade or not.

Secondly, while it's apparently highly contagious, its fatality rate seems to primarily affect people who already suffer pre-existing conditions and an already compromised immune system.

In other words, healthy people, especially if they are under 70, do not need to have any fear of dying of COVID-19 – statistically speaking. (And really, people over 70 have also recovered nicely.) Furthermore, healthy people under age 70 do not really need to even fear suffering complications.

This is clearly a limited disease so far.

These currently known facts mean that the quarantine measures are neither here nor there.

If coronavirus was a truly lethal plague, like the 14th-Century Black Plague that eliminated around a third of Europe (and half the population of England), then you wouldn't have neatly arranged hours for "essential" tasks like shopping.

You wouldn't allow your borders open for any reason, even to bring home fellow citizens who wish to leave coronavirus hot spots.

And you wouldn't quarantine for only 14 days.

In fact, for such a new virus about which so little is known and the testing isn't even completely up to par, 14 days is a silly idea. One needs at least 30 days, preferably 40 days.

Masks are also a not-very-effective idea, especially since a mask shortage resulted early on.

Do you know how to remove a mask in a sterile manner?

I don't.

Doctors & nurses do. But most regular people don't.

Think about it: You go out in a mask, picking up all the germs on it, then take all those germs into your home.

And get them on your fingers when you remove the mask.

Then you let it sit in your garbage can, still live & contagious.

Is that rational?

Other people have already noted that what masks really do is protect others if you are unknowingly already infected.

But that's not why people were buying the masks initially; initially, they acquired masks for their own protection, to prevent themselves from infection, not to protect others.

Social-distances measures can't possibly be effective, according to what we currently understand of coronavirus.

For example, the virus floats around in the air and sticks to surfaces for a long time.

So how does maintaining a 6-foot distance from others really help? It's in the air and people and the virus are moving around in that same air. Unless you are going to stand in a place where no one else has breathed and where the virus hasn't floated to, how do these measures really help, speaking from a purely rational point of view?

Also, let's look at the stats for other infectious & potentially fatal diseases:

The 2009 swine flu pandemic is estimated to have killed between 151,000 and 575,000 people worldwide.

Ebola has around a 50% death rate.

In 2017 to 2018, the worst flu season on record in the U.S. outside of a pandemic, approximately 80,000 Americans died. (Do hear about that? Probably not.)

During this past flu season in the USA, the CDC reported 38 million illnesses, 390,000 hospitalizations and 23,000 deaths.

Yet in none of these situations did countries shut down their systems or deny necessary medical treatment to sufferers.

Furthermore, shutting down society, storm shelters, police services, medical treatment, and the economy is clearly causing more problems than it's solving.

People Playing God

A very real concerning & ethical problem is how many hospitals are postponing necessary procedures in order to clear space for potential coronavirus patients.

For example, a woman needs surgery to remove lung tumor, but is postponed because of the possibility of coronavirus patients.

It hasn't happened yet, but they want everything cleared out & ready.

Is that ethical?

Can a doctor decide that it's okay for a person to die of a lung tumor as long as they're not dying of coronavirus?

Patients dying of neglect & lack of treatment is not better than dying of coronavirus, particularly since coronavirus is only lethal for a specific part of the population, while someone in desperate need of a lung transplant does NOT have an 90% chance of recovery – a chance that a coronavirus patient DOES have.

Furthermore, a season prone to natural disaster is upon us: spring & summer.

Hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires.

In fact, America's South & Midwest have already been hit with tornadoes.

And their public shelters are affected by coronavirus-fear.

Meaning, not all shelters may open and those that do may not allow as many people to shelter within.

Again, this means you have human authorities playing God.

Basically, people in authority will decide that some people should die of a tornado rather than coronavirus.

And maybe that person wouldn't die at all, not even of coronavirus, but wasn't allowed in a tornado shelter.

Also, I still think Italy's high death rate is at least partly due to denying treatment to people over a certain age. They're playing God and by denying treatment, they're killing people who might not necessarily die otherwise.

They're also souring the Heavenly Judgement over themselves with such unethical behavior.

Also, if these economic lockdowns continue, many areas of the world will start to riot, which leads to property damage, injuries, and deaths.

A Variety of Problems Exacerbated by the Current Response

(Note: I'm taking this information from anywhere EXCEPT China; Chinese authorities are notoriously dishonest about reporting information that dishonors them.)

Finally, the actual coronavirus numbers:

80% of those infected experience a light illness: a fever, maybe snuffles & some coughing...

And hospitalizing those from that 80% could actually make them worse.

People with a slight fever need lots of rest and nutritious easy-on-the-throat-and-digestive-system foods, like a hearty chicken-vegetable soup.

Rest & nourishing foods are hard to come by in hospitals. (No offense.)

Good, nourishing rest is extremely hard to come by in hospitals, particularly in this era of the cell phone.

Also, hospitals are bastions of germs.

Around 10% experience severe symptoms...but most recover.

And around 10% die.

(In Israel, less than 1% of diagnosed coronavirus patients have died.)

To put in perspective, let's again look at the numbers for previous infectious illnesses:

The 2009 swine flu pandemic is estimated to have killed between 151,000 and 575,000 people worldwide.

Ebola has around a 50% death rate.

In 2017 to 2018, the worst flu season on record in the U.S. outside of a pandemic, approximately 80,000 Americans died.

During this past flu season in the USA, the CDC reported 38 million illnesses, 390,000 hospitalizations and 23,000 deaths.

However, the 10% coronavirus death rate reached in some countries a high percentage of a highly contagious illness.

And that's where our concern should really lie.

Except that it doesn't.

Even in Italy, where both the infection rate & fatality rate have been very high (around 10%), 85% of deaths occurred to those over age 70.

Most people over 70 have at least minor health problems. Not all do, but most.

Indeed, over 90% of coronavirus fatalities worldwide – regardless of age – occurred in people with pre-existing medical conditions.

In fact, 99% of Italy's coronvirus fatalities occurred in people with pre-existing medical conditions, which made them especially vulnerable to the virus.

Statistically speaking, this means that coronavirus is not fatal for people without pre-existing medical conditions.

Heck, even if you're over 70, coronavirus is only a problem in those with pre-existing medical conditions – statistically speaking.

In fact, the current quarantines are NOT protecting the vulnerable.

How can they?

By allowing the higher-risk population to shop, say, an hour a day around potentially infected staff and touching items that possibly infected people have touched and being out near people who are possibly infected...this still puts them at risk.

For example, several years ago, when my friend was immuno-compromised due to her kidney transplant, she did not go out at all and her family was careful around her themselves.

Likewise, she does not go out at all now – not during special hours, not with a mask & gloves, nothing. The only effective & logical way to protect herself is to not go out at all. And despite the fact that she's an active, extroverted person, she doesn't leave her home and is very careful about who enters her home. In fact, her married daughter lives nearby, but could not come to the Seder for fear of her husband/the son-in-law compromising my friend's immunity.

Now, the guilt trip has been that we all need to quarantine in order to protect vulnerable members of society.

But that is never the way this kind of protection works.

You cannot shut down society during every flu season or virus season ONLY to protect immuno-compromised people with pre-existing medical conditions.

Society would disintegrate if you did that.

Sort of like now.

What vulnerable people usually do is protect themselves.

For example, my friend mentioned above who, in her thirties, received a kidney transplant from her twin sister.

During her recuperation at home, there was a sign on the door warning potential visitors who've received a vaccine (which often makes people contagious for a bit) or any illness.

Her husband & children also needed to take extra precautions around her.

But please note: The municipality did not shut down the entire city in order to protect her.

That would have been silly and extremely harmful.

Then she was fine. But now she has needed to quarantine herself again for her own protection, and this has once again affected the comings and goings of her immediate family.

And that is how it should be.

Right now, people are under enormous stress (which also affects physical health and disease susceptibility).

People who are ill with other illnesses are NOT getting the treatment they need to survive!

And that's a crime of ethics.

Right now, societies are quasi-protecting POSSIBLE victims while abandoning ACTUAL CURRENT victims of other medical issues.

Again, that's ethically problematic and also irrational.

In some areas of America, police activity has been limited. Meaning, the police will not show up for certain crimes.

Furthermore, with this school year in the trash, children will need to repeat their grade.

And how to do that with the incoming wave of children for next year? My son is in the middle of gaining the critical skill of reading. He knows his letters and the vowels of kamatz & patach (ah), tzerei & segol (eh). But he's already gotten weak in the last 2 and it will be up to us to teach him shuruk (oo), cholem (oh), etc.

Or school next year...if it happens.

Medical students are been graduated early if they're willing to help the crisis in the hospitals. (This means they're less qualified to practice medicine. Is that a good thing in a hospital? Yeah, I get that the hospitals haven't much choice right now, but objectively speaking, is it beneficial?)

Vulnerable people should protect themselves.

And those of us who are not over 70 and/or with pre-existing medical conditions should help them by running their errands, leaving sterilized food packages by the door, walking their dogs, etc.

That would be the logical response to coronavirus.

Except that's not how nations are responding.

The question is why?

We Actually Don't Know Much

There is no clear logical reason for the contradictory quarantine rules, which are not ultimately so effective.

As described above, they're not being applied in a logical way that actually protects against and prevents illness.

Taking Eretz Yisrael as an example, Tel Aviv District (which includes Bnei Brak) & Jerusalem District have the highest levels of coronavirus, but the Center District (Netanya, Rechovot, Raanana, etc.) isn't far behind.

Yet they're primarily closing off the charedi areas.

In fact, one hospital is automatically detaining within a special coronavirus ward any person from one of the major charedi cities who comes, even if they don't display signs of coronavirus. By automatically placing a healthy person in the coranavirus ward, they are intentionally infecting that person with coronavirus.

Again, coronavirus is not lethal for the overwhelming majority of people, but it is highly infectious to the point that locking someone in a place teeming with coronavirus coughs and germs on the surfaces will mostly likely infect anyone who enters. (And anyway, as explained above, hospitalizing people who aren't so sick can actually make them sicker.)

BTW, the brings us to another issue: testing.

It isn't clear to me that, with such a new virus, the tests are so accurate. Remember, it's COVID-19. There are similar viruses, like SARS CoV-2.

In fact, the common cold, pneumonia, and MERS are all included in the coronavirus family, of which COVID-19 is one strain amid this virus family.

It was already reported in the USA that early tests for COVID-19 offered false negatives – sometimes multiple times.

Furthermore, all countries have reported a shortage of testing kits.

And I suspect the low reported incidence of COVID-19 across Africa has more to do with lack of testing than lack of infection.

So who's being tested exactly? And how?

And are the people who tested positive for COVID-19 actually infected with that and not another member of the same virus family (like the common cold – which is actually how COVID-19 expresses itself in around 80% of those infected)?

And how do we know the real rate in populations?

For example, no one in my family have been tested. I don't know people who've been tested. It could be that the rates in these seemingly low areas are actually just as high as the Tel Aviv or Jerusalem Districts, but people haven't been tested. (Or they received a false negative.)

Again, IF the test is actually accurate – and I'm not sure that it is. Literally, I'm not sure.

However, the result of the quickly mounting rules is that frum people are actually complying.

If these strictures were imposed out of clearly anti-Torah personalities and ideologies, then the frum people would rebel. For example, it would be a sign of courage & yirat Shamayim to continue holding secret minyans & yeshivot, etc.

But the way it's being done, including secular Israeli leaders and Leftist celebrities coming out protesting discrimination against charedi communities.

It's nice of them, but I do wonder what made them suddenly turn around and display such sympathy.

Theories abound, like how leaders secretly wish to crash their own economies, thus forcing their populations to be dependent on them.

Not sure about that one.

More logically, most world leaders are in the vulnerable group: They are over 70 with pre-existing medical conditions.

So maybe, in their own minds, it's a self-protection racket.

But here's what I really think...

A Clear Act of Hashem

To summarize the main points:

The quarantines & protective measures around the world are not being applied in an effective manner – meaning, it seems to be more for the sake of feeling like something is being done, rather than actually protecting against infection. Masks are not being used properly and social distancing is a joke with the way this virus operates & spreads.

This isn't such a dangerous disease (compared to other pandemics like the Spanish flu or the Black Plague); its lethalness really only affects a very specific population that is easily identifiable and thus possible to protect.

In other words, unless one is over 70 and have some underlying health condition that compromises your immunity, the death rate isn't anywhere near 10%. Hardly quarantine worthy.

The most effective way to protect people from death by COVID-19 would be to quarantine ONLY the vulnerable individuals (rather than the entire country) until the disease disappears. This is the obvious solution & the better one, yet no one is doing it.

These not-terribly-effective quarantines have resulted in a complete disruption of Jewish life, with the compliance of Jews themselves. If these dictates were coming from any other source in any other way, we would never comply. (Or we would comply outwardly while continuing to not comply in secret.)

The disruptions in Jewish life are eerily reminiscent of Nazi Germany and other edicts of the past (disruption of both religious obligations & being blocked from work). Even their rhythm, like how every day there's a new decree & we don't know what will happen next, is very similar to past Jew-hating edicts.

Certain segments of society are trying to blame specifically the charedi community, and target the charedi community, even though we don't really know how many people are really infected, both within the charedi community & without. (This also echoes anti-Jewish sentiment of the past.)

Despite the disease's non-lethal effect outside of vulnerable populations, the frum community has taken a severe hit with the ongoing deaths of our leaders: rabbis rosh yeshivahs, rebbetzins...especially in New York, they're leaving us one after another.

Putting it altogether, this is all clearly from Hashem.

And despite how it feels otherwise, it's actually a chessed.

Hashem has disrupted our lives in a way that is so similar to anti-Jewish edicts & attitudes in the past, but has done so without the actual hatred, persecution, and attacks (whether via missile attacks from enemy countries or a violent police force, like Nazis or Communists).

And He has sent us a disease which isn't actual so fatal for the vast majority of people.

In fact, it's not even experienced as so horrible for the vast majority of patients; chicken pox is a lot more annoying.

The truth is that at this point, unless you are over 70 AND already suffer a pre-existing immuno-compromising medical condition, it is totally unlikely you will die, chas v'shalom.

In fact, it's unlikely you will even become seriously ill.

And that's a big chessed because looking at previous pandemics (the Black Plague, the Spanish Flu, Ebola), a pandemic can actually be lethal.

This isn't (outside of the vulnerable populations).

Furthermore, Hashem has given us a massive wake-up call without actually having unendurably terrible things happen (like terrible suffering or death).

We're not in ghettos.

We're not being bombed.

We still have running water & electricity & all our nifty hi-tech stuff.

Yes, we are stressed-out with frayed nerves. We feel stifled. We are extremely inconvenienced. We feel frustrated, overwhelmed, exasperated, and worn-out both emotionally & physically.

We're being forced to live one day at a time.

But we still have a tremendous amount to be grateful for at this time.

So this is really a tremendous wake-up call from Hashem.

While the world response has been extreme, the actual impetus is not so extreme.

And this is the chessed in the wake-up call from Hashem: We're getting the wake-up call WITHOUT the severe suffering the exaggerated & ineffective response implies.

And now we get to the part of the wake-up call that is extremely painful & distressing:

We're losing our leaders.

Roshei yeshivot, askanim, older & wiser teachers, rebbes, rabbanim...Hashem is plucking them from our midst, particularly in the thriving frum communities in the USA.

Again, this is a bizarre and traumatic result from a virus that is actual not so fatal.

So why is it so fatal for them?

Chazal states several reasons for this kind of thing:

Hashem brings consequences upon tzaddikim in order to frighten reshaim into doing teshuvah.

Hashem plucks out good people (especially sinless people like tzaddikim or children, chas v'shalom) as a kapparah for the sins of society so in that way, only 1 or a few people die rather than thousands.

Hashem removes really good & caring people from the world so they won't suffer seeing the destruction of their beloved Am (like how He removed the Chafetz Chaim, Sara Schenirer, Rav Meir Shapiro of Daf Yomi & Lublin Yeshivah, and others just prior to the Shoah).

This is extremely distressing and should impel us toward teshuvah.

And regarding the irrational & not-terribly-effective quarantine measures, I'll be writing about those from a spiritual perspective in an upcoming post.

Because while these wacky quarantine measures are not so effective against such highly infectious germs that live a long time on surfaces and travel through the air quite easily (despite the feel-like-I'm-doing-something-effective-but-am-actually-not social-distancing formations), going out less IS effective against malachim mashchitim (destroying angels), as Rav Avigdor Miller has emphasizing and as Rav Yehudah Petiyah describes in Minchat Yehudah.

Note: I just want to emphasize something because on the Internet, people's eyes tend to skim rather than read carefully (mine are guilty of the same, BTW).

I do NOT mean to dismiss the very real dangers for those over 70 or who suffer underlying pre-existing medical problems. Every life is precious and even those in a vegetative state are completing vital tikkunim.

So I'm NOT saying to throw old or unhealthy people out the window.

NO.

I'm saying that this whole thing could be handled differently (and MORE EFFECTIVELY) without depriving both the over-70 and immuno-compromised AND everyone else of parnassa, medical care, quality of life, storm shelters, police protection, supplies, and so forth.

We can more effectively take care of vulnerable members of our society AND everyone else.

I want everyone to live and to experience a good quality of life as much as they can.

May Hashem keep us all mentally & physically healthy, and may we take the lessons learned now and do complete teshuvah.

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14 Comments

Dan G

16/4/2020 16:28:26

If I remember correctly, there is an additional, slightly different, reason for Hashem taking out the Tzadikim - when because of our sins He needs to bring upon us some punishment, but as long as they are alive their prayers and good deeds prevent Him from doing so. I really hope this isn't the case now.

Myrtle Rising

16/4/2020 18:25:26

You're right, Dan G. I remember something like that too, but not the source. I also hope that isn't the case now.

Thanks for this additional prod to do teshuvah!

elisheva

17/4/2020 02:44:32

Rav Touitou said that one of the reasons Hashem is taking so many tsadikim is because they are needed in Shamayim in the debate over whether to bring the geulah now.

The fact that the situation in Israel is so much better than in other countries is sheer chesed from Hashem, and we cannot rest on our laurels either spiritually or practically.

I keep on hearing that we are all in the same boat, but it is not really true. I call it the "granola", accentuates a person's situation. If you have a nice home and a nice family, you can enjoy this time. If you have pre-existing challenges, such as in health, parnasa, domestic relationships or lack thereof, they are all exacerbated right now.

I heard in the name of Rav Kanievky shlita that the corona is a chesed for Am Yisrael, that there are less people dying on a daily basis, and that it is a call for all the Jews to come urgently to Eretz Yisrael (all the hotels are empty).

Many people, Jews and Gentiles alike, are suffering, but there are many positive sides too, Just the fact that Hashem had all of Am Yisrael at home for Leil Haseder, geula-consciousness is rising, hundreds of thousands of Israelis returned home and many more are yearning too, and many, many, gentiles left Israel, all the talk of the Delusion of the Century has dissipated, and many more aspects.

Be"D this should be the wake-up call and not worse.

Myrtle Rising

17/4/2020 11:55:44

Elisheva, thank you for this comment that contains so much wisdom!

(And I hadn't heard that about Rav Touitou, but it makes a lot of sense.)

You made so many good points here, I just kept saying, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" throughout your comment.

Also, I hadn't considered that a lot of the church-goers and party tourists had left Eretz Yisrael. I hadn't thought about them at all, but yes, certainly those missionary colleges and other places must have emptied out.

And it's so true that we're not all in the same boat. I keep meaning to make a post about that because whatever your situation is, it's on steroids now.

Like if you live alone, you are REALLY alone ALL the time now.

And if you live with 8 kids in a small 2-bedroom apartment, you are REALLY crowded ALL the time now.

And your points about different levels of parnasa, shalom bayit, health, etc. being affected for better or for worse by the lockdowns.

Thanks also for your points about the behind-the-scenes chessed of Hashem even as it's very stressful now.

And AMEN to your last sentence.

P.S. True, the hotels are empty, but without money or flights, how can people come?

Thanks very much for all this, Elisheva.

elisheva

17/4/2020 13:52:03

First of all you are most very welcome:) Most of what I write is what I hear in shiurim etc. (B"D I am blessed to be functionally trilingual, maybe not perfecto, but I listen to classes in English, Hebrew and French). Rav Touitou is French, and gives great classes. It seems that French speakers are more able to hear the truth than English speakers.

After Pittsburgnacht, I wrote on another blog that Jews who feel they can't make aliya should at least sell up and live in rented accommodation and move their money to Israel, and at least encourage others to make aliya. All I got was a torrent of negativity. And now I am hearing it in shiurim that is what Jews in exile should do.

And your points about different levels of parnasa, shalom bayit, health, etc. being affected for better or for worse by the lockdowns.
I live by myself, but am mainly not lonely, far worse is all the people in abusive domestic situations with no respite, I saw in the UK that the no. of "domestics" has soared. Probably the same elsewhere.

P.S. True, the hotels are empty, but without money or flights, how can people come?
Short answer: emuna. Long answer: emuna in practice step by step, is a blog post in itself. I have thought of starting my own blog, mainly on this issue, practical steps in emuna, breaking it down into baby steps for people to follow. I was disheartened by the responses I got to my comments on another blog, even for saying that people should encourage others, or that they should plan their aliya on paper, ie make an aliya journal, get their passports in order etc. Maybe you can help me understand. These are people who profess to wish to make aliya, and claim that they can't, and wrote horrible things in response to my suggestions. More recently I also presented facts, without any commentary, and again was told that I am being negative. The facts are that Israel is one of the safest countries in the world regarding the granola (their are some doing better than us) and that the vast majority of diaspora Jewry are in the worst hit areas of worst hit countries (NY, London, Paris), and within those areas are worse hit than the general population.

I am very concerned about the Jews in galut, we are being blamed (especially in the US and France) both for being the cause of the granola for profit (probably a Jew will come up with the vaccine) and for spreading it (higher rates), at the same time as Americans in particular have panicked bought guns and ammo. And as is well known times of social and economic unrest never bode well for the Jews.

Back to the aliya, it needs to be organised and coordinated, community aliya, #nojewleftbehind.

Sorry this is a long and rambling comment, it's hard to see what I wrote in the small box.

elisheva

17/4/2020 14:00:10

I just wanted to add that a person's situation may be mixed. I live by myself, but don't feel alone, I listen to shiurim and talk to friends on the phone, and B"D I have a garden, with trees, a view, and an open area, all beautifully taken care of by my neighbours, pinat chemed, all of which is a huge bracha generally and how much more so in this situation. And I live in a yishuv that has a well-stocked makolet and volunteers who brought me some essentials and told me to ask for anything I need (I don't have a car). So really my situation is quite comfortable, B"D. I feel bad for people in apartments, either with children, or who can't deal with being by themselves. Some people go crazy being on their own.

Myrtle Rising

19/4/2020 09:06:12

Hi, Elisheva, thanks for explaining your point of view. (And French always sounds so nice to my ears, but I never learned it.)

And yeah, the little comment box is certainly hard to write in, also for me. (You can extend it a bit by clicking on the lines in the lower right-hand corner of the comment box, but it still doesn't get so big; also you might need to minimize the box again in order to find the "submit" button.) If it helps to know, I didn't perceive your comment as rambling.

Yishuv-living is one of the best. Great decision; glad you're there!

Regarding all your aliyah advice, I don't think it's a bad idea. Not at all.

At the same time, I also think that when people feel like they can't do something (or they literally genuinely cannot do something) and then feel pressured to do it anyway, a lot of resentment builds up. They feel like a crippled man being pressured to run a race in which he also needs to jump over hurdles.

So that's probably the blowback you're experiencing.

And the truth is that there are a lot of people in chu"l in paralyzing circumstances, like they're caught in bureaucratic or legal tangles that legally do not allow them to leave, custody issues after divorce (they don't want to abandon their children), health issues in either themselves or in a family member who either cannot be moved or would be affected very negatively by the move, older children (many – and maybe most? – families who come with pre-teen/teenage children find that at least one of them goes off the derech after aliyah), their family (a spouse or older children) wholly oppose making aliyah, they're barely making it financially in the USA and fear that aliyah will finish them off completely, and all sorts of other issues.

Also, there are people who live in thriving frum communities who follow a real rav (a true Gadol & talmid chacham, and not just a non-Gadol local Orthodox rabbi) who holds that aliyah isn't necessary, and that doing real teshuvah and being at truly good Jew bring the Geula and prevent epidemics & Jew-hatred and so on. There have been several Gadolim like this.

And they're right.

I would never discourage a Jew, especially a frum Jew, from coming to live in Eretz Yisrael. I hated living in the USA and am only happy in Eretz Yisrael. I think especially nowadays, it's the best & easiest place to live a rich spiritual life of Torah. And yes, I prefer being here for the current pandemic than anywhere else.

I also feel safer here than anywhere else.

Also, I've developed so much admiration for the readers that have shared their thoughts & experiences with me, either in the comment section or via email, that I would love to live near them here in Eretz Yisrael! ("Won't you be my neighbor?") They're really good people, really sincere Jews – they'd definitely be a great asset to both the Jewish community & the Land itself.

But I came as a single person, flexible & idealistic, and things fell into place as time went on. I went through some hard times, but it was still much easier than other people's situations.

Having said all that, I realize that Rav Binyamin Elyashiv & Rav Kanievsky and others seem to have encouraged Jews to come now (though I'm still not sure how they can practically), yet I'm not sure how much they're saying it's an obligation or a salvation. Literally, I'm not sure. I guess I don't even know exactly what they've said, just what other people claim they've said.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe ztz"l, though he spread Judaism & shluchim around the world, still highly prized settling in Eretz Yisrael:
https://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/2487539/jewish/The-Safest-Place-in-the-World.htm

As much as settling in Eretz Yisrael has always been considered a praiseworthy goal by the greatest tzaddikim throughout Jewish history, my impression has also been that doing REAL teshuvah and focusing on bein adam l'chaveiro mitzvot is the fundamental key to Heavenly Protection & Salvation.

Okay, thanks for all your input & insights, Elisheva. Wishing you continued wellness!

elisheva

20/4/2020 01:24:59

I wish that every Jew felt the way I did, spiritually unsettled until I came to live in Israel and also that they wished to have a national life, not just personal or communal. I realise that that is not the case, but now I just wish they would come to save their skins as I perceive them to be in danger. Times of social and economic unrest are never good news for Jews. I heard in a shiur by Rav Ron Chaya (also French) that Hashem will save the tsadikim wherever they are but Eretz Yisrael is the safest place to be. And regarding our avodat Hashem I don't see it as an either/or equation. Why not live in Israel and be the best Jew you can be?

As for one's circumstances, I am aware of the complexities of life, but no-one has a situation that Hashem cannot solve. This is what Rav Brody teaches. As for your analogy, what if you said to the man, ok then can you wiggle your fingers, maybe a little toe, can you visualise yourself sitting up, baby steps, and all he does is shout can't. And not everyone has an "impossible" situation, but they don't want to have a drop in income or to have to start over. And Jewish history is full of the stories of long defunct but once thriving communities.

I recently heard on sodhachasmal site in the name of R. Kanievsky shlita, that the rav is calling on Jews to make aliya, as he has done so for a long time, that the corona is the hatzhala and that chalila there is going to be a war. It seems that Rav Brody and Rav Anava have given up their many calls for aliya. I have listened to both of them over the years, less recently, and they know that people can't even listen to it. Another reason I will probably give up before starting. If people won't listen to them, why would they listen to me.

I also proposed that the "me'ukvei aliya" should set up fb groups and brainstorm, maybe they can help eachother, make community aliya. Why don't they set up schools in Israel that are for English speakers, so that teenage children can complete their schooling in their native language. I know French families whose children did that. (That's one of the main reasons for children going off the derech, feeling like a failure at school). The point is that there are solutions. An American/Israeli dual qualified/experienced doctor told me of a friend who wouldn't make aliya because of the medical treatment of her child. The doctor friend told her that the treatment in Israel for that particular issue was better and free, and that the friend doesn't believe her. From my travels, I have noticed that Americans seem to think that everything is automatically better in America, even when it is patently not the case. And most importantly limud Torah, An American woman in Israel told me that her 12 year old was on a higher level than his 18 year old American cousins who come to visit.

As for "throughout Jewish history", for most of it the situation was completely different, and it was considered a risky proposition only for the elderly, whose children were already grown up. Now it is clear that Israel is the future and that the exile is over.

Myrtle Rising

20/4/2020 11:06:33

Hi, Elisheva,

First of all, I do not wish to discourage any Jew, especially a frum Jew, from settling in Eretz Yisrael.

However, this is one mitzvah in which a person can be a total heretic and a wholly evil person...and still do this mitzvah.

And if a person is a total heretic & wholly evil, than his living in Eretz Yisrael damages both the Land and the other Jews living here because this is a Land that vomits out her inhabitants when they don't behave correctly.

Most Jews aren't like that, but some have been and some are (probably they are Erev Rav or, as seemingly in the case of Ariel Sharon, not actually Jewish at all), and they did terrible things here to their precious fellow Jews and these types still exist (albeit less so).

Because of all that, I tend to believe that aliyah isn't where we should be putting our emphasis.

Yes, like you, I also feel that all the mitzvot are more meaningful in Eretz Yisrael and that meaningfulness is actually palpable here (maybe not always, but much more so than outside of Eretz Yisrael).

But as far as Jewish tradition goes, major hardships are traced back to our service of Hashem: Are we serving Him with real ratzon? Do we genuinely care about each other? Have we ever done at least one really raw get-to-the-root-of-things cheshbon hanefesh? Do we really appreciate Shabbat?

When we have a free moment, do we chat with Hashem, read Tehillim, learn mussar or Torah or halachah? Or do we surf non-essential reading on the Internet or watch a cat video?

Things like that.

Even if every Jew lived in Eretz Yisrael, we could still suffer severe judgement from Hashem (terror attacks, illness, missile attacks, religious persecution, food shortages, financial woes, etc.) if we are still not observing Torah properly.

And yes, Eretz Yisrael has always been the future and it certainly seems like the Exile is winding down, and yes, I personally much prefer being in Eretz Yisrael for this pandemic than anywhere else.

And yes, by opening up things in Eretz Yisrael so much, it seems like Hashem is telling us to come Home.

And yes, you can often receive equally good medical care here, if not better, as you described.

And yes, some of our biggest tzaddikim throughout the centuries made a point of settling in Eretz Yisrael and even those who didn't still encouraged settlement (like Rav Eliezer Papo of the Pele Yoetz).

However, based on what our Sages have said throughout history and what our Gadolim are saying now, it seems we need to focus on our individual teshuvah.

If that teshuvah includes coming to Eretz Yisrael, then people doing a cheshbon hanefesh will arrive at that idea on their own. (Pretty much like you & I did.)

Especially since there is currently no way to fly or sail to Eretz Yisrael, the emphasis really needs to be on personal teshuvah.

There's a lot with which I agree with you, Elisheva.

But on this particular issue, it seems that based on much written in Jewish tradition, that the emphasis needs to be shifted from aliyah to personal teshuvah.

Not to dismiss aliyah entirely, but simply to switch the emphasis to personal introspection and making concrete changes in our minds, hearts, and behaviors.

If the Gadolei Yisrael start speaking differently and start emphasizing coming to Eretz Yisrael over teshuvah and other mitzvot, then I'll take back what I write here. (And by this, I don't mean others claiming they said this or that, but video or written proof that they actually say it.)

Okay, I guess that's it for now.

P.S. That's amazing that the French community set up French schools for their older children. What an excellent idea. It's true that it would prevent a lot of crisis among the newly arrived youth. The English-speakers really should do the same!

elisheva

20/4/2020 15:04:12

"especially since there is no current way to fly... to EY"

I think we all need to expand our emuna, our consciousness, or just think like an Israeli. What if 500 Jews yearning to make aliya, #BringUs Home, started a petition, contacted MKs, made a media noise,demanded that Israel assist them in their aliya, Israel could send two planes to pick them up from NY. Quarantine for two weeks in a hotel, or longer, do online ulpan, and start a new life. And then another 500 etc, etc. This is how the homecoming started. Small groups of people in much more difficult conditions than today. We all of us have to stop with the "can't" mentality and adopt the "this is my goal how do i achieve it, with Hashem's help" approach.

As for gedolim, B"D for the tsadikim we have with us ... Rav Kanievsky shlita is the undisputed gadol hador has been telling Jews to come home for a good few years. This is reported regularly on Arutz2000 via people close to the rav, and now particularly (aliya, corona is hatzalah and war). Rav Kook zatzal also said it, and if you want "proof" it's in the gemara. And I don't agree with your false dichotomy (tshuva or israel) or that that is Jewish tradition (maybe when deep in galut), but Torah is exactly the opposite, "the air of EY makes you wise", "better to live in a town of idol worshippers in EY than makom Torah in chul" R. Brody brought this from the gemara. And we are now in a different time, Hashem has given Jewish control over at least part of Israel, so let's show our gratitude and act on that. We have to adjust from galut to geula. Let's first of all have Jews who are still Jewish and still alive, and then we can deal with their spiritual teshuva. The teshuva movement in Israel is huge. And in Israel they are much more likely to marry another Jew, eat kosher etc. And mitzvot in EY are not just more meaningful, there is an idea that mitzvot in chul are mere practice for the real thing in EY, and in case tefillot in chul give co'ach to the ministering angels of those countries. In Israel, directly to Hashem. Let's remember that the meraglim who didn't want to enter EY were huge tsadikim who died in the midbar, but it was ordinary women who merited to enter the land. And too, "your country needs you". Israel needs as many Jews as possible for spiritual and practical reasons. In Israel even if you are not doing very much, you are breathing the air, and increasing the Jewish hold on the land. "Ask not what your country can do for you...."

We all of us have to be careful not to use Torah and gedolim for a personal agenda. Of course it's more comfortable not to change, and if you have someone to rely on so much the better.

Myrtle Rising

20/4/2020 17:52:22

Hi, Elisheva,

I think as much as we agree on certain issues, we just plain disagree on this particular one.

I don't think we will convince each other about this particular issue (unless, as stated previously, someone can show me a genuine letter or video transcript from a Gadol who CLEARLY calls for mass aliyah; more than one would be even better).

Also, it seems that there is a partial misunderstanding here. I thought I'd been clear that I'm NOT saying it's "tshuva or israel." But apparently, there is still some misunderstanding.

So to clarify:

--I don't discourage aliyah.

--I am in favor of Jews coming to Eretz Yisrael for all the reasons you mentioned, especially the well-known sources you quoted, and especially if they're already frum & therefore less likely to desecrate the Land with all sorts of sins. (This is partly why there is an aliyah section on this blog.)

--Going according to Chazal and what Gadolim have been saying since the opening of the borders of Eretz Yisrael to Jewish immigration: Teshuvah is paramount. When bad things happen, teshuvah is necessary.

Their emphasis has been on teshuvah whether the borders are open to Jewish settlement or not.

Along those lines, I specifically mentioned a *shift in emphasis,* not cancelling coming to Eretz Yisrael altogether.

Acts of Jew-hatred occur whether Jews are in Eretz Yisrael or not. So do pandemics, apparently.

If we keep the Torah as we should, we will not suffer and we will bring Mashiach, who will gather us into Eretz Yisrael from wherever we are.

As we all know, Eretz Yisrael has been legally open to Jewish immigration since 1948, and the Gadolim within Eretz Yisrael and worldwide have not changed their primary exhortation in times of trouble: teshuvah, teshuvah, teshuvah.

In one of my above comments, I offered proof of the Lubavitcher Rebbe's belief that Jews in Eretz Yisrael receive extra protection.

That's the kind of proof I'm looking for.

So again, I need to see proof of Gadolei Yisrael calling for immigration to Eretz Yisrael whether as a chiyuv or as a rescue-measure.

Perhaps I've seen it, but simply don't remember.

There have even been some Gadolim (like the former Satmar Rav) who hold the opposite; they go according to a Gemara that says we are forbidden from making aliyah en masse.

Here's that Gemara: https://www.sefaria.org.il/Ketubot.111a?lang=bi

And the Satmar Rav knew both the Gemara & the Rambam very well, yet he still held by that particular Gemara.

Again, I would really like to see a letter or video (even though I can't access most videos with my new filter, but maybe at least a transcript of a video) in which a Gadol says that all Jews must come to Eretz Yisrael pronto.

An example of what I mean is something like this letter from in Rav Kanievsky's own handwriting with his signature, like his call for increased Torah learning & tefillah:
https://hamodia.com/2020/03/22/hagaon-harav-chaim-kanievsky-shlita-calls-increased-limud-hatorah-yom-tefillah/

Is there a similar letter from any Gadol regarding mass aliyah?

Again, I agree with you about a lot of things, Elisheva, and I think our feelings regarding living in Eretz Yisrael are very similar.

Where we disagree is in emphasis.

Based on everything I've learned, I respectfully submit that all the suggestions you made above for attempts to re-open aliyah would actually be better used (especially as long as flights are actually closed) for encouraging shemirat Shabbat & tefillah & other essential mitzvot incumbent on all Jews for all times and in every place, and also for discouraging intermarriage (which has increasingly become a problem in Eretz Yisrael too, unfortunately).

Okay, I hope this clarifies things.

Myrtle Rising

21/6/2020 18:38:38

By happy accident, I happened across this 2015 video of Rav Kanievsky saying that it is indeed a mitzvah d'Oreita to come today to Eretz Yisrael:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Blogs/Message.aspx/6799

When asked questions on behalf of the Torah-observant Jews of Lakewood, Rav Kanievsky says it is a Torah mitzvah for them to come nowadays, including those who think they should wait for Mashiach.

Based on this, I hereby officially correct anything I wrote above that pertains to that topic.

Thank you.

elisheva

20/4/2020 22:52:27

https://sod1820.co.il/%D7%9E%D7%93%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%99-%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%91-%D7%A7%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%99%D7%91%D7%A1%D7%A7%D7%99-%D7%94%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%94-%D7%96%D7%94-%D7%94%D7%A6%D7%9C%D7%94-%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%94/
מדברי הרב קנייבסקי הקורונה זה הצלה ליהודי חו”ל
מגפת הקורונה היא לא מגפה ולא מחלה היא הצלה

I told you that Arutz 2000 regularly reports on Rav Kanievsky, saar hatorah, gadol hador, via rabbanim who are close to him, but if you won't accept it, what can I do? My primary source is the Torah, then the gemara, the Rambam, Rav Kook, Rav Kanievski ... Also Rav Brody in the name of Rav Yehuda Leibovitz zatzal, and many other rabbanim, Rav Arush,Rav Chaya, Rav Touitou, Rav Anava, etc, etc.

I'm sorry but you do present it as an either/or, even if somewhat nuanced. Many people manage to make aliya and keep Torah and mitzvot. It's easier to keep shabbat and chagim in Israel, as in any case these are official holidays. The idea that it is easier to keep mitzvot in chul is simply not borne out by the reality.

There are flights. Maybe not regular commercial flights, but if the Israeli government has and is willing to send planes, as they did for many Israeli tourists, there are flights. And at some point the restrictions will be lifted.

Intermarriage in Israel is no way near the extinction levels in chul, you must surely know that. Aliya in large part is an antidote to intermarriage.

The times of the darkest hours of the exile are over. Jews can return home and should be strongly encouraged and assisted in doing so. Furthermore they are needed in Israel. I know that you are tired of this exchange, but it is the call of the hour. I find it a strange galut mentality to think that just keeping Torah and Mitzvot as an individual or even a community is enough. We are Am Yisrael, The Nation of Israel, and should act as such. Tragically, if we don't the nations will soon remind us. In the last elections, it was davka chabad that emphasised to vote for a party that stood for the shleimut hatora,shleimut haaretz and shleimut haam. Be'D we should merit to see all three very soon.

Myrtle Rising

21/4/2020 13:49:40

For anyone reading this who wishes to know more about the actual halacha (as opposed reading merely the personal opinions of non-talmidei chachamim like myself):

I don't know why I didn't think of this before entering this discussion, but what follows is a halachic discussion from my favorite halachah site, Din Online.

It's a very well-rounded discussion using authentic universally respected sources, and includes dissenting opinions (which Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer addresses in a very respectful manner, despite his personal position on the issue):
https://dinonline.org/2015/11/09/settling-the-land-of-israel-a-contemporary-mitzvah/#ftn_1

Here is a discussion of the Three Oaths – again, it's a halachic discussion that quotes very solid sources and deals with dissenting opinions in a respectful manner:
https://dinonline.org/2010/05/27/the-three-oath/

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