He MEANS WELL! But a wonder. The Chief Rabbi is pleading with the Prime Minister to open the shuls. Why? Because they have opened up the stores etc. and why not shuls? That makes sense.
But he also writes that it is so hard for people and hurts them not to go to shul. OK - but what does HASHEM say? What does HALACHA say?? This notion that we should open up shuls b/c people are restless is a fundamental error in the entire Hashkafa of the Torah. It is not about how we feel. That is the contemporary approach to Torah and religion in general - How does it make me feel? NOOOOO - we are AVADIM! An Eved only has the will of the Master. We are serving Hashem and not ourselves. [Rav Twersky (linked in the previous post) expressed this much better than me.]
He concludes that the PM is obligated [!!!] to allow us to return to shul "ויפה שעה אחת קודם" meaning that if he doesn't, people are not going to listen and the shuls will open anyway.
This is confounding. About 350,000 deaths [at least] worldwide. About 5.5 million sick [at least]. And we want to risk our life and limb and go to shul - AGAINST HALACHA [if that is the psak of the Rabbonim]. This seems lost on people.
I am BESIDE myself watching what has been going on in some of our communities over the last two months plus. There are videos of illegal minyanim, secret illegal simchas, huge Lag BaOmer gatherings etc. etc. There are also videos and pictures of all the funerals רח"ל. AND THESE ARE COMING FROM THE SAME PLACES!! They see the corpses piling up and sneak off to a minyan against the doctors orders - and we need goyishe police to come in and disperse us in order to save our lives. In Israel the police are affectionately called by some "Nazis". פלאי פלאות.
Last week a friend called and invited me to his son's Sheva Brachos. He told me that since he had to make such a small wedding, he wants to make a big sheva brachos so that the whole community can participate. Will I come? [You can decide for yourself whether I went]. Am I missing something? Why did you make a small wedding? WOULDN'T THAT BE THE SAME REASON TO MAKE A SMALL SHEVA BRACHOS [if making one at all. Sheva Brachos celebrations are not obligatory].
For the sake of honesty one other point must be made. In Israel, very few people have died. Only 281 out of a population of close to nine million. That is a very, very minute percentage. So maybe that is the explanation of the letter and the plea to open up the shuls is justified.
What this whole disaster has taught me is that people's observance of Halachos and Minhagim is far more psychologically complex than I thought. It is more than just people get up in the morning and are totally devoted to Ratzon Hashem so they keep all the laws and customs. It is much more complex than that. This explains a lot more but maybe for a future post.
