Until recently, my life experience has been that "frum people" do the "frum thing".
So for example, it is the frum thing to have separate seating at smachos, so the frum people have separate seating while the more "modern people" often do not.
It is the frum thing to wear a hat and jacket for davening, so the frum people will dress that way while the more modern will often not.
It is the frum thing to be concerned with cholov yisroel and chodosh, so the frum people will be careful abt. that while the more modern will be less so [if at all].
And the list goes on.
Then came the pandemic. Making a sweeping generalization, it seems that the "frum thing" was to be unconcerned with one's own health and well being in addition to not being concerned with those people around him. The less frum thing, or more modern thing, was to be more concerned. So it was the Modern Orthodox rabbis who were more strict and vocal about keeping health regulations while many of the more frum rabbis were less vocal and at times opposed keeping regulations and publicly didn't keep them themselves. Of course there were exceptions [such as Rav Gershon Edelstein, Rav Asher Weiss, Rav Avigdor Nevenzahl, The Novominsker Rebbe etc.] but the consensus was to be more lax. That explains the high death toll and number of people who got sick in the more frum community. Some rabbonim openly instructed their people to keep up with life as normal.
In at least one well known community, the breakdown was "frum shuls and yeshivos" - more open and lax. More modern - super careful. At least one well known very frum community lived to a great extent as if nothing at all in the world had changed [and the chevre kadisha can attest to that...]. At the very beginning YU immediately closed down. YU has a gay club [that of course the administration is not happy abt.]. YU has sports teams and is actively involved in leagues. YU, with all of it's wonderful aspects is clearly on the more modern side of things. Yet they heard סכנת נפשות - in 2 seconds they were closed. Can every Yeshiva say that???? Why is that? Being healthy is foundational to keeping the entire Torah. There were PLENTY of good Jews who couldn't daven or learn for weeks b/c they got sick. Others who will never ever learn or daven again b/c they are dead!!! If YU closed in 2 seconds, shouldn't the more frum places have closed in one second??!
How come nobody is talking about the fact that WE KILLED AND INFECTED EACH OTHER????!!! Not the Goyim. Not that it mysteriously fell down from Above. We gave it to each other. It started with a China-man who ate a sick bat and somehow got to Yidden who passed it around liberally. Can we say ידינו לא שפכו את הדם הזה????????
Don't get me wrong. There are plenty of modern people who were plenty lax and plenty of very frum people who were super careful. I am close to one family with about 11 children, no money, just abt. no parnassa coming in, lots and lots of tzaros, with a very sick child, who just about didn't leave the house for a whole year. Locked up in a small apt. 24/7. A fate worse than gehenom? Not quite but not pleasant. The father is a super-frum tzaddik who would never miss minyan or yeshiva in any other circumstance but this year simply didn't go to shul and learned via the telephone.
There are Rabbonim who gave explanations: Getting sick is a מיעוט שאינו מצוי or it is סכנת נפשות to keep the kids home b/c they will go off the derech [which actually happened in many cases] or the doctors don't know what they are talking about [which, in general, is often the case. Go to five doctors w/ a mysterious ailment and you will often get 7 explanations]. Maybe they were right. Maybe we should have continued as normal. Maybe the Beis Medrash is a תיבת נח and nobody can get sick there [to paraphrase one well known RY]. Maybe. But maybe not. Throughout history, when Rabbonim paskened medical questions, they first consulted with doctors. In our day, we saw a strange phenomenon where SOME people were paskening w/o speaking to doctors and w/o being aware of the medical data. So strange. Judaism is a very practical religion. We don't IGNORE reality but rather are completely aware of it and try to elevate it.
My point is NOT that we shouldn't listen to Rabbonim. We should continue following Rabbonim b/c w/o Rabbinic guidance, Torah and Yiddishkeit are doomed. Rabbis are allowed to make mistakes. Rav Schach was a very great man. So was the Lubavitcher Rebbe. In at least one area [i.e. the shittos and messianism of the Lubavitch movement], one of them was apparently making a big mistake. We love them both. Rav Herzog and Rav Zevin were both Tzadikim and Geonei Olam. So were the Chazon Ish and the Brisker Rov. But one at least one topic [Zionism] one of those pairs was making a mistake. Either the State is about the best thing that has happened to Am Yisrael in the past 2000 years [Rav H. and Rav Z.] or it is a complete churban [the latter 2 Gedolim]. We will continue to follow Rabbonim and Gedolim. We just get to decide who we follow. Torah is our guide so we follow those who have mastered Torah together with having a deep sense of Yiras Shomayim. Rabbonim deserve our love and respect.
My point is that the "frum "yeshivish" thing to do was to be lax abt. a fundamental Jewish practice - preserving a healthy body so that our souls can get close to Hashem. I was befuddled when seeing video after video at the height of the pandemic of frum weddings and other gatherings where the only people wearing masks were the non-Jewish workers and maybe a few old people. Like - I get that you insist on going to shul and crowding in there. Davening is holy. But where is the Avodas Hashem in ignoring doctors who say that we must wear masks and avoid physical contact with others??? People are dying right and left and then they make large funerals that spread the very virus that killed the niftar!!! One Chasidus had a memorial gathering for a Rav who died from Corona - packed room and not a mask in sight. What are you thinking??? If you don't trust doctors and the medical establishment - then why do you constantly go to doctors when someone is sick? Why do you seek out the TOP doctors? What changed???
The only explanation I have is that habit is stronger than Hashem's will and seichel. That also explains why [as we wrote abt. recently] there is so much machlokes among frum people. It is against a pasuk in Chumash!!! [עי' סנהדרין ק"י]. One's מידות רעות are stronger than any pasuk or halacha. So when people were lax about the regulations and were told that it is a חילול השם and that people are very offended when they feel that other people don't care about infecting them - it didn't matter. Habit is often stronger than concerns abt. חילול השם and hurting others. [That also explains why frum people smoke. A really bad habit that no warnings like "This will kill you", will help. I would see frum people removing their mask to have a smoke. I am thinking - Smoking is probably going to harm you more than Corona will].
How should a Ben or Bas Torah live? Constant חשבון הנפש. A complete openness to change when necessary. A willingness to think and rethink things. A constant desire to do what is right in the eyes of Hashem at all times. Follow Rabbonim who have their pulse on the world at large in addition to being great Talmidei Chachomim. THAT is the BEST way to live and grow.
