Rabbi Gershon Eliezer HaKohen Schaffel on the Coronavirus Shul Closings

One the zechuyos I have acquired over the course of my lifetime is to have been involved  in the early stages of Rabbi Schaffel's growth into an outstanding talmid chochom and manhig in Am Yisroel. If I may say so, I am proud of him. And I am right now proud of this beautifully crated statement on the current situation. I am particularly impressed and wholeheartedly agree with the last paragraph of his article here, and have therefore highlighted it.

I would like to share a few thoughts with you concerning COVID–19. As with most things in life, we must strike the balance between hishtadlus vs. bitachon – effort vs. trust in Hashem. In many areas of life, we are challenged to properly balance between making the necessary hishtadlus while at the same time trusting in Hashem. That balance is not always so clear. Too much hishtadlus demonstrates a lack of bitachon, whereas, too little hishtadlus is irresponsible. Our job at any moment is to take into account all of the relevant information and make the best decision, given that information. Ultimately, that is what we are judged on. We never control the outcome, just the choices that we make along the way. As we will further explain in a moment, once we choose and the matter is in Hashem’s guiding Hands, we cannot look at the outcome and conclude with certainty whether the decision was correct. Matters may turn out positively despite a wrong decision and on the other hand, matters may turn out negatively, despite the right choice. We can only choose; Hashem determines the outcome. In all areas we endeavor to choose what is the ratzon Hashem – what we think is the best choice in our service of Hashem.

I want to share with you a source that is relevant for our discussion. The Gemara in Kesubos (30a) states: הכל בידי שמים חוץ מצינים ופחים – Everything is in the Hands of Heaven except for cold and heat. Rashi explains that when tragedy occurs (פורענות) it is a decree from the Hashem. This is a fundamental element of our belief that Hashem orchestrates and guides all of the events of our lives. All of the circumstances and situations that we face, whether good or bad, come from Hashem. The exception to the rule is צינים ופחים – cold and heat, i.e., illness. Why is illness outside of ידי שמים – the Hands of Heaven? Rashi writes: שפעמים שבאין בפשיעה – Sometimes a person becomes ill due to his פשיעה. In Choshen Mishpat I translate פשיעה and negligence but in this context, I think it means reckless. In other words, illness that results from reckless disregard for one’s safety is not בידי שמים, it is something that individuals bring upon themselves.

This Gemara is establishing for us a guideline for making choices similar to the ones we are facing with COVID-19. Rashi’s term פשיעה is incredibly instructive. He says that illness is, at times (שפעמים), the result of reckless behavior. What that means is that our obligation is to behave responsibly rather than recklessly. It is not necessary to avoid every potential danger. The restriction is against behaving recklessly. When we are careful to avoid reckless behavior, we revert back to the first part of the statement that הכל בידי שמים – everything is in Hashem’s Hands. As long as we behave in a manner that is not reckless, we can rely on our bitachon that Hashem will decide what is best.

We rely on this all of the time. Everytime we get in the car to drive to shul rather than walk we are putting our lives at risk. However, since driving is not considered reckless, irresponsible behavior, it is acceptable, and we have bitachon that הכל בידי שמים.

Many of the rabbonim in town met the other night to deliberate whether to close the shuls in town or not. I can assure you that the matter was deliberated with the greatest of care. It was and is an exercise in hishtadlus and bitachon. Everyone wants to assure that everyone will be safe and the question is, can we assure our safety and the safety of others while still being able to continue our rich religious lives including regular Torah study, shiurim and chevrusas. Can we make sure that everyone is safe while still being able to daven together as a tzibbur with all of the devarim shebekedushah that can only be said with a tzibbur? The decision was made that, as things currently stand, we can continue these activities. However, it requires that we are diligent in social distancing and hygiene. People cannot be too close with one another; any coughing or sneezing must be into a tissue that is immediately discarded or into your sleeve. It is also imperative that people wash their hands when they come into shul.

One last thought I would like to share with you. There are a number of shuls that already made the decision to shut down for Shabbos. In many of those announcements the rabbonim begin with something to the effect of, “with a heavy heart” or, “it is with great angst” and then go on to explain why they made the decision to close for Shabbos. I disagree with that perspective. As I mentioned, we are trying to figure out what Hashem wants from us. Whatever that is, we should be happy to do it. If the shul remains open we are happy to serve Hashem by attending minyanim, if we, c”v, have to close the shul then we are happy to serve Hashem by taking measures to save lives and guard our health. We don’t say to a person who is ill who must eat on Yom Kippur that we are sad to issue the psak. They are ill and in such a situation it is a mitzvah for them to eat and would be an aveirah to refrain from eating. It must be conveyed to them that they are doing the ratzon Hashem by eating just as much as healthy people are doing the ratzon Hashem by fasting. Similarly, whatever decision we make, we will be happy to comply with what we see as the ratzon Hashem. It is not about what we want, it is submission to the will of Hashem and that should always be done b’simchah.

 Delivered by:

Rabbi Gershon Eliezer HaKohen Schaffel

Young Israel of Skokie