‘Ultra-Orthodox suffering in COVID-19 pandemic due to sins of community’

One of the two most senior ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Israel, Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, has said that the high rate of ultra-Orthodox infection in Israel and the high death rate of the community abroad is due to sins committed by the ultra-Orthodox community itself.

In Israel, ultra-Orthodox cities and neighborhoods have suffered from the highest rate of COVID-19 infections, although the mortality rate in the community is reportedly not much higher than the general population.

In New York City, the ultra-Orthodox community has had both high infection rates and high mortality rates, with reports of over 300 deaths.

Edelstein explained during a lesson he delivered by livestream video that when secular people transgress one of the religious commandments or laws they do so due to a lack of knowledge about Judaism and Jewish law, and therefore their transgressions are deemed to be unintentional.

The rabbi likened the status of secular people to the concept in Jewish law of an “infant that is kidnapped,” in reference to a situation in which Jewish children were kidnapped and raised without knowledge of Judaism and whose liability in Jewish law when transgressing a commandment is less than someone who is familiar with the religious precepts.

Ultra-Orthodox people, however, do know Jewish law and therefore when they transgress them, it is seen as an intentional act for which divine punishment is much more severe.

“The ultra-Orthodox who sin do not do so unintentionally and therefore [God’s] attribute of justice harms the ultra-Orthodox much more,” reasoned Edelstein.

The ultra-Orthodox community and leadership were criticized for not conforming early enough with the social-distancing orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which is thought to be one of the reasons it spread at a higher rate there.

Other reasons include the high population density in ultra-Orthodox communities and the high number of people per household, as well as social factors such as frequent communal gatherings for prayer services and religious celebrations.

Edelstein, together with the other leader of the ultra-Orthodox, non-hassidic world Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, did not order educational institutions in the community to close down immediately following government orders, although Edelstein did close down the Ponevezh Yeshiva which he heads, as well as other institutions, at an earlier stage than other institutions in the community.

During his address Tuesday night, Edelstein said that the ultra-Orthodox community should remain vigilant in observing social-distancing measures and that one should “not be lenient on them whatsoever, God forbid – this is about saving lives.