Why Charedim break the rules
WHY DO many Chasidic sects, and some parts of Lithuanian Charedi communities, flout the restrictions that are imposed to counter the Covid pandemic and reduce deaths?
Many simply dismiss these people as “insane” or “selfish”, as if they don’t have a moral compass. But it’s important to understand why it happens.
For some, as astounding as it may seem to us, they genuinely see no connection between flouting the restrictions and people dying from Covid. They have a worldview which has little room for modern science and much room for conspiracy theories. Even if they accept that Covid is something more than just a severe flu, they have not internalised how it can be countered with masks and social distancing.
Yet there is a much bigger obstacle involved. Large indoor gatherings are fundamental to Charedi and especially Chasidic communities, to a degree that the rest of us cannot begin to grasp.
The yeshivos and the shuls are the primary focus of their lives and keep them in the safety of religious frameworks and away from the threats of the street, the internet and so on. Large weddings are not traditional but they have taken on tremendous importance. And in a community where people have big families in crowded apartments without Netflix, keeping children in cheder and yeshivah is not just an educational priority, it’s what stands in the way of insanity.
Thus, the strategies for fighting Covid exact a huge toll on the Charedi way of life. And if there is one thing that Charedim are good at — much better than non-Charedi Jews — it is identifying threats to their way of life. To put it another way, a friend told me of the following statement by a Charedi person: “If we need to stop being Chareidim to beat Covid, what are we fighting the disease for?” Of course, fighting Covid doesn’t really force them to stop being Charedi. But it causes enough of a challenge that it’s understandable that they see it that way.
There’s more. For Charedim in general and Chasidim in particular, identifying and fighting against threats to their way of life forms a major part of their identity. They will do it even when there is no particular reason because of the benefits that Fighting In The Resistance brings to reinforcing their identity. As a Charedi leader in Israel once said, “If the government tells us to learn Bava Kama, we’ll learn Bava Metzia!”
And so when a pandemic hits, the choices facing Chasidim are as follows. They can cause tremendous harm to their way of life. Or they can once again be heroes fighting against authorities that are trying (for whatever reason) to cause tremendous harm to Yiddishkeit. It’s a no-brainer for them.
What about the sickness and death that they suffer as a result, to a far greater degree than non-Charedim? Some attribute it to fate, to punishment for their sins, to the inscrutable ways of God, not to their neglect in practising social distancing. Others recognise the cause, yet see it as an unfortunate but worthwhile price to pay. This may sound absolutely shocking to us but the truth is that every society is willing to sacrifice lives for its greater values, whether in war or fast transportation.
It is a very big problem, but it is just one aspect of the wider challenge of a rapidly growing community which does not see itself as being part of wider society, with the resultant obligations.
One thing is certain: we have a daunting educational challenge.
Fighting Covid exacts a huge toll on the Charedi way of life’