Edited to add: As some readers noticed, three days after posting this, my site was disabled due to exactly the kind of censorship that I referenced as a concern. For the first time in almost fifteen years, my ‘content’ was deemed problematic on my own paid site and access to it was blocked, even to me. For several days it wasn’t clear if it would be possible to get my website back. You can imagine that it was a relief when I was able to get it restored!
How I’ve missed sharing with you these last weeks! As a departure from my usual range of topics over almost fifteen years of blogging, I’m sharing some personal reflections on current events.
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I watch current events unfold and histories of the past are my guide to what is happening and what we can expect to happen. Privately I predicted almost everything that has happened in the last year (though I anticipated it would be ebola that would suddenly be the big scare and create a push for worldwide adult vaccination, which was the published goal for 2020 of the World Health Organization).
I’m not a psychic, just someone who watches the pattern of the news and carefully reads between the lines of the mainstream news. You can see what the next step will be if you read carefully. Most articles sound more like they are written by a public relations firm pushing an agenda than objective and balanced reporting, but this is the news I read and this is where you can best see what is really unfolding, because these articles are intended to prime you for what to expect. They haven’t failed me yet.
I watch democracy in Israel eroding, as the media continually churns fear and uncertainty, with the only possible solution given being an injection that on the FDA website is described as unapproved (see the bottom of page one in the fact sheet). It was surely just a mistake, or a translation error, that caused every medical organization and news outlet in Israel to claim that it was FDA approved. And surely just an oversight that the widely translated fact sheet that is supposed to accompany the injections wasn’t translated into Hebrew. Oops.
But what difference does that make, because obviously no one has had any negative side effects and the dangers of covid are so much higher than anything else. Frightening, indeed, how the yearly death rate has remained stable before and during covid. A raging pandemic that we should thank our lucky stars to have survived. What? A survival rate of almost 100 percent for the average person? Nonsense! Where do you get your statistics?!? You don’t care about anyone but yourself. You’re a murderer.
The Green Passport has been rolled out, and when introduced we were told it would be an advantage for those who take it, but not a punishment for those who don’t. After all, that would be a violation of human rights and we wouldn’t do that. Well, the next steps to ‘open the economy’ were introduced Sunday, and allow only those with proof of the injection or proof of antibodies to participate in normative life. I hope those with natural antibodies will be allowed their status for a long time to come. Sometimes I wonder where the line is between staying positive and being delusional.
Fortunately, no one is being forced to participate in Israel’s noble country-wide experimentation that is selflessly being undertaken for the sake of humanity worldwide. There is absolutely no motive at all other than the good of the people. After all, that’s what governments always worry about – the good of the people. And because they are so worried about your well-being, they have released your personal injection status to the local government authorities, so you can be inspired to comply by your local officials. I think that warrants the elimination of medical confidentiality.
And if you feel like you’d like to wait and see what the long term results will be, since there are no long term studies of safety, or if you have the ridiculous and naive idea that you can boost your personal immunity by taking zinc/vitamin d/vitamin c/hydroxicloriquine/quercetin/ivermectin, know that there is no proof that any of those things ever helped anyone. The doctors who had impressive results with their hundreds of patients are frauds – they are manipulating you so that they can sell you vitamins! All they care about is money. Unlike the makers of the injections, for whom the financial gains are completely irrelevant.
We are so blessed to have no government coercion whatsoever. Oh, you may find it hard to live when you can’t attend school/ training programs, work/stores/social events/public places or even your own child’s wedding in a hall. But that’s really your choice. You can still buy food and medicine, and honestly, what else matters? Lockdowns that have limited the movement and lifestyle of millions of people for extended periods have shown there is no danger of any sort of imposing that continued lifestyle on anyone who won’t comply with government directives. While all legal/medical/ethical issues are ignored and steamrolled, the government simply continues passing more guidelines – all to keep us safe.
Ah, to breathe freely and happily (well, we don’t really need to breathe that much, fortunately, since we’ve all enthusiastically donned our masks), knowing that the caring politicians only have our best interests at heart! What comfort it brings me, so much so that it’s irrelevant that we are looking more like an totalitarian country than a democracy. We even now have ‘freedom’ ankle bracelets previously used for prisoners on parole that are now tracking the movements of those entering the country. Yes, a progressive and encouraging replacement of the military guard placed around the corona hotels! Freedom, indeed.
But we all know that only whacked-out conspiracy theorists have any doubts or hesitation about any aspects of the decisions that are being made. No, it doesn’t bother us that the government discussions regarding the laws rapidly being passed that have stripped us of our rights and dramatically increased the surveillance of every individual that was previously only used with the most dangerous terrorists, have been done in absolute secrecy, with the transcripts sealed from the Israeli public for thirty years. Surely that must increase your trust in your elected officials. It certainly relieves any concerns I might have had. And surely in thirty years when we see what was said and done and why, none of us will question even in the slightest the integrity and altruistic intentions of those noble politicians. Funny that they don’t trust us with that information right now. I guess they’re worried we might misunderstand what we read.
No, don’t worry about the noose growing tighter around the neck of the Israeli population who has been reluctant to participate in the country-wide medical experiment. I certainly don’t worry about it. And I feel no sadness for those who will never again be allowed to travel out of the country to see their loved ones without complying with the new directives. They deserve it, for being so selfish and spreading disease without compunction. Oh, you say people who aren’t sick can’t spread disease? We’ll take away your social media platforms, break your zoom links to your conferences, disable your videos and recordings for endangering people with your fake news.
It’s been said that the most frightening words in the world are, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” For me, this issue isn’t about whether someone gets an injection or not. My concern is whether it’s healthy for the government to be so heavily involved and controlling of the details of the lives of citizens.
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BH, all is well in my world. Truly. After so many months of silencing myself, I’m sharing some of my conflicted feelings regarding living in challenging times. I realize that the majority of the population believes the heavy governmental involvement to be appropriate in the circumstances as they’ve been presented to us.
I send each and every one of you blessings for health, stability, and security in every area of your lives. My constant effort is to remember that that G-d is running the show and my task is to stay connected and spiritually aligned.
Avivah
From the FDA website, it looks to me like the Pfizer vaccine is, in fact, authorized. https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine
I’m wondering what gave you the idea that it isn’t.
Hi, Leora, thanks for your question! I appreciate the opportunity to clarify since I try to be very careful to stick to the facts.
What you referred to is the widely touted ’emergency use authorization’; you can read online if you’re interested in understanding what that means. It is NOT official approval. If you look at the six page fact sheet (the one that wasn’t translated to Hebrew), https://www.fda.gov/media/144414/download – you can see at the end of the first page that it says, “WHAT IS THE PFIZER-BIONTECH COVID-19 VACCINE?
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is an unapproved vaccine that may prevent COVID-19. There is no FDA-approved vaccine to prevent COVID-19.”.
Friends who wanted to clarify this issue made calls to the FDA, the kupat cholim and to the Israel Ministry of Health, and recorded the conversations – the FDA and Ministry of Health both confirmed it is not approved by the FDA, and the FDA rep added that it is ‘experimental’. If you understand Hebrew, here’s a link to the recordings of their calls: https://www.bitchute.com/video/DJEdrAGvt84y/. (The call to the FDA is in English and at the very beginning; the call to the Ministry of Health is at the end.)
Now, I have no problem with people being told there is emergency authorization, but it’s misleading to claim that something has approval when it doesn’t. Everyone taking the injection in Israel should have been informed that it is experimental- many would still have welcomed the opportunity to participate even knowing that, feeling good about offering a service for the public good. Again, my issue is the dishonesty, not the vaccine. We don’t have to be lied to and manipulated; we should be given informed consent and then allowed to make the decision that is right for us based on that.
Thanks for your response. It seems like you’re focusing on the distinction between the “emergency use authorization” that the FDA granted to the vaccine and the full “approval” which has not yet been completed.
Would you be willing to share some details about this sentence: “A survival rate of almost 100 percent for the average person?”
What information is this based on? Who do you consider an “average” person?
Leora, I find it interesting to note which points of mine you are requesting more details about, while ignoring the larger issues of grave concern to a democratic society.
I don’t post to convince anyone of anything and the things that I wrote about can all be researched fairly easily if you are interested (though using Google will be more challenging since they have set their algorithms to make it difficult to find information that doesn’t align with the official narrative). If you choose to do that, you may also find articles regarding statistics in Israel regarding the death rate and side effects in the last three months to be of interest. I won’t link to that because I assume you won’t find it of interest and my position is that I share information with those who want it, not to debate.
Please understand that anyone who tries to share any concern on this topic is putting themselves at risk and that isn’t casually done.
Thanks for your response. I understand that you are concerned about the threats to democracy by a country making life difficult for people who do not agree with their public health requirements. It seems to me that people’s thoughts about whether governmental coercion is warranted may be affected by their views on how dangerous COVID-19 is.
I pointed to this sentence, “A survival rate of almost 100 percent for the average person?” because I have learned from reading your blog for the past few years that your values include caring deeply about the people who aren’t average. Even if the average person has a very high survival rate, there are other, more vulnerable people who do not.
I was not able to find the information you mentioned about side effects and death rate. I was able to find this chart showing excess mortality during the COVID pandemic. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/excess-mortality-raw-death-count?country=~ISR
Thank you for your comments, Leora, I appreciate them. Yes, you’re right that the steps that are taken are determined to be appropriate or not based on the risk that is perceived. There are two ways of perceiving this general topic: is it the bacteria or is it the host? Some would have us frightened of every germ that comes our way. Others focus on the host- ie, what factors make someone more susceptible or more resistant? – and use strategies to boost resistance.
Clearly I fall into the ‘host’ camp. I have children who are ‘high risk’; my focus has never been on demanding that others curtail their germs for my sake, but on boosting their individual immune systems. I won’t live in fear and can’t condone others who create fear when there are so many ways to empower instead. The worldwide conversation has focused entirely on the threat of a virus, without any focus on the many ways every single one of us can effectively protect ourselves. (Last year I shared about the simple and very effective steps you can take to ‘flu-proof’ yourself – do you know you can’t catch the flu if you are not deficient in vitamin D?) There is an equally valid and very important other side of the discussion that has been silenced, that of sharing the many different ways that have been shown to be very helpful for people to boost their resistance.
A reader commented above that her daughter didn’t contract covid even when almost all of her schoolmates did. My daughter didn’t contract covid when confined in the same room for ten days with someone who tested positive. There are many, many situations like this. Why aren’t we asking questions to understand why this happens? If there is something they did that others could do, it would be very empowering rather than leave them feeling helpless and dependent on someone outside of themselves to save them, feeling panicked and victimized by others who don’t follow the guidelines as closely as they would like.
The reported covid death rate is high. But every other reason for people dying has gone down, leaving the death rates static. That means that the same amount of people have died before and during covid. It’s understandable that there would be fewer fatal car accidents due to the decreased driving during this period, but why did people stop dying of heart attacks and cancer and diabetes? We must look at the big picture. Are we losing sight of the forest in our focus on the trees?
Generally those dying are elderly or have existing preconditions that make them susceptible to various health threats at any time. Can each of them do something to reduce the danger to them? Yes, absolutely. Are they being told that? No. You’re right, I deeply value the life of every person, regardless of age or disability. So I in no way mean the following to be flippant: we can’t stop death and we’re never going to be able to stop death. My preference for every one of us is to live healthy lives and die of old age, and use techniques to support our immune systems. But that’s not the focus of our health care system. The only answer they have is medication/injections. And when the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Covid is not going away – not with the vaccine, not without the vaccine. It’s going to remain part of our lives. And life is not going to go back to normal. More and more vaccines will be developed for other ‘dangerous’ diseases that we aren’t yet afraid of and then mandated as part of public health policy. There you have it, my first public prediction. That’s unless somehow the bulldozing of human rights is stopped now.
Thank you for reading, and for respectfully engaging in discussion.
Thanks for sharing Aviva!
It doesn’t sound like you are conflicted at all – maybe bothered and disappointed – but very real and true to your self and the Source you’re connected to. In the words of someone dear to me – this is good and it’s going to be great. It’s all part of the process of the ultimate redemption.
Hi, Liat! You’re right but using the word conflicted wasn’t a mistake.
I have clarity about my deep concerns about what I’m seeing happening, but the conflict is that my nature is to be very positive about people and their intentions. I’m not a suspicious person, I believe most people are good – I prefer to focus on what is good and connecting to Hashem in these circumstances, but I’ve felt for quite some time that I haven’t been true to myself to avoid this topic. I don’t know that it will make any difference to anyone else, but it makes a difference to me to say, I see what I see and I’m concerned. That’s why the only thing I’ve written until now about the entire covid saga has been a post explaining why I’m not talking about it!
I appreciate your final comment; I often say something like this to family members and friends, and much more often to myself, but no matter how much I say it, it’s never enough!
Hi Avivah! If I were a writer, I would have written the EXACT same thing!! I agree 100%. My husband and I have been saying this all along, much to the dismay of others. And we aren’t traditionally anti-vaxxers, my kids are all vaccinated (on my schedule) with all of the historic vaccines, no new vaccines (e.g. the HPV vaccine).
I’m flabbergasted by the way this has been pushed. Especially to young, healthy people with no pre-existing conditions, especially when it isn’t even approved. Mind-boggling. My daughter is in seminary in Israel, 71 of the 80 girls there tested positive for Covid. My daughter was not one of them, despite her WHOLE apartment getting it. (She did have a vitamin protocol including Quercetin). Long story short, the school pushed us to vaccinate her — we declined. And everyone thinks we are nuts!
Thank you for voicing my opinion so eloquently; i’ve missed reading your posts!
Take Care, R
I love seeing your comments, R – sending you much love!
Avivah, I’m sad to hear that the same things are happening there as here in America, “the land of the free”… 🙁
It’s as if the whole world has lost their minds!
It was refreshing to read this and know that I’m not alone in questioning these things…
Kelly
Oh, Kelly, it’s so much worse here than in the US….it feels dangerous to say anything questioning it. It took courage for me to put even this up. (Editing after a week to say that access to my site was blocked after posting this due to ‘issues’ with my content.)
Here are the latest guidelines: https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-reopens-all-the-new-rules-from-march-7/.
Thank you for your comment – my husband was opposed to me posting this, as he said that everyone who agreed would stay silent and I would be left only with censure.
Lots of food for thought, Avivah. I’ve been conflicted about many things these past 12 months, and instead of clarity things are getting murkier…
I hope this is a small comfort, I just heard that the Supreme Court here has stopped the law which would have allowed the Misrad Habriut to share data on unvaccinated individuals with local municipalities.
The increasing murkiness isn’t enjoyable, I’m sure, but there’s clarity of some sort ahead for you, Kaila. Clarity often isn’t fun but it’s a necessary prerequisite to bringing better, more desirable things into your life.
Thank you for sharing about overturning the local municipalities having access to personal medical records, that’s nice to hear. Every bit of good news is appreciated!
Hi, are you anti vaccination in general, on vaccines that have been fully tested and approved?
Hi, Dana, welcome!
As I read your question I’m wondering if the point of my post was missed – I wasn’t writing about if the injection is a good or bad thing but about my concern regarding excessive government mandates and control. The injection just happens to be the thing that government is being heavy handed about right now.
Well the government succeeded with me!
I’m nursing and still recovering from childbirth, but ran to get the vaccine when I learned that without it will be more complicated to be with my other baby who is now undergoing treatments in the hospital.
And if not for this reason, then because we want to travel to see our family who we miss terribly.
Talk about incentive!
Thanks for writing this Aviva. Definitely not simple.
I’m sorry, Miriam – it’s a very difficult situation that we are all faced with and it doesn’t feel like there’s so much room left for free will since one’s life is dramatically constrained if they don’t go along with what is being pushed.
Hi Aviva,
Thank you so much for posting this.
I have been reading your blog since 2010/2011, at the time when we were both making Aliyah, and your posts were extremely encouraging to me.
I feel compelled to post since, for the first time, I am questioning our decision to move to Israel due to the exact situation you have described above.
The government is making unilateral decisions with no health or scientific backing, and it’s hard to convey how detrimental this has been to our lives.
I am not “anti va((“, but I don’t believe politicians should be deciding what is and isn’t OK. Case in point is random closing of the airport for weeks at a time, with no rhyme or reason, and disrupting countless lives with endless repercussions. It’s unfathomable.
I am ultimately, of course, living in Israel for reasons beyond the current government (thank goodness!) but this whole situation has engendered much disillusionment and heartache.
So please know you are not alone, and your thoughts and reflections are truly appreciated!
I’m sorry for the lag in approving your comment, Chaya – it came in right before my site was disabled and it’s taken some time to get things restored and to get back online.
I completely understand what you are saying. It is very distressing. What gives me a small measure of comfort is my belief that Israel – not the modern state, but the biblical country of Israel – is the most special and important place to be for the Jewish people, and that Hashem has a clear plan and is the One pulling the strings behind the scenes. I alternate between laughing when I read the latest absurdities in the news, feeling deeply alarmed and reminding myself that it’s all from Hashem.
I’ll be 100% honest. I do not make decisions for myself. I follow the biggest Rabbanim of our generation – those are the people whom I see as being the wisest people on earth. So yes, maybe the vaccine is not approved. Yes, maybe there’s a government plan. Who really knows? Only HaShem. But what I DO know is that if the wisest people on earth (in my book, those people are HaRav Kanievsky, HaRav Edelstein, Rav Baadani, HaRav Shalom Cohen, HaRav Yitzchak Yosef, HaRav David Yosef, Rav Reuven Elbaz) tell me to do something (ie: take the vaccine) then that’s what I’ll do. and even if the vaccine is not 100% perfect, in the merit of listening to them and davening, I will be safe.
As the famous Rashi writes: (Devarim yud zayin pasuk yud aleph) – even if a big Rav tells you your left is your right, you listen to him!
(here’s the fascinating Rashi – and also Ramban – on the pasuk):
https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%9E%22%D7%92_%D7%93%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%99%D7%96_%D7%99%D7%90
BTW, it is important to note these are Rabbis whom I held to high esteem also precorona. All of the sudden some of my anti-vax friends quote Rabbis who say not to take the covid vaccine and these are Rabbis they never even followed or even heard of pre-covid!
So it is crucial to stress that if the above Rabbis told me not to take the vaccine, I would also listen to them. And in that theoretical case, even if the government made all the rules in the world that I should take the vaccine, I would not take it. In my mind it all boils down to: I accept daat torah and not daat atzmi.
May we all be healthy and well and see the redemption speedily in our times!
Thank you for taking time to share your thoughts on this, Shani. I respect and appreciate your position. I’m contemplating a more in depth post regarding my own position on this topic.
I don’t think that historically there’s ever been a time that all the leading rabbis have shared the same opinion on a given topic. There are two main possibilities that I see with regards to the rabbanim at this time:
Choice A: there are still differing opinions but we aren’t hearing them.
Choice B: every leading rabbi has been presented with the same information and come to the same conclusion.
I’m a little person with a very small voice and my site was blocked after writing this post. Do you believe the leading rabbis, with the power to impact many thousands with their opinions, aren’t being pressured and monitored?
It has happened very often that proclamations have been made with rabbinical signatures attached, and it later is revealed the rabbis never gave their haskama. In an advertising publication in my area, it’s the kupat cholim who published an ad listing all the area rabbanim in support. Maybe they all agreed to have their names published and they have no nuances on their opinions of support. Maybe not. We simply don’t know.
Specifically with regards to Rav Chaim Kanievsky, it is possible that his position is more nuanced that what is being conveyed, as his published stance doesn’t align with his position on keeping the yeshivos open at a time the government was insisting they be closed earlier in this saga (which many disregarded and attacked as irresponsible). He is a very elderly rav and it’s known that his grandson is the one controlling the information that gets out. Someone asked Rav Chaim a personal shaila regarding being afraid of taking this, and was told he didn’t have to – he recorded the conversation and the gabbaim insisted he delete the recording (there’s that censorship issue again). However, it uploaded to his Google drive and was able to be heard afterward. Does that mean that’s his psak for everyone? Obviously not.But it does indicate that it’s not black and white.
The leading rabbanim of Lakewood and other areas that haven’t supported this have been invalidated as ‘anti va((‘ and their opinions disregarded. This is similar to what has been done with doctors – those who haven’t followed the mainstream narrative have been maligned, impugned, lost their jobs and licenses. Just as with the rabbanim, we are told that all doctors agree with this position. Do they really?
As I’ve said before, I’m a trusting person who deeply believes in the good intentions of others, and as such, it would be much more comfortable to ignore what I see happening and agree that this is an open/shut issue.
If someone has the pure emuna that you have, and will unquestioningly follow whatever the rabbanim tell you in every area of your life, I believe there’s a special shemira from following a psak. Most people are far more selective in the piskei halacha they choose to follow than you are.
Omg I’m not even reading the post. I’m a very random secular 👀👀 appreciating all the blogs over the years. My sister and I are blessed to know you ) she now has 3 year old) but seriously. This is… Lolol me evil internet but also getting access to your thought pattern cause it is open up imperfect 👀👀
Anne, you’ve commented a number of times here and I know you’re legit, but do me a favor and send me an email or respond here to clarify what you’re saying, since this isn’t your typical way of writing and I don’t understand your comments!
Avivah me and my sis value you so much ❤️ you’re showing that it’s ok to have a family teaching
The thing I can’t believe even as I’ve read your philosophy for years, is that you don’t give any time to the peer led feeling to the 👀👀
Avivah,
I’m glad you made this post and agree 100% – I don’t believe in keeping quiet when lives are at stake. I have been following probably the same stories as you that are outside of the typical narrative and find what is going on getting more hair-raising by the day.
I wrote to one author of many good articles along the lines of what you are saying – which lead me to get involved with a campaign to stop green passports, lockdowns and forced vaccines. The campaign is not against vaccines but like you say, it is about stopping the government from being so incredibly heavy-handed . The campaign organizers have been highly censured, having their facebook pages shut down, their bank accounts frozen to prevent donations and much more. I don’t want to say the name of the campaign but the letter “raish” is very important.
I do want to say one more thing about Daas Torah – of course anyone who is an observant Jew needs to follow Daas Torah of some sort, but he also cannot turn off his brain. If the alleged Daas Torah does not make sense, it could be the Rabbi is being misquoted, mislead or possibly that the Rabbi is nogaya b’dvar or even Chas V’Shalom Erev Rav. Everyone is responsible for the Rabbis they choose and there are Rabbeim on both sides of the fence of equal stature, so those choosing to keep away from the government agenda are well within the dalet amos of the Torah.
I apologize to any non-Jews reading this for using Hebrew words but I am doing it purposefully to avoid further censure. You never know who is reading this.
Keep strong and may you and your family and all of your readers have a happy and healthy holiday season.
We live in a time in which expressing an alternate opinion is dangerous (my site was blocked for several days as a result of sharing my opinion), and it takes huge courage to initiate a campaign like that. Kol hakavod to you for getting involved.
I do sometimes wish I was as trusting as Shani!
I’ve gotten cynical and the more information I get, the more nuanced I realize things are. The more I’m assured that something is “perfectly safe,” the less I trust it.
At one point, I listened to a Headlines podcast debating the inoculation issue, and there were two doctors. One sounded very arrogant and sure about his sources of information. I could barely listen to his presentation.
Another doctor, equally as great, was far more humble. He admitted what we don’t know, acknowledged that in lower risk groups there was valid reason for hesitancy, and shared his personal opinion for himself. THAT was a doctor I felt I could trust!
Unfortunately, I don’t have a family doctor that I feel I can trust to that extent. It makes it hard to leave it up to Hashem when my greater breadth of knowledge presumably obligates me to a greater level of hishtadlus, instead of riding on pure bitachon.
The sheer one-sidedness and purported altruism from doctors, drug manufacturers, and politicians (who are not at all immune from self-servingness) sends up warning bells for me.
Living in a small town, fairly isolated, I sometimes feel like we’re in a glass bubble, just waiting to see how things will play out. It’s a little surreal, trying to fly under the radar and hoping we’re doing what Hashem wants.
Thank you Avivah for your integrity, clarity, and courageous ability to hold space for the nuances that necessitate truth. You can have deep
emuna, positivity and hope while also seeing the many layers of government deception, manipulation and coercion happening all around and most potently in E’Y. Thank you for speaking out. May Hashem guard your brave soul and bless you with expansive emuna to penetrate the depths of your wisdom and clarity of vision. Sending you love and support from America. 💕Rachel Leah
Thank you so much, Rachel Leah, your words have warmed my heart.
Hi Aviva.
we do have clear videos and letters of Gedolei Yisrael’s opinion (Rav Kanievsky included), so not sure if there’s really a way to misinterpret the videos. So it does not seem that there is a middle man misinterpreting anything they have said.
Someone from my husband’s yeshiva personally went to Rav Kanievsky and asked if he should take the vaccine even if his father opposes it but the yeshiva requires he take it – Rav Kanievsky told him yes, you should take the vaccine.
We’ll have to agree to disagree – I believe that everything is not as black and white as it seems, and you feel that it’s open and shut. That’s fine!
To sum up a very potentially lengthy post – if I have a shaila, I ask it directly to a rav who knows me and who knows the inyan I’m asking about. I have never, never relied on paskevilim or a general statement to the klal to determine the specific directives that I live by.
And if most people are being honest, neither do they. *When there is an issue of personal concern*, very few would satisfy themselves with a general statement to the public, and would go directly to a rav to clarify how that applies to them.
Hi Aviva,
I’m not so sure we disagree…
I agree this is a complex world. Regarding the specific topic of covid and the world pandemic, which has so many confusion and uncertainty, I was saying my only definitive thought is what Gedolei Yisrael tell me. We can speculate for hours and days and years and won’t get any solid answer – because who really knows anything for sure except HaShem? The best we can do is listen and be guided by those who we view as wise.
My specific outlook on the covid vaccine is not from relying on paskevilim…I don’t think most people pasken from paskevilim (I certainly don’t! I don’t even read them, lol).
The reason I brought up the videos – regarding the specific topic of covid vaccines, I don’t think the above Rabbis words were misconstrued (due to videos of them saying to take the vaccine and letters signed by them).
(For whatever it’s worth, our Rav encourages the covid vaccine and took it himself. If he were opposed, DH or I would ask him why he’s opposed if such big Rabbis seem to be so pro.)
So I guess to sum up: asa lecha rav v’histalek min hasafek – I’m assuming you agree to that as well 🙂
may we all be healthy and well!