The coronavirus pandemic has led to many unique monetary shailos. The Rabbanim of the Bais HaVaad of Lakewood gathered to address these questions in order to offer clear guidance to the community.
Amongst the pertinent shailos discussed were:
• Playgroups, babysitters and schools.
Must parents must continue to pay tuition and fees while the children remain at home and, in the event money was paid in advance, must it be returned.
• Rent
Must continue to pay rent if he was forced to leave his apartment, office or building due to the virus?
• Paying Workers and Employees
Must various types of workers be paid if their job was cancelled?
• Hotels and Simcha Halls
If one cancelled a reservation at a hotel or simcha hall due to the virus, is he entitled to have his deposit returned or, perhaps, must he remit the full amount?
For practical guidance for any monetary shailoh, the Rabbanim of the Bais Havaad’s Choshen Mishpat division are available at 1.888.485.8223 or 732.276.1344 ext.#1-1
The Bais HaVaad’s Medical Halacha Division has also established a special hotline for all medical-related halachos that have come up due to the pandemic. Rabbanim who are experts in both halacha and medicine and the current ramifications are manning the hotline and are available to answer all shailos. The hotline number is 732.276.2183
Would it be possible for them to publish the conclusions for these questions? These are weighing on all of our minds during this period.
Thank you
So what are the answers?
Just remember. If even a small percentage of parents stop paying tuition, the schools wont be able to make payroll and thousands of Rebeim and teachers will be left penniless. Then when the Mosdos collapse and close down ch”v and some dont reopen even after the pandemic is over ,and people wont have schools to send their children to , they will scratch their heads and wonder why their kids have no schools to go to .
If people want to treat schools like businesses and services ,then the schools will in turn have no choice but to charge everybody the full cost of that service when school resumes . In most yeshivishe schools today, most parents do not pay the full cost. Not paying tuition is a slippery slope . We barely have enough schools now. I’m not sure we can afford to bankrupt the existing ones .