Rav Yisroel Reisman recently asked Rav Asher Weiss for his perspective on covid.
Rav Reisman noted that there are mechachim who say that forcing children to wear masks while they are at school is detrimental to the chinuch that the rebbeim are trying to imbue in them.
Rav Asher Weiss responded forcefully and clearly, stating that coronavirus is a matter of pikuach nefashos, and that it is incumbent upon us all to take it seriously and abide by the guidelines set by health professionals. He said that telling children to wear masks while in school does not take away from their chinuch, rather it should be a part of their chinuch by showing them that we care about other people and teaching them of the value we place on a human life.
Listen to the full recording below.
I listened to this audio. It was a real good speech.
Thank you Lakewood Scoop for bringing it to us.
Food for Thought:
Maybe before you take this vaccine, you should say a prayer and tell Hashem that “One of the reasons why I am taking this vaccine is to make sure that I do not pass this virus onto someone else, in that merit, please Almighty help me that I should not get hurt thru this vaccine”.
Does anyone know when this recording was made?
Avraham — why wait for the vaccine? why not add the prayer to not damage others to our daily prayers three times a day and before bed?
He mentions 10 months into the pandemic and he mentions just finishing פרשיות ויגש and ויחי
As someone who teaches for hours daily in a classroom, I will tell you as others will – it is impossible and torture to have children wearing these masks all day.
my children wear masks in school all day – little kids and middle aged kids – with no difficulty whatsoever. they say you get used to it with time.
think how many people across the world wear masks all day at their jobs. all day, every day. everyone says you get used to it.
to let a disease run rampant b/c we are too inconsiderate to inconvenience ourselves in the slightest is pretty sad.
in the Public School, a child that does not wear a mask after a warning is SENT HOME
if you live out of town and think masks are necessary have you looked at the COVID death rate in lakewood over the last few months? for the most part there is little to no mask wearing as such, according to those who think masks are necessary to stop this virus, Lakewood should be in pretty bad shape … is it?
Once you have the vaccine a person can get the virus or a strain and can be completely asymptomatic shred it and pass it on to others without knowing. In addition with the south African strain there is a very good chance it can bypass the vaccine altogether. A mask is still obligatory after the vaccine as the cdc states. To protect others and yourself.
To Chaim Fischel: bimchilas kvodo, if you feel as implied in your note that you don’t support wearing of masks in school, I hold you should find another profession. A main lesson to be given in chinuch is that as yidden we need to care for each other. If we’re demonstrating such a lack of caring as to not even be willing to be uncomfortable in a mask we shouldn’t be in front of children.
My kids have been wearing masks in school for months without any complaint. The reason is that their parents don’t spend all their wake moments of railing how masks are stupid and don’t help and just make things worse. We listened to our rabbonim who listen to the near-unanimous consent of all medical professionals and follow the rules and moved on with our life.I obviously live out of town and understand that Lakewood took a different mehalech in dealing with this with the guidance of their rabbonim. But out of town, the only kids who struggle with wearing masks are the ones that parents have made it their life’s mission to be anti masks. I can guarantee that worst for Chinuch then kids wearing masks is the outright chutzpah that these kids are seeing from their parents defying the Rabbonim or at best spending all day harassing them to bend to their will. If every shabbos all you do by davening is rail how stupid it is to wear masks is that good chinuch for your kids. Telling them how stupid and dumb the school is is that good for chinuch? Those who decided that it is not the end of the world to do what we are asked to by are rabbonim for the sake of others have moved on in life and are living productive and healthy lives, I am not sure the same for the families who spent the last 5 months fighting. I think those lasting chinuch messages they are internalizing will have long-lasting repercussions .
But it has to be done with seichel.
If we are breathing down the kids backs to wear the masks properly, emphasizing how bad the virus is and how much worse it will be if the kids don’t wear the masks properly, it will create a lachatz and a fear that is not good for the kids.
We need to emphasize that Hashem is in control of each person whether he will get sick or not, and we wear masks ONLY because this is the hishtadlus that Hashem wants us to do.
please read the data from the vaccine manufacturers before you make such off base statements. THE VACCINE DOES NOT STOP TRANSMISSION I will repeat THE VACCINE DOES NOT STOP TRANSMISSION. read the vaccine insert make an informed decision before rolling up your sleeve and offering yourself up as a korban “on behalf of the klal”
What they mean is that they never collected data regarding whether the vaccine stops transmission. HOWEVER, common sense (as well as what happens with every other vaccine which creates herd immunity) tells you that if you (almost certainly) won’t be catching the virus, you won’t be spreading it to someone else either, and even if you catch it, you will be positive for a very short time, at the very least reducing the amount of time that you could spread it to others.
It seems the few seconds after he says “I hope I’m not offending anyone” was censored!!!!!