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| The latest fatality - Judge Noach Dear (Jewish Star) |
Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Noach Dear, z’l, passed away of the coronavirus on Sunday morning at the age of 67.
Dear served as a member of the New York City Council from 1983-2001 and advocated for the issues of the mostly frum community he represented, including Midwood and much of Boro Park and Bensonhurst.
This virus is ‘the gift that keeps on giving.’ Only what it gives is not anything anyone wants. The number of gut-wrenching stories about good people dying from this disease is hard to take. There are just too many of them. Otherwise healthy people are dying. Some of them dying a few days after contracting the virus. While at the same time there are so many others that have the virus but do not even have any symptoms.
That they are dying alone - because the 'sheltering at home' policy makes their death an even greater tragedy. There is no closure. Imagine having a father or grandfather; mother or grandmother; brother or sister; son or daughter... perfectly healthy a day or two ago, suddenly contracting the virus, and then dying a few days later alone in a hospital while family waits afar in their homes – not even realizing the moment of death. Not being able to say their goodbyes.
I cannot imagine it. I’m sure that was true for these family members before they actually went through it themselves. Now they don’t have to imagine it. They are living it!
When this pandemic will end is not clear. But maybe there is just a tiny little bit of hope that can be seen in the distance. It seems that the rate of increase in deaths has been dramatically reduced in the state of New York. Which is the state most affected by this virus. Hospitals there are now saying that their case load is manageable… and if I understand correctly, the number of people that have survived the virus and have been discharged is greater than the patients being admitted
Our mitigation policy seems to be working. Both here and in Israel. But that has not stopped unscrupulous fund raisers from exploiting the fear generated by this virus’s deadly path. I can’t think of a more unscrupulous way of raising money than what Kupat Ha’ir, a charity in Bnei Brak, is doing.
The charity association named Kupat Ha'ir advertised on its Facebook page, that anyone who donates NIS 3,000 will be protected from getting the coronavirus. The idea behind the charity website, is that by donating money to sick families, by the way of "midda k'neged midda" or "measure for measure," the donor will be offered immunity in return for their donations.
The website's specific coronavirus charity advertised on their Facebook page, leads with, "Join The Cause To Help Sick Men, Women, And Children, and Receive the Rav's Bracha Midah K'Neged Midah," - the rabbi's blessing measure for measure.
This charity has a history of doing this kind of fund raising. Which I have dealt with before and condemned very strongly. So in the likely event that this is true, I not only condemn Kupat Ha’ir but believe very strongly that it should be boycotted. Even though its charity work is legitimate and badly needed by its beneficiaries.
What about the needs of the people that so desparately rely on those funds? Let Kupat Ha’ir distribute whatever they they and then close it down. In the meantime start another charity like it with the same purpose but with the scruples go match. Making sure that people are aware that this new charity has replaced Kupat Ha’ir.
I say this knowing that 92 year old Rav Chaim Kanievsky is strong supporter of Kupat Ha’Ir. He is used in many of their ads – seeming to endorse their latest fundraising gimmick.
I tend to doubt that he does. But at the same time I never saw him condemning these methods either. My guess is that he is not fully aware of thier unscrupulous methods. He probably made some general statement he about charity being a means of reaching God’s beneficence. Which they warped into an endorsement for a specific Segulah.
They might think they are doing the right thing by maximizing donations at a time where it is needed the most and yet donations are down - all for the same reason. But what they are in fact doing is killing people by causing them to believe that this disease will make them immune. I cannot protest this tactic enough. Which is why I think they ought to be boycotted - stopped and shut down once and for all - and replaced immediately.