Things are pretty bad right now. The pandemic seems to be peaking with numbers in all categories rising steeply. COVID positivity rates, hospitalizations, and deaths are increasing all over the country. Even though there is light at the end of the pandemic tunnel via the approval of a vaccine before the end of this month, that will not solve the problem for months to come. In the meantime we still suffer. In a variety of ways with a variety of consequences. Sickness and death is only one of those ways. Although obviously the most important. None of us know if or when we might get infected or how we will fare if we do. It is all so depressing.
I need not mention all the other serious ways in which we suffer. While some are affected more than others, to some extent we are all living it. There is, however, one serious consequence that needs to be addressed: Education
Not being able to attend in-person classes has negatively affected all segments of society, Jews and non Jews alike. For an Orthodox Jew the crisis can be of existential proportion. If we cannot educate our children how to be Jews, they won’t be. At least not in any way that matters.
One of the reasons Orthodox Jews have been able to buck the trend away from the plague of assimilating out of Judaism - is the establishment of a school system that educates our children from nursery school through high school and beyond.
It’s true that this education must be reinforced in the home so that there will not be any contradictions between what the child sees at home and what he is taught in school. But the converse is also true. An observant home is usually not enough to keep a child observant if he spends the bulk of his day in a school free of any religious – let alone Jewish content. This is especially true in our day when distractions have exploded beyond anyone’s wildest imagination just a few decades ago.
The pandemic has created what seems to be an insurmountable obstacle for parents. On the one hand saving lives supersedes all else. On the other hand the inability for children to attend their religious schools might destroy their spiritual future. Remote learning might help somewhat. But in many ways it doesn’t work at all. This situation was addressed in a Forward article by a parent who called himself ‘Anonymous’ for reasons which will soon become apparent..
Anonymous took matters into his own hands – and had help from school officials in doing so. He did not reveal his identity nor that of his community. That’s because he violated the la by hosting an illegal Yeshiva in his basement. Students did not observe any of the mask and social distancing rules. Thus endangering those very children with the possibility that one or more of them were COVID positive and asymptomatic. They would infect those children that weren’t. Who would then unknowingly bring it home to their parents, siblings, grandparents and anyone else they might come into contact with.
I understand the angst... the pain and anguish of struggling to educate your child Jewishly and being unable to do it. I would even go so far as saying that a parent that is not properly trained to do so might do more harm than good. By turning a child off - and away from observant Judaism forever, God forbid.
Anonymous soon saw the futility of trying to do so. He saw the handwriting on the wall, feared the consequences, and acted. He believes he did the right thing. He probably felt like he was being martyr in the cause of saving his children form spiritual disaster. Despite the risk he knew he was taking, he believed that the risk of his child going OTD was far greater then the risk of anyone getting COVID and dying. He also considered closing down schools by the government to be unfair and draconian. Thus in his mind - further justifying what he did.
It’s kind of hard to blame a parent moved to desperate measures trying to save his child from spiritual death. But there is not the slightest doubt in my mind that he was wrong! Aside from being illegal and a Chilul Hasehm, he has unintentionally risked the lives of countless others. Since so many people that have this highly contagious virus are asymptomatic, there is no way of knowing who has it and spreading it!
It is called community spread. That is why so many people are getting sick now. The ‘villain’ here is ignorance and pandemic fatigue. But ignorance and fatigue are not excuses. Just an explanation that ends in the Chutzpah of violating of a law designed to protect lives. Chutzpah, despite the desperate straits this parent felt he was in that led him to do this.
In a Times of Israel article, Professor Shani Bechhofer addressed this issue in a sympathetic but stern way. Although she was gentle and understanding of the legitimate concerns of Anonymous (and the many others like him) she understands what is at stake here is far greater than his OTD concerns. She was no less critical of the complicit school officials. Here in part is what she said:
It is easy to slip this on and feel as virtuous as a Maccabi, especially if one is risking substantial financial loss. This school has unethically placed a michshol (stumbling block) before struggling, stressed-out parents. Will the Board of Directors cover the fine if it is levied? Insurance, legal fees? Can they absolve him and his wife of guilt feelings if ch”v someone sickens or worse as a result of this stunt? Are they even paying to clean Anonymous’ basement floor? Anonymous doesn’t say; but he is grateful to the school for putting him and his wife in this position…
The school unethically used its perceived moral authority to convince him to ignore his conscience. His choice can be understood, but not justified, and certainly not emulated.
Professor Bechhofer then suggests that this problem could have been avoided or at least ameliorated:
As a mechaneches I feel obligated to remind us that there is actually a very real world with very real dangers and challenges, and the Torah places upon us the very real responsibility to face them without flinching and to identify new solutions in accordance with Torah values. The Neviim were actually very explicit that merely sacrificing huge quantities of expensive property at the Bais Hamikdosh is the easy way out; changing our ways, as individuals and as communities, is the hard work that the Creator values.
To paraphrase them, we ought to be prioritizing the needs of the most vulnerable; conducting ourselves with utmost integrity; valuing justice over power; and having the courage to face adversity without turning to the nevi’ei sheker telling us what we wish to hear. To save lives rather than to risk them. To take responsibility rather than to shift blame. To honor our elders rather than put them in danger. To conduct ourselves honorably rather than draw the ire of public officials upon ourselves. These are standards to which we should hold ourselves and one another.
I could not agree more. There is too much emphasis on text and rote learning and not enough on the ethics, morality and communal responsibility.
I just want to add that I love the Bechhofers. I had the pleasure of knowing both of them well during their time in Chicago. That kind of thinking is missed and sorely needed. Instead it seems like the trend among right wing a schools is to continue along the narrow educational path that leads to what Anonymous did. And because the population of their demographic is exploding, I’m not sure there is anything we can do about it.