Right, we have a problem; 500 of us have died of the virus and thats considerably more than should have. Why the disaster, with 500 families in mourning.? The classic Jewish answer is to ask a rabbi; you get an answer a responsa and the rabbi might well quote a Rabbi who died a thousand years ago. there is no time limit to a responsa in Judaism.
So where do we look for an answer to todays problem? How about the 6th century Talmud. You think Im joking. How can a body of laws, 1,500 years old, have relevance today, when were dealing with a previously unknown virus?
Well, we have something like 600 plus laws and over 200 of them are to do with medicine. The Egyptians, the Romans and the heathens believed that if you caught a disease, it was the punishment of the gods and nothing could be done about it. The Biblical Jew, though, set out to find cures and a lot of the doctors were rabbis. Good Queen Bess had three Jewish doctors and popes, emperors and kings followed suit over the years.
How good were they?If you look up the book of Samuel youll find that the Jews were warned that the plague which was hitting the Philistines, was being brought by the rats; they didnt know that in Britain till the early 20th century.
So what are we told to do to avoid something like this virus?
First of all we are told to wash our hands. Sounds familiar? Remember Seder night? Well, were supposed to wash our hands pretty regularly. Most people didnt wash. There was one bathroom and two toilets in the whole of Louis XIVs Palace of Versailles. The Rothschilds had a bath and used to lend it to Kings in Germany, having it trundled through the streets to everybodys surprise. Mostly, though, nobody washed
You could still get a nasty virus. What to do then? The Talmud is clear; you isolate the patient. Sounds familiar again? Isolate them and theres a good chance they wont pass it on to somebody else. Well never know how our 500 victims caught coronavirus, but somebody had to give it to them. Today you can get a test if you have any kind of coronavirus symptom. Do what the Talmud says.
Then there are two further relevant laws in the Talmud. One is dina de malchuta dina. That means that the law of the country in which we Iive is to be the law of the Jews. The government didnt make it a law that everybody should stay home to avoid the R level going over one, but we should have done it because it was as near a law as they could make it.
There is one more law in the Talmud which is particularly valid in the present crisis. Thats pekuach nefesh. That you can break any Jewish law if there is a danger to life. Those people who are taking part in services in the hotel in Bournemouth are breaking pekuach nefesh.
Maybe it wont result in fatalities. Please G-d that will be the case. It might not be, however. Those 500 fatalities caught coronavirus from somebody. If theyd stayed home, they might well have still been with us.
As Jews, weve been accused over the centuries of bringing the plague because we often didnt get it as badly as the neighbours. Jewish houses had to be scrupulously clean; look at getting rid of the hometz before Passover.
As many as 50,000 Brits will have died from this pandemic and, percentagewise, weve lost more of the community than our numbers justify. Is there any doubt that if wed followed the laws in the Talmud we would have done better.
It isnt about what kind of Jew you are; from Charedi to Liberal. Its about a lot of very clever ancestors who came up with the right answers. They went so far as to make it a law that every Biblical Jewish soldier had to be given a spade to bury their effluent. We will not go into what happened at the Palace of Versailles. At Balmoral after the First World War, the Prince of Wales didnt have a bathroom.
Im staying locked down until the virus has disappeared. The vast majority of the Jewish fatalities were over 65.
Derek is an author & former editor of the Jewish Year Book
Follow this link:
How to beat the virus? It's in the Talmud - Jewish News
- How Two-and-a-Half Tribes Ended Up Over the Jordan - Chabad.org - July 13th, 2020 [July 13th, 2020]
- Don't hide from the sins of St. Louis - America Magazine - July 13th, 2020 [July 13th, 2020]
- In Defense of King Louis IX | Thomas F. Madden - First Things - July 13th, 2020 [July 13th, 2020]
- Jesus in the Talmud - Wikipedia - July 13th, 2020 [July 13th, 2020]
- Learning From the Past: Reckless Jewish Kings Through the Ages - Algemeiner - July 14th, 2020 [July 14th, 2020]
- The Oral Law -Talmud & Mishna - Jewish Virtual Library - July 14th, 2020 [July 14th, 2020]
- The huppah - a beloved object of Jewish art - The Jerusalem Post - July 14th, 2020 [July 14th, 2020]
- Fast of the 17th of Tammuz: Times and customs - The Jerusalem Post - July 14th, 2020 [July 14th, 2020]
- Peter Beinart's one state solution sounds so perfect it's practically utopian - Haaretz - July 14th, 2020 [July 14th, 2020]
- No One Will Change Your Life Like a Teacher - Algemeiner - July 14th, 2020 [July 14th, 2020]
- 11 Thoughts and Sayings of Rav Simcha Zissel Ziv Broide the Alter of Kelm - Yeshiva World News - July 14th, 2020 [July 14th, 2020]
- Dozens of Jewish graves and tombstones desecrated in the Jewish cemetery in Worms, one of the oldest in Europe - European Jewish Press - July 14th, 2020 [July 14th, 2020]
- Death to Jews, swastikas drawn on gravestones in southern France - Forward - July 17th, 2020 [July 17th, 2020]
- Barbra Streisand classic Yentl returns to big screen at The Drive In - Jewish News - July 17th, 2020 [July 17th, 2020]
- Not all the statues need to come down - Forward - July 17th, 2020 [July 17th, 2020]
- Nick Cannon and several other Black celebrities attended Farrakhans July 4 speech - Forward - July 17th, 2020 [July 17th, 2020]
- Allford: Achoo! Sneezing through the centuries - The Kingston Whig-Standard - July 18th, 2020 [July 18th, 2020]
- Q & A: Making Up For What We Missed (Part XIII) - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - July 18th, 2020 [July 18th, 2020]
- The seed that is sown | Community And Lifestyles - atchisonglobenow.com - July 18th, 2020 [July 18th, 2020]
- The End of Anti-Semitism - Aish - July 18th, 2020 [July 18th, 2020]
- Eicha - the question that reverberates throughout history - The Jerusalem Post - July 18th, 2020 [July 18th, 2020]
- A Traditional Jewish Approach to the Problem of Evil - My Jewish Learning - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- My article was controversial - and I talked to the haters - Forward - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Guestwords: Let There Be Laughter - East Hampton Star - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- The Terrifying Feeling of Being Alone in the World - Aish - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Faith Leaders Demand Action From New York City's Mayor to Ensure Safe Reentry for Those Leaving Rikers Island During COVID-19 Pandemic - Press Release... - July 21st, 2020 [July 21st, 2020]
- Revision 1.13 The Mishnah and the Talmuds | Dan Peterson - Patheos - July 21st, 2020 [July 21st, 2020]
- What's the truth behind wearing face masks? - The Jerusalem Post - July 21st, 2020 [July 21st, 2020]
- 12 Facts Every Jew Should Know About the 9 Days - Chabad.org - July 21st, 2020 [July 21st, 2020]
- Musings of a rabbi in the period of pandemic - Jewish News - July 21st, 2020 [July 21st, 2020]
- The Kingly Roots of Kitchri: Lentils With Love - Jewish Journal - July 21st, 2020 [July 21st, 2020]
- We've got what it takes to endure these difficult days J. - The Jewish News of Northern California - July 21st, 2020 [July 21st, 2020]
- Learn About the Holy Temple in Depth - Texts and Classes Describing the Holy Temple - Chabad.org - July 21st, 2020 [July 21st, 2020]
- Nation of Islam posts Farrakhans call for Jews to ditch the Talmud & be saved amid Nick Cannon antisemitism debacle - RT - July 21st, 2020 [July 21st, 2020]
- Are Reports Of The Persecution Of Yemenite Jews Completely False? - Yeshiva World News - July 23rd, 2020 [July 23rd, 2020]
- There's space in the Jewish community for queer people. I just had to find it. - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - July 23rd, 2020 [July 23rd, 2020]
- Glimpsing The Beis HaMikdash - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - July 23rd, 2020 [July 23rd, 2020]
- Who Wrote the Bible? - History - July 23rd, 2020 [July 23rd, 2020]
- Judaism, baseball, and the drive for normal - The Jewish Standard - July 23rd, 2020 [July 23rd, 2020]
- Digital Archive Takes Talmudic Approach to Americas Founding Texts - Jewish Week - July 25th, 2020 [July 25th, 2020]
- Hope is a power you don't have to relinquish - St. Louis Jewish Light - July 25th, 2020 [July 25th, 2020]
- In the Talmud, God admits Hes wrong. Theres a lesson there about free speech. - Forward - July 25th, 2020 [July 25th, 2020]
- The Pope who Printed the Talmud - Aish - July 25th, 2020 [July 25th, 2020]
- Love, community, mysticism: The intrigue and observance of Tu B'Av - thejewishchronicle.net - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- A burning house - A universal lesson | Shahar Azani | The Blogs - The Times of Israel - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- Talmud's solution to the coronavirus dilemma: Save lives, or the economy? - Haaretz - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- Talmud and Midrash | Judaism | Britannica - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- What is the Talmud? Biblical Meaning & Definition - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- Redeeming Relevance: When Moshe Threw a Book Across the Classroom - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - July 31st, 2020 [July 31st, 2020]
- One for Israel exposes abusive teachings of rabbis, explains that Jesus loves and esteems women [videos] - Patheos - July 31st, 2020 [July 31st, 2020]
- The indomitable spirit of the Jewish people - The story of Yavne - The Jerusalem Post - July 31st, 2020 [July 31st, 2020]
- Preparing for Tisha B'Av During a World Pandemic - A 25-hour period of fasting and reflection begins on Wednesday night, July 29 - Chabad.org - July 31st, 2020 [July 31st, 2020]
- Even More Harm Than We Think - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - August 4th, 2020 [August 4th, 2020]
- Listen: Longtom on electro-shock treatment for Great Whites; Chas Smith continues his outspoken advocacy for kicking dogs. You see a good thick dog,... - August 4th, 2020 [August 4th, 2020]
- The Real Reason the Beit HaMikdash Was Destroyed - The Jewish Voice - August 4th, 2020 [August 4th, 2020]
- Why Is the Ketubah Written in Aramaic? - Chabad.org - August 4th, 2020 [August 4th, 2020]
- In a pickle, Seth Rogen tells Haaretz what he really thinks about Israel and white supremacist Trump - Haaretz - August 6th, 2020 [August 6th, 2020]
- Remembering The Wall (Part II) - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- Tales Told to Tevye - The New Yorker - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- Parashat Ekev: A different kind of theology - The Jerusalem Post - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- First lesbian woman to be appointed to Tel Aviv's religious council - The Jerusalem Post - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- Our community together apart - The Australian Jewish News - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- Tyranny, loss and leadership: What's on MIFF's menu - The Age - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- Even though your heart may grow haughty - The Jewish Star - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- Adin Steinsaltz, Groundbreaking Talmud Translator, Dies - The New York Times - August 8th, 2020 [August 8th, 2020]
- A Personal Relationship With God Is Reachable if We Believe in It - Algemeiner - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- Berachos: The Key To Fearing Hashem - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- Delaware to require teaching of the Holocaust, genocide - Forward - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- Yeshiva Education - The Best of Both (OPINION) - BKLYNER - BKLYNER - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- Cherish the Small Comforts that Bring Your Joy in an Unsettled World - Jewish Journal - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- Mind Over Milkshakes - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- Why Is the Ketubah Written in Aramaic? - Questions & Answers - Chabad.org - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- The Survivors' Talmud: When the US Army Printed the Talmud - The Jewish Voice - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- The Life and Legacy of Torah Scholar and Prolific Author Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz - Jewish Journal - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- As The Night Gets Longer - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- Running a Jewish day school just got a lot more expensive and parents shouldn't be the only ones paying the price. - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic... - August 17th, 2020 [August 17th, 2020]
- Heichal HaTorah Bais Medrash Enters Its Second Year with 40 Talmidim - Join us this Zman! - Yeshiva World News - August 17th, 2020 [August 17th, 2020]
- A sweet and sour history of Jews and pickles - The Jewish Star - August 17th, 2020 [August 17th, 2020]
- Holy Witnesses - Torah Insights - Parshah - Chabad.org - August 17th, 2020 [August 17th, 2020]
- End this year, with its curses! | Yaakov Jaffe | The Blogs - The Times of Israel - September 2nd, 2020 [September 2nd, 2020]