“Whoever isn’t vaccinated is a murderer” – so reads a Kol Koreh signed by leading Gedolim and Poskim in Eretz Yisroel. The letter was issued in an attempt to curb the rampant spread of the Measles currently spreading through Chareidi communities in Israel, as well as in other communities in Israel and around the world.
Last week, an unvaccinated infant R”L died, and more than 1300 have been sickened with the disease which is preventable with a regular vaccination.
The Gedolim who signed the Kol Koreh include: Hagaon HaRav Yitzchak Zilberstein, Hagaon HaRav Shimon Ba’adani, Hagaon HaRav Sriel Rosenberg, Hagaon HaRav Moshe Shaul Klein and Hagaon HaRav Menachem Mendel Lubin.
HaRav Shmuel Fuerst of Agudath Yisrael of Illinois also joined the growing list of Poskim releasing Piskei Halacha directed towards the anti-vaxxers, following the measles outbreak which has spread across many Chareidi communities.
Rav Fuerst says he did alot of research into the issue (of vaccinations), and released the following message (audio below, transcribed by YWN):
“Every child must have vaccination shots. And a school should not take in any kids that were not vaccinated because of the Issur of ‘Lo Saamod Al Dam Reacha’ – because another child can catch this sickness. It can be measles, mumps, polio or any of these types of illnesses which are almost completely unheard of, and now we are hearing of them because people are not getting vaccinations.
“If you have a playgroup, you must make sure that all the children are vaccinated. If there is a child who is not vaccinated, you (the playgroup owner) must notify all the other parents, because you are putting them all in jeopardy”.
Rav Fuerst says this applies to children simply going to play at another child’s home. If they are unvaccinated, the other family must be notified.
At least 8 Bochrim in Yeshivas Mir Yerushalayim have been hospitalized, a child was rushed into Intensive Care in Rockland County, and many others hospitalized.
On Tuesday, YWN reported about a letter released by Hagaon HaRav Moshe Sternbuch, who stated specifically it is the responsibility of every father to make certain his children are vaccinated, bringing quotes from Shulchan Aruch citing the matter of שפיחת דמים, causing loss of life.
ROCKLAND COUNTY UPDATE
In Rockland County, Refuah Health Center has taken the lead in fighting the outbreak. Refuah has dedicated much time and resources to assist the community and its families. Specifically, since October 2, 2018 Refuah has dispensed 2,585 MMR vaccines and the number continues to increase daily. Additionally, Refuah has altered its service delivery to prevent unnecessary exposure include the following:
– Newborn Mobile: Babies under the age of 6 months are not eligible for their first MMR vaccine and receive little immunity from the birth process or mother’s milk. To accommodate our most vulnerable patients, Refuah is offering newborn well and sick visits aboard a mobile parked outside of the Center. This reduces chances of exposure which result from mingling with the general public. The infant only mobile is open daily.
– Front Door Triage: All patients presenting for a medial visit check in with a nurse, stationed at the front of the Center. The nurse takes the patient’s temperature. Patients with elevated temperatures are escorted to a waiting area for further evaluation. In some instances the patient is asked to wear a mask and is escorted directly to an examination room.
LAKEWOOD UPDATE
On Wednesday morning, the New Jersey Department of Health informed YWN that a 5th case of measles has been confirmed in Lakewood. CHEMED Health Center has so far administered well over 1,000 MMM shots. Dr. Shanik has given hundreds of vaccinations as well.
NYC:
The attached letter was sent to all school principals, as well as the Agudath Israel of America
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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28 Responses
I Thank the geodlim for standing up and doing the rite thing!!!
Why is YWN obsessed with this measles outbreak this is at least their 7th article about it. Sounds like they have a agenda here ………………
“An unvaccinated infant R”L died, and more than 1300 have been sickened”
Does anyone know what percentage of the 1,300 people that have been sickened were vaccinated??
“Whoever isn’t vaccinated is a murderer” חסורי מחסירנן והכי גרסינןLet’s amend this to read:- “Whoever isn’t vaccinated, his/her parents [or legal guardian] are murderers”
The only murder taking place is the murder of the truth by Yeshiva World News. The quote from Shulchan Aruch is referring to someone who is sick and does not seek treatment and thereby endangers his own life. The Shulchan Aruch was written centuries before vaccines were invented.To try to read into the words of Shulchan Aruch that it is referring to vaccines is an outright lie.
Moderators Response: We allowed just a small portion of your response posted with Kefira to show the outright chutzpah you have for Gedolei Haposkim and the Torah in general. Just last week you were bragging how Rav Chaim Kanievsky said no one can force anti vaxxers to vaccinate. So basically, you pick and choose. When a Gadol backs you, you brag about it. When it’s against you, you call them liars, and say outright kefira about how the Shulchan Aruch was written many years before vaccinations. In fact, why not just come out of the closet and say that the Posuk was written before vaacines as well. Or better yet, that Pesukim were written before the Gemara, so how can the Gemara darshan anything from an old Posuk?
Thanks for showing the world what a Kofer Batorah you are.
To sammyb because from every 1000 people who catch one can cholila die!!!!!!!!!!! Looks like you really dont care.
as long as such matters need a posek, other instances of such insanity will occur.
147
You are also correct
However that statement would also hold true for an adult who for whatever reason is unvaccinated and chooses not to vaccinate themselves
(and in a sense the child, according to the kol koreh , is also a murderer, just not responsible for their actions, meaning the child who goes to school and causes another to contract nearer and die, has murdered that child. So parents, be aware that you are turning your child into a murderer by not vaccinating them)
@sammyb
Wow – well spotted, yes maybe they do have an agenda!!! Let’s think….hmmmmm… could it be that the agenda is to prevent innocent children from Ch’v becoming ill and/or dying as a result of their parents’ idiocy, recklessness, arrogance (We Yidden know better than the stupid Goyishe medical establishment) and selfishness?
Tpps:
I found this on a different Jewish news website:
“Moshe Bar-Siman Tov, Director-General of the Ministry of Health said this morning that 1,340 people have already contracted the disease, 99% of whom were not vaccinated.”
So 14 people who were vaccinated contracted the disease, while 1,326 people who were not vaccinated contracted the disease
@Sammyb
Public health of the frum community sounds like a pretty good agenda to me
YWN doesn’t need to convince me, we are all vaccinated, with Hakaros Hatov that Hashem ‘allowed’ the discovery of the vaccination. When I considered non-vaccination assisting in murder or ‘putting a stumbling block in front of the blind’ I was assaulted by anti-vaxxers that I don’t know what I’m talking about. I guess we now have to add these well-known Rabbonim to the “they don’t know what they are talking about” list too, from the anti-vaxxers.
To sammyb – Yes, YWN does have an agenda – to protect the public from foolish people like you! It is an absolute shame that we are still seeing diseases that should have been eradicated. We don’t give the small pox vaccine anymore because it has been wiped out from the planet. If everyone vaccinated for a generation or two, we would not have measles, mumps, rubella, or polio anymore.
And tpss – I can tell you that practically every single case in Rockland has been in unimmunized patients. Perhaps there is an exception I am not aware of, but the vaccine is extremely effective.
You guys acuse YWN of having an agenda – you are the ones with an agenda! You are the ones that have caused this epidemic with your selfishness and stupidity. How do you have the chutzpah to even continue posting?
The fact that there are still children in our community and yeshivas that have not been vaccineted and some yeshivas choose to look the other way bc” and has it affected our community yet” is mind- blowing. Hashem should watch over all of us!!! Especially the children of anti-vaxxers little innocent children who don’t know better.
> joseph l
The numbers mean nothing until we also know what percentage of the population as a whole are vaccinated and not vaccinated (broken down by group identity). The Timesofisreal article notes that in the neighbourhood where the majority of these cases occurred is some of the least vaccinated areas, and this least vaccinated rate was 55% vaccinated. The health department used the current baby death publicity and an emergency drive to increase (they think) the vaccination rate to 80%.
Hi ,I just want to clarify that the baby that passe away was a Down Syndrome and had a Staph infection prior to the measles, But you still have to give the vaccinations, not even a question about it
Any parent who sees these pictures and doesn’t vaccinate his/her child seems to me to be bordering on child abuse! Where is the rachmanus on the child? Forget who else may catch it from your child! How can you be מבני אברהם אבינו – have you no mercy on the child! How can you beseech Hashem with the words i כרחם אב על בנים if you’ve got none for your own child!
Everyone: Enough with arguing with anti-vaxxers, they’ll never learn or consider a different viewpoint. Instead, what are you all doing with the large sums of money “Big Pharma” is “paying you off” for “promoting” pro-vaccinations?
Once my “big payday” check arrives from “Big Pharma” I plan on buying a new house, getting a Lamborghini, and getting a yacht by my winter mansion off Palm Beach, FL. flatbushantivaxxer and sammyb you guys are really going to miss out, but at least you won’t have “toxins” and “horse blood” inside of you to cause autism, cancer, and early death like the rest of us. You really out-smarted the medical professionals and Rabbonim on this one!
Thank you Yeshiva World for continuously promoting vaccinations.
To all the commenters, please keep in mind that some of the people who don’t vaccinate do so because their kids have medical issues and aren’t allowed to receive vaccinations. I would never want to see a parent who’s dealing r’l with that type of situation made to feel bad – or like bad parents – when they are doing what their doctors have told them to do.
There ought to be a vaccination against stupidity, but alas, you can be assured the antivaxers would certainly avoid that one.
dear anti-vaxxer from flatbush (just the fact that you are still anti vax after what (is) happened (ing) proves you are so insane that i shouldnt even be wasting my time being gores you)
when you reach the toenail of hagaon rav yitzchak zilberstein shlita, we will find you a big enough man de`amar for us to argue with your twisted logic. but now, you are not even that!
@goldie,
no one will say immune-suppressant should be getting vaccinated. no one. every one also knows that when anti vaxxers are criticized these people are not included.
A word by word translation of the letter mentioned in the title of the article.
BS”D Motzei Shabbos Parshas Chayei Sara 5979
(Bolded) The obligation to vaccinate to prevent measles
Given the spreading of the measles disease, all non vaccinated children must be vaccinated as instructed by the doctors.
Here: 3 signatures by doctors
Headline (bolded): The opinion of the Great poskim regarding the obligation to vaccinate to prevent measles.
(The entire letter from here on is a direct quote from shulchan aruch, Yoreh Deah 336 and the Yad Avraham there.)
It is stated In shulchan aruch Yoreh Deah 336 “Doctors were given permission to heal” and it is actually a mitzvah upon them to do so, and included in the obligation of Pikuach nefesh (i.e obligation to save a fellow person’s life).
And one who prevents himself from doing so (i.e a Dr that can heal people but doesn’t) is considered a murderer. End quote.
Yad Avraham – That which was said in the Shulchan Aruch applies to a Dr that does his work leshem shamayim, knows that the true healing is from Him (i.e. from Hashem) and does not think that it all depends on the medicine he administers.
Here: signatures of poskim
Word by word translation of the letter from Rav Moshe Shternbuch:
Every father is obligated to vaccinate his sons and daughters immediately, since the disease is spreading r”l. The father has no right to prevent them from being vaccinated, especially since this has harmful consequences for other people as well.” And the remainder of Israel will not do Injustice” and should hurry to fulfill their obligation. And Hashem will remove from us all illness, and and we will receive Mashich speedily in our days.
Signature
The child in the photo seems to have chicken pox, not measles. Measles is a flat rash, whereas chickenpox forms into blisters with whiteheads.
Goldie613, true point. But, the majority of those that are identify as an anti-vaxxer don’t have medical issues preventing them from getting vaccinated. It’s simply their stubbornness that they “know more” than medical professionals and many Rabbonim. Self respect and maturity would be if they believed vaccination is not effective, but won’t insult or threaten others (including Gedolim). Secondly, parents who have medical issues with their children aren’t typically known to come on this forum to start harassing and insulting Rabbonim, the medical community, parents who vaccinate- meaning, those with an unfortunate medical condition who medically can’t get vaccinated aren’t threatening others early death, cancer, and autism from vaccinations from “snake or horse blood”.
tpss -“I wonder the the vaccinations are really working.”
“Does anyone know what percentage of the 1,300 people that have been sickened were vaccinated??”
Mr. Antivaxx – Most people who got sick with measles were Not vaccinated!
The few that were and got sick is because – you also need herd immunity.