A senior Health Ministry official said on Wednesday that the Israeli public should refrain from inviting the Ushpizin to their sukkahs since they are considered like enclosed spaces.
“Everyone should spend Sukkos witth their nuclear family members only and in any case, no more than ten people, as is required by the restrictions,” the health official said, as quoted on Kan News. “Spending time in a sukkah is considered like spending time inside a building or enclosed space and therefore everyone should avoid inviting the Ushpizin to their sukkahs.”
The health ministry’s directive to “avoid inviting the Ushpizin” was posted on social media and made quite a sensation. Apparently, the official was unclear about the exact meaning of Ushpizin and obviously meant that Israelis should avoid inviting “physical” guests to their sukkahs rather than the “spiritual” Ushpizin.
It was a humorous mistake that could only happen in Israel and of course, of all years, this is the year for Israelis to call on their zechus Avos and definitely invite the Ushpizin as their only legally permitted guests to their sukkahs.
Health Minister Yuli Edelstein also stated earlier this week that an enclosed sukkah is no different than an enclosed indoor space and just as it’s forbidden to host guests at home, it’s forbidden to host guests in sukkahs.
On Wednesday, the government approved an amendment to the regulation of hosting guests to include hosting guests in sukkahs. Those caught in a sukkah that is not their own will be fined NIS 500.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
We wouldn’t want Avraham Aveinu to catch anything. The average age of a Covid19 victim is already well over 70, and imagine what one 4000 year old would do to the average?
and if one of the Ushpizin, (Avrohom Ahvinu, for example) visits my Sukkah and is caught….he get fined NIS 500?
Hopefully both the succah owner and the guest will be fined not just one of them.
The Ushpizin might get us out of the corona crisis and then what will Gd forbid happen to all the vaccines in the making???? And the billions of dollars invested???