Long term dangers for children

The worst danger is if this turns out to be unnecessary. While one won’t know for a while, it is quite possible that almost everyone will be exposed to COVID 19, and 80% will develop immunity without getting so sick they need to see a doctor or go to the hospital, and that the death rate when recalculated based on everyone who had the virus (rather than everyone sick enough to get tested and/or hospitalized) will turn out not to be much higher than the regular flu, and concentrated among the sick and elderly (similar to regular flu).

Good question. Its always a challenge with children to explain a departure from norms you have instilled in them in a way that they understand its a ONE TIME change in the rules justified by the circumstances. Younger children may not remember…older ones will understand the one=time nature of the change. Its those in the “middle” where there is a need for using the right words and the right tone to rationalize the change so they don’t take it upon themselves in the future to decide when its “OK” to ignore the hashkafah you have struggled to provide them.

mistykins you wrote “I recently read that people are allowed to use the Zoom app during Seder to stay connected with loved ones.” Where did you read this?

” seeing the rules get changed for the virus?

The schools closing is one thing. But nomore minyanim, per the rabbis rules. Davening biyichidus is now the way to go”

The rules arent changing
There is one rule to do ratzon Hashem .

A person never skips a day of tefilin should he weat tefilin on Shabbos? when he is an onen? Of course not.
But what abotu about the rule of tefilin?

The same boorei olam to whom we daven said we shoudl follow doctor’s advice and care for our lives.

akuperma
“vThe worst danger is if this turns out to be unnecessary.”

Still with this stupidity? Are you still unsure? At thsi point no reasonable person who values life can say these distancing wasnt neccesary . You say “t is quite possible that almost everyone will be exposed to COVID 19, and 80% will develop immunity without getting so sick ”
How do you still not get this. Of course it is possible. THAT is PRECISELY what we expect to happen.
But 20% of “almost everyone” is a lot of people. in NYC 20% is 1.6 million people sick. If a quarter of them need ha hospital that is 400,000 people for 23, 000 beds (most of which are full before this started) we need to slow down the surge yes most will get it hospitals are already strained

There are no broken rules. The only ones who think there are broken rules here are those whose yiddishkeit is an external social act and not an internal understanding of what God demands from them. Not sure how you can teach your children what yiddishkeit is better than a situation like this where the norms are called into question. There is much to learn. If instead you were running to minyanim when doctors and then rabbonim were saying not to, as your kids get older and understand more what occurred at this time they may really wonder what you were thinking.

during the holocaust, many risked their lives for a tfillah btzibur, a moment of wearing tefillin, a tiny morsel of matzah, when one wrong step meant a literal bullet in the head. it is very understandable for people to want to continue the chain of mesiras nefesh started by their parents and grandparents by davening with a minyan(all the more so now– there are no nazis waiting around the corner to shoot us)
.

thetruththis eek – You are corrupting Judaism with this thinking. The holocaust was a time of shmad when the Nazis were targeting Jews. There is much to be said about risking lives to engage in a minyan at such a time. This time is an epidemic and not shmad. When you participate in the minyanim you are causing the deaths of yidden. Also I have no idea to what extent people engaging in minyanim during the holocaust resulted or changed in any way whether other people die. In this time, if you engage in minyanim you are a rodef. Enough with the stupidity and murder being caused by people who are willfully blind to what is going on. The other day, a UK study suggested that a 26 foot distance is necessary for social distancing.

It should also be mentioned that social distancing is not a solution at this time. When there is community spread, isolation is the solution. As it is impractical to not have people get some exercise, get food, and take care of some other minimal essentials, social distancing is recommended as a way to minimize the spread (not to stop it.. and we are in a time when medical supplies are in short-order, so this is a big deal). Perhaps when there is no community spread and testing and contact tracing can be an effective method to contain this, then social distancing can be relied on to help prevent another breakout.