On Tuesday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu approved the “capsule plan” to allow yeshivas to reopen and the day before, on Monday evening, Netanyahu confirmed a plan to re-open daycares and schools for children up to 3rd grade in a limited fashion.
However, Gerrer, the largest chassidus in Israel, stated that they are not opening their yeshivas or ganim and schools for small children, saying that on the instructions of the Rebbe, they will not be meikel on pikuach nefesh, Kikar H’Shabbos reported.
Gerrer sources say that as long at the Health Ministry believes that reopening schools is not l’chatchila, they will not make any undue effort to open yeshivas.
The source added that the Rebbe believes that if the government is not re-opening girls’ high schools, this attests to the fact that there is still a risk for teenagers to gather.
The Rebbe believes that the only question is whether there is a safeik pikuach nefesh or not and as long as the answer is not a hundred percent clear, it’s assur to put pressure on the authorities to decrease the restrictions.
The supervisor of the Gur Cheder system notified the principals of all the Gerrer chadarim that even if the Health Ministry permits the schools to reopen, the Gur chadarim will not yet re-open.
The Gerrer yeshivos began the summer zeman over a week ago through an organized telephone system established for that purpose.
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(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
As you all no in Ger they don’t learn any Iyun since 2002, and there are no shiurim either, so they are in no rush to open, because it does’t make as such of a diffrence, but with a shiur it is very hard to have an interactive shiur on the telephone.
Covid 19 generally affects only older people, and 90% of those infected don’t even get sick (based on Governor Cuomo’s figures, and New York had the worst outbreak in the world). It seems that the hilonim have accomplished one of their greatest goals – to get Yidden to stop learning Torah. For them it is a win-win scenario.