Jewish Religion and Thought
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praises former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron as “an important link in the Torah chain of scholars of Spain” • Health Ministry warns Israelis not to relax social distancing measures.
Under the directive, which will be in effect until April 15, residents of neighborhoods with high COVID-19 morbidity rates will be restricted to one of the city’s seven zones.
The ceremony, which usually draws tens of thousands, was dramatically scaled down due to coronavirus pandemic • U.S. envoy David Friedman, one of the quorum of 10, prays “the world is spared further illness or sorrow from COVID-19 or otherwise.”
“All the doctors here are working so hard. Every single doctor and nurse that I’ve come across since this thing started is absolutely doing the hardest work to make this as fast as possible,” said Mendel Mangel.
“He was an eloquent spokesman for Jewish values to leaders and decision-makers, and he selflessly took responsibility to carry the burdens of people’s needs, whether macro or micro,” stated Rabbi Ariel Shoshan from Ahavas Torah: The Scottsdale Torah Center.
Yaakov Litzman made his remarks after the city of Ramat Gan put up barricades along its border with the haredi city of Bnei Barak, which has a high infection rate and is under a government lockdown.
“I felt so relieved and at comfort that my mother could be properly honored during my time of mourning,” said Rabbi Shmuel Schwartz, the father of a paratrooper.
“The residents of Bnei Brak are beginning to understand that we really are here to help them,” says IDF Maj. Gen. (res.) Roni Numa, head of the Bnei Brak emergency coronavirus task force.
“‘Out of depth, I call you,’ ... those are very powerful words and remind us, especially when we recite the psalms, that we are not the first generation that faces adversity … and that many psalms express hope and confidence in the future,” said Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, chief executive of the Rabbinical Assembly, the rabbinic arm of the Conservative movement.
Barry Freundel was granted an early release from a D.C. jail due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused jails nationwide to release non-violent convicts early, and earning credits for good behavior.
The hotels, said to be located in Bnei Brak and Beit Shemesh, will be separated by gender and serve food with strict kosher supervision to fit the needs of the ultra-Orthodox community.
“We are having more than a few problems with ultra-Orthodox society in areas like Bnei Brak,” Israeli Finance Ministry director general Shai Babad tells the Knesset.
