Tag: coronavirus

Covid-19 has underscored the extent to which Halakhah is profoundly concerned for mental well-being. Addressing this timely issue, Sharon Galper Grossman and Shamai A. Grossman offer a comprehensive overview of relevant halakhic perspectives on mental health and Halakhah.

Jesse Lempel argues that the halakhic category of pidyon shevuyim might extend to prisoners held in unsafe conditions, safe as during the current pandemic.

Ezra Zuckerman Sivan examines how the yibbum triangle of Ruth, Tamar, and Lot's daughters teaches us how to rebuild our lives in a time of upheaval.

Ben Greenfield looks at the similarity between Sefirah observances and quarantine, and suggests a new way to understand the connection.

Sharon Galper Grossman and Shamai A. Grossman, leading doctors writing from quarantine, explain why even the Noda be-Yehuda, who requires that the sick person be before us, would agree that a public health crisis is subject to the leniencies of pikuah nefesh. Subject Line: Quarantine, a Cruise Ship, and the Parameters of Pikuah Nefesh.

Rav Ronen Neuwirth suggests that the strictures of social distancing enable us to reduce this year's Lag BaOmer bonfires - which he sees as a very good thing.

Gabriel Greenberg looks at a Talmudic passage on what to do when you don’t know which day is Shabbat and the insights it provides for our current situation.

When Synagogues Reopen, May the Congregation Permit a Bar Mitzvah Boy to Make Up His Torah Reading? Moshe Kurtz weighs in.

Whom did the Spanish Flu take from our community 100 years ago? Zev Eleff introduces us to the forgotten legacy of Solomon Hurwitz, the founding principal of Yeshiva University's boys' high school, and a pioneer of Torah U-madda.

Ezra Sivan follows up last year's piece about how the Exodus leveled social boundaries with an article about what the Pesah story teaches us about social distancing today.