AN URGENT PLEA TO ALL RELIGIOUS JEWS IN NEW YORK:
In the near future, our city and state governments are planning to mandate a deadly injection for all five-year-olds - as a requisite in order to attend school.
In communities like ours, the yeshivas figure to either shut down, or be forced to operate out of basements, just like the "good-old-days" of Communist Russia. Because religious Jews do not seem to be interested in sacrificing their children's health and lives for the so-called "public health" agenda. Instead, when governments mandate it for children in order to attend elementary school, as California has, parents will be pulling their kids out of school, and the Jewish schools will remain empty; or, more likely, operate remotely and illegally. Without government support, tuitions will sky-rocket, and/or yeshivas will struggle to survive, or perhaps even close their doors.
Why is this happening to us?
Today, I mention this frightening and sad reality to an acquaintance of mine. He replied, "Let's think good it will be good." And added, "They will plan their evil plans against us, but they will fail."
Yes, he is right, but it doesn't mean that there's nothing we can do about it. Besides for prayer and to "think good," we must ACT.
"Act?" you ask. What can we possibly do? This is a decree against our faith, against our people, against our children's lives, or against their ability to receive a religious education. It seems to be coming from Above, as everything does. And so, if "we can't fight city hall," as the saying goes, then we certainly can't fight a decree from Above.
I beg to differ.
If it's from Above, and it most certainly is, then there must be a cause, some sort of catalyst. There must be some way we can avert the decree, to fix a wrong-doing and bring salvation to the world.
So perhaps it's time for a little communal introspection. Perhaps, with a little soul-searching, we can figure out the root of the problem.
We must ask ourselves:
Why would our once friendly governments now be forcing our kids out of yeshiva? Why would G-d be allowing this to happen?
Indeed. The Maimonides rules (in Hilchos Taanis 1:2) that "when a trouble comes and they cry out [to G-d]... they will realize that it was because of their evil deeds that this bad was done to them... And this is what will cause them to remove the trouble from upon them."
But what could we have done wrong do deserve this? Why must our communities suffer by having our children thrown out of yeshiva?
So here's a suggestion.
Only two and half years ago, when the state government of NY revoked religious exemptions for all NY school children - our Jewish communities remained silent. Our rabbanim said nothing. Our Jewish community activists said nothing. Thousands of Jewish children were out of yeshiva - but not a peep from our communal leaders.
On the contrary. Our religious leaders, for the most part, SUPPORTED the government's decision. Our "heimishe" doctors had even LOBBIED the state officials to vote for this bill. Some of our rabbanim, like here in Crown Heights, openly agreed with the government's decree to throw children out of yeshiva. Others, as mentioned, were quiet.
(The only rabbi who vocalized opposition to the decree was my brother, Rabbi Michoel Green, who was later delisted by the politically-correct directorship of Chabad Lubavitch)
I rehash this painful episode in the history of Jewish education in America not just to shed tears for the months of bittul Torah for thousands of children; or for the children whose removal from yeshiva caused them to leave the fold, to abandon the ways of their ancestors, may Hashem protects us (Without Torah education, which was now withheld from them, many of them could not progress in their path of observance, as is self-explanatory). I mention this suffering because this is what seems to be happening again!
Indeed! The very same religious leaders who were silent while thousands of Jewish children were ruthlessly denied a Jewish education are now going to watch this happen to ALL children in their communities!
And that's why I mention this recent historical calamity. Because maybe we call all realize why, perhaps, our entire communities were at fault. For not standing up for the children.
I do not point fingers. It's not about chastising our hapless leaders. It's about - where do we go from here? It's about: A CALL TO ACTION.
Let us all stand up now. Forcing an injection upon a child is evil. To disallow religious exemptions for children whose parent choose not to endanger their lives for the sake of others, especially since their is no factual evidence that an unvaccinated child passes any disease to an elderly or infirm person - is immoral. It is tyranny. It is a war against religion, a war against children, and a war against G-d.
Perhaps if our yeshiva administrations, our rabbis, our activists, and all parents of all children in our communities, can realize the wrongdoing that was perpetrated against thousand of our children - perhaps they can start issuing apologies. That's it. Perhaps a simple "We're sorry" can help avert the decree that is now poised to shut down all our yeshivas.
Yes - yeshiva administrator, I'm talking to you. Sit down this week and call each and every child that you threw out of school in 2019, and say - "I'm sorry."
Yes, Rabbi So-and-so, member of the community Beis Din. Or Rabbi Ploni, rav of the shul. Sit down this week and write an apology letter to the children of your communities who were thrown out of yeshiva two years ago. Apologize to them for not coming to their aid. For saying nothing. Or even worse, for supporting the yeshivas and the government for banning them from Torah educations.
But most of all - all members of Jewish communities of NY and environs. Let us ALL say sorry to these children. Because we ALL remained silent.
Let us not repeat the wrongdoing. But apologizing, we recognize the iniquity, and we can make amends to not repeat it.
Perhaps this apology will be the necessary step to avert the decree.
