Dei'ah Vedibur - Information &
Insight
  

A Window into the Chareidi World

4 Cheshvan, 5781 - October 22, 2020 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
NEWS

OPINION
& COMMENT

OBSERVATIONS

HOME
& FAMILY

IN-DEPTH
FEATURES

VAAD HORABBONIM HAOLAMI LEINYONEI GIYUR

TOPICS IN THE NEWS

POPULAR EDITORIALS

HOMEPAGE

 

Produced and housed by
chareidi.org
chareidi.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEWS
The Long Lockdowns of the Past: Tiveria and Noach

by D. Tzfatman

In 5586, one hundred and ninety-five years ago, there was a terrible outbreak of cholera in Eretz Yisroel. It spread from the Upper Galilee and felled many victims among the Arab population.

This was at the beginning of the Chassidic settlement in the Holy Land. HaRav Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk gathered around him a concentration of chassidim. At the onset of the plague, he organized a quarantine or lockdown to spare his community from infection; it lasted for a full three months, from Purim until Shavuos.

At this time he owned a large plot of land which was designed for a shul and Torah center. It was walled off on four sides, with no one entering or leaving the premises.

This area was far too small to house the people and allow them their regular requirements, like a mikveh, etc. but it was a refuge from the epidemic. Outside this compound, Arabs and other Jews succumbed to the plague, while those inside remained safe and sound.

The Admor described the situation in a letter, "We enclosed ourselves in the new courtyard... and rejoiced at the kindnesses of Hashem which never ceased... and it serves as a sanctuary and hiding place on the day of His wrath. No one left his doorstep and we lived enclosed and secluded from Purim until Shavuos."

This conduct stemmed from the realization pointed out by HaRav Asher Weiss in his letter, noting that throughout the generations, at a time of an epidemic, Jews would adhere to the directions of their Torah leaders to practice extreme caution in following the rules of self-preservation.

In this context, we bring the words of the Shelah Hakodosh that the first quarantine in the world was that of Noach's ark. He says that the idea behind the ark was to "follow Me; enter your chambers." The ark was a lockdown of sorts to save Noach from peril.

In order that Noach not consider himself a perfect tzaddik who needs not protect him from outside influence, Hashem declared that "Noach was a righteous man in his generation." In comparison to his entire generation, he as a tzaddik, but this did not exempt him from isolating himself during the `plague' when Satan was given free rein to do as he wished.

 

All material on this site is copyrighted and its use is restricted.
Click here for conditions of use.