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1) May a rabbi exercise caution on Shabbat by staying home during threatening weather conditions (like a tornado) instead of being at shul?
2) May he close down the shul for the day to protect the community’s safety?
3) If everything was peachy on Friday night and it all happened at the last minute, would the community know to stay home and keep safe from the storm?
Thank you 🙂
—–Blessings for refuah shlemah and blessings to rebuild speedily in revealed good to and for the people and families and communities who were affected by yesterday’s tornados b’esrat Hashem.
At Least 5 Killed, Dozens Injured After Tornadoes Rip Through Texas [VIDEOS]
Of course, if it is pikuach nefesh to go outside/walk to shul, one would be allowed to daven in private at home.
Rabbis are not required to potentially lose their lives over weather — or, at least, not any more than non-rabbis.
If the weather is inclement to point where there is a real potential for loss of life, yes, the shul should be closed.
If something happened last minute, I’m not sure what you want the rabbi to do about it. Build a time machine to go back in time and warn everyone to stay home?
The Wolf
A few years ago there was a Hurricane either on Yom Kippur or right after Yom Kippur.
The Rabbi in a shul there where someone I know went, davened faster that day and sent everyone home at 4 or 5 and skipped Neilah
If the authorities issue a severe storm warning and tell people to stay indoors, the Rabbi does not have to do anything. People will use their common sense and realize it is pikuach nefesh to go out.
On the contrary. I think the rabbi has a duty to actively make sure his congregants know to stay home. While most will have the common sense to stay home, there will usually be a small number who, out of foolhardiness, genuine righteousness or some combination of the two, will think that they should risk it. It’s the rabbi’s responsibility to actively announce (or get the word out via telephone, email, text message or however) that the shul will be closed during a weather emergency. The rabbi most certainly should not do nothing.
The Wolf
I remember when Hurricane Irene hit us. It started on Shabbos afternoon, and went into Motzei Shabbos.
An email was sent out before Shabbos to the shul membership urging everyone to stay home on Shabbos afternoon if conditions were bad. The Rabbi repeated it after davening Friday night and Shabbos morning.
Sure enough, on Shabbos afternoon, it got bad. I stayed home from shul, and davened Mincha and Maariv at home. I don’t remember what the Rabbi did, I just remember him saying that your safety is more important.You’re right Wolf, I guess I was assuming a certain degree of common sense that might not be universal.
lightbrite,
Tornadoes form from thunderstorms, particularly supercell thunderstorms, which are discrete, small in size (compared to hurricanes and snowstorms, for example), and have a short warning time. It can be sunny and warm just a few miles from a violent tornado.
Large tornado outbreaks can be predicted, sometimes days in advance, but it is impossible to predict the exact path of any tornado until the severe thunderstorms have actually developed. Therefore, I’m not sure closing a shul on a day with an enhanced tornado threat makes sense. Obviously if one hears thunder or sees a storm approaching, he should take shelter and wait for it to pass before venturing outside. Note that in the eastern U.S., most thunderstorms produce very heavy rainfall, and the rain shield may obscure a tornado from view.
Some communities in areas where tornado outbreaks are more likely have warning sirens that sound when a tornado warning is issued. Most communities in the eastern U.S. do not have these sirens. There are weather radios that can be purchased, and set up to sound an alarm if a tornado warning is issued for your local area.
One other thing – if you rely on an eruv and severe weather has struck your area, it is possible that the eruv may be damaged and down.
Avram
There was a Tornado that hit a few Jewish areas in NYC a few years ago a few days before Yom Kippur. it was a very localized Tornado basically only a few blocks wide, but it did hit NYC
Obama Declares Major Disaster for NY After September Tornadoes
zahavasdad,
I remember the event, though I don’t live in NY. The storm produced more than one tornado in the city, as well as extensive straight-line wind damage and large hail. The NYC tornadoes were shorter tracked and less powerful than the ones in Texas a few days ago, but still caused numerous injuries and a couple fatalities.
I remember years ago there was a tornado in the Far Rockaway area. I was in yeshiva at the time, in Darchei Torah. I remember that I was walking to the dormitory, and it was very windy. I looked up and saw a cloud that was spinning quickly, although there was no funnel coming down from it. I thought that it looked like it could spawn a tornado, and the wind was so powerful that things from the ground that were a bit bulky (although not overly so) were beginning to be blown around, and hitting me! I ran into the dorm – I didn’t want to stay outdoors. A few hours later, I heard that there had been a tornado in the area.
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