Amid an outbreak of measles in the city of Modi’in Illit, the city Rabbanim published a letter this week calling on the public to urgently vaccinate themselves and their children against the disease.
An outbreak of measles in Israel began last month, including in several Chareidi cities. There are currently 14 cases in Modi’in Ilit, eight in Jerusalem, and eight in Bnei Brak.
According to data from the Health Ministry, there are about 350,000 Israeli children under the age of 10 who are not vaccinated – 100,000 of them in the Chareidi community.
The Health Ministry is working to raise awareness of the risks and provide accessible information about vaccinations to the Chareidi public.
In their letter, the Rabbanim warn against the dangers posed by the measles outbreak, especially among children and adults in at-risk groups, emphasizing that “vaccinating against measles is part of the mitzvah of ‘ונשמרתם מאוד לנפשותיכם,’ a mitzvas aseih d’oraisa that should not be taken lightly. And as Chazal taught us: ‘חמירא סכנתא מאיסורא.'”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
Are people so feeble minded that they have to ask a rabbi about a health issue instead of listening to physicians?
We listen to daas torah….until here. For some reason this is where people get smarter and start to call the rabbis naive and paid off or whatever disgusting things they say to feel better about not complying