Lakewood: What Have We Got? על כבודי לא מחיתם

בס"ד

!!!!על כבודי לא מחיתם

Lakewood:  What Have We Got?

               A town of 100,000, many families, tens of thousands of children and the variety of institutions that cater to them. Most families (mine included), to various degrees, give their children assorted vaccines. The schools always insisted that all their students be vaccinated. However, no school got full compliance as some families do not subscribe to vaccination. They've been dubbed Vaxers and Anti Vaxers. In the last few weeks Lakewood had over 100 children barred from their respective schools due to an outbreak of Measles.

In some instances, this step was taken at the behest of teachers banding together threatening to walk of the job if unvaccinated children are permitted to attend school. In other instances, the school administration acted on their own.      As of this writing, they are still unwilling to vaccinate. As a result, they remain out of school.

We see in the gemara (sanhedrin 110.): When Korach and his assembly rebelled against Moshe Rabeinu, the sun and the moon said before Hashem, “רבש"ע if you render justice for Moshe then we will go out and illuminate the earth. But if You won't we will not illuminate the earth.” Until Hashem hurled arrows at them saying to them, “בכבודי לא מחיתם בכבוד בשר ודם מחיתם” when all the kings of the east and west don their crowns and they bow to the sun, you didn't protest. When the Jews bowed to the egel you didn't protest. For My honor you didn't protest, but for the honor of a בשר ודם you do protest?

The same objection “בכבודי לא מחיתם בכבוד בשר ודם מחיתם” with much more serious consequences is also in the gemara (sanhedrin 103:). At the end of sefer Shoftim we learn of a civil war between shevet Binyamin and the rest of klal Yisroel who were upset that shevet Binyamin refused to help pursue the perpetrators of the crime known as פלגש בגבעה. Klal Yisroel asked if they should go to war with shevet Binyamin. Hashem answered in the affirmative.

However, the first two days of war cost Klal Yisroel 40,000 people. The gemara says this tragic result was on account of פסל מיכה. Hashem said, “בכבודי לא מחיתם בכבוד בשר ודם מחיתם”. At the affront of My honor when פסל מיכה was set up you did not protest. Yet at the affront to the honor of flesh and blood you did protest.

I'm afraid that the רבש"ע's cry, “בכבודי לא מחיתם בכבוד בשר ודם מחיתם” is staring us in the face. We in Lakewood have certain positive traits that make us truly shine. At the same time, we have a number of issues plaguing our town. Technology related breaches, Sheitel and other dress code standards infractions, talking in shul, loshon hara, and bitul Torah, are some subjects that are spoken often about. There is a certain level of compliance on all these issues from the community as a whole as well as on the individual level. But there is a way to go. Yet not once did we band together – for Hashem's sake, to force compliance.

Never did we crackdown to get 100% compliance of whatever level of technology control we would like to see in our schools.

Never did a school demand of the parents or personnel  sheitel and dress code conformity with expulsion consequences.       

Never did a shul, shut its doors tightly to anyone not living up to 'no talking in shul'.

Never did we ban a child from school until his father is – at least - kovea itim to learn Torah every day.

Any less than 100% compliance to any of these issues, undeniably, has an adverse effect on our children, and in much greater proportions than the spread of Measles through non- vaccinated children.

בכבודי לא מחיתם בכבוד בשר ודם מחיתם

The one time we saw a real serious crackdown was now with the Measles fiasco. The few school children whose parents won't vaccinate are banned with all severeness from their chadorim.  The vaccination compliance rate is by far higher than any of the other issues discussed here, yet here we came down so harsh to force compliance – something we never did for Hashem's sake.

 Aren't we going to have to pay for that?  

And to make matters worse: Who is expelled? The goy who cleans the cheder? We don't even ask them for their immunization record. We keep them employed in our homes as well never even question their personal issues such as vaccination. The only ones banned are the children coming to learn Hashem's Torah.

We even are machmir more than the Health Department's recommendation. While they recommend taking precautionary measures only in a school where a Measles case was confirmed, we consider all schools in Lakewood as one big school. If a case was confirmed in one school – or anywhere in Lakewood for that matter – then all non-vaccinated children from any school stay home for weeks. We didn't do any of this when the issues were strictly for the sake of Hashem.

And where are these children banned from? The grocery stores? The play-ground in their complex? The Park? The restaurant? The shul where they Daven together with their non-vaccinated classmates? Never! They are only banned from the place they come to learn Torah.!!!

Our community at large interacts with everyone – including non-vaccinated children – all day long, where ever they go, non-vaccinated workers in restaurants, food service, school kitchens, etc., but the only concern of contamination is at the place they learn Torah. What message are we giving our children?

בכבודי לא מחיתם בכבוד בשר ודם מחיתם

You may ask, “What exactly is this letter supposed to accomplish?”

*Number one, to acquit myself of the charge of בכבודי לא מחיתם . I did.

*Number two, that you also clear yourself of this בכבודי לא מחיתם.

*Number three, so you and I daven harder for התגלות כבוד שמים.

*Number four, now that we've proven ourselves as warriors who go all out to accomplish what we want, maybe some of that strength will be displayed when it's only for the sake of Hashem.