𝗔 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗨𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀?

What precisely is wrong with certain supposed God-fearing sections of our community? Why do they believe that they are above the law of the land and openly attempt to defy it by blatantly and arrogantly disregarding coronavirus restrictions? These are not isolated cases. We report in today’s edition how hundreds of charedim celebrated a wedding in Beitar Illit, Israel, before the simcha was raided by police.

In Manchester, a wedding, scheduled to take place this week with at least 100 guests, was stopped at the eleventh hour after police received a tip-off. A funeral was apparently held, too, with hundreds participating.

God told Isaiah that Jews were to be a light unto the nations. Far from being a light and an example, this type of behaviour achieves the opposite, holding our community up to deserved contempt and derision. Halacha dictates that the law of the land takes precedence over all else and has to be obeyed. Anyone preaching otherwise is not familiar with the precepts of Jewish law.

At the Holy Law Synagogue, Prestwich, Manchester, no-one without a mask will be admitted to the shul. That includes children and even those whose medical conditions preclude them from covering their noses and mouths. Dr Peter Elton, a member who has advised the executive, rightly declares that saving lives is more important than attending shul. And, he might have added, gathering illegally for Jewish rites of passage.

Perhaps those miscreant sections of the community referred to above might seek his wise counsel, for it is certainly more sage than the advice they are receiving from their so-called religious leaders.