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Fortunately, I live in an area that has had an active Eruv for the last few years. For the first few months of the pandemic, this was actually not much of an issue. Local regulations prohibited gro...
Answer
#1: Initial revision
by
manassehkatz
·
2022-06-27T02:51:33Z (almost 2 years ago)
Fortunately, I live in an area that has had an active Eruv for the last few years. For the first few months of the pandemic, this was actually not much of an issue. Local regulations prohibited group religious gatherings, indoors or out. When regulations loosened a bit to allow small gatherings, indoors or out, then it became critical. In my synagogue, we had a temporary policy decisions of "bring your own Siddur" out of concern of transmission of virus through repeated contact of the same item. We had contingency plans - since there was limited attendance due to local regulations, we could set up separate boxes of Siddurim for each Minyan - but we never needed to do that. In any case, while Davening with a Minyan is considered a very important Mitzvah, it does not override Shabbos. Very few Mitzvos outside the Beis Hamikdash do. A Bris on the 8th day does override Shabbos, but: * The Mohel must prepare things in advance (he has a week to do so). * If the birth took place in Bein Hashmashos (twilight) Friday night or Saturday night then the Bris is pushed to Sunday. * If there is a C-section, the Bris is pushed to Sunday. * If the baby was sick and the Bris was delayed such that Shabbos is the first possible day, it is pushed to Sunday. On the other hand: * Blowing the Shofar is not done on Shabbos outside the Beis Hamikdash, not because of the act itself (a musical instrument of sorts, which would be prohibited if it were not a Mitzvah) but *because of the concern about carrying the Shofar outside an Eruv*! There are only two days a year to blow the Shofar - and in some years we skip one (and arguably the "best" one because Rosh Hashanah can be Saturday/Sunday but never Friday/Saturday) even in places that have an Eruv. * The Torah Mitzvah of Lulav is on the first day of Sukkos. The other days, outside the Beis Hamikdash, are a Rabbinic Mitzvah. And yet we do not do this Mitzvah on Shabbos even if if it is the first day of Sukkos, *because of the concern about carrying a Lulav outside an Eruv*! There are so many reasons why a person can't Daven with a Minyan: * Health concerns (individually or, as in the case of COVID-19, as a group) * Not enough Jews in a small area * Fear of anti-semitism * Not permitted by the government (i.e., specifically about Jews, not general gatherings) COVID-19 is just the latest reason, but it doesn't change the Halachic parameters.