The Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah released the following letter regarding the uptick in COVID-19 cases and the pursuant shutdown of shuls, botei medrash, and mosdos hachinuch:

Our community finds itself in a terrible situation. First, we are looking at the further spread of COVID-19. Second, we are facing the awful reality of the curtailment of shul attendance and the closure of Torah institutions – both yeshivas, in whose merit the world exists, and Bais Yaakovs, without which there is no future for our nation.

It is obvious that we need to search for any possible methods to continue the education of our youth: Spiritual danger is even higher than physical danger. Yet, we have to put all our efforts towards adhering to the law and to the direction of medical experts. Certainly, we may not provoke through protests and unruliness against the government, something which has already caused an appalling desecration of Hashem’s Name, Rachmana litzlan.

It is our obligation now to pray and cry out to Hashem because of these troubles, as we are obligated to do in every situation where the public faces danger, as stated in the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah (at the beginning of Hilchos Ta’anis), until, in that merit Hashem will withdraw His anger from His nation.

May it be His will that our prayers be accepted and that catastrophe is not heard in our communities; may Hashem send from on high complete recovery to our brethren’s illness; may learning Torah and proper education of our children recover their former status; and may we merit that the voice of Yaakov – the words of Torah – emanate from our shuls and places of learning and that we soon see the salvation of our people, individually and collectively.

Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of America