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2020-04-09

The Challenge of Social Distancing in Hasidic Communities

Frimet Goldberger writes about the effects COVID-19 is having on the Hasidic community in New York City, and also points out how their traditions and lifestyle are contributing to the exacerbated effects of the virus within their community. Household numbers considerably larger than the average American household, a deeply communal lifestyle, a lack of access to the news, and distrust in secular authorities and science are all contributing to the intensified effects that COVID-19 is having on the Hasidic community. Instead of blaming Hasidic Jews as a whole, Goldberger points a finger at rabbis that are in the position to warn their community about the threat of the virus and encourage social distancing protocol but choose not to.