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| Hoshana Raba Bobov 45 |
Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox congregants attended an indoor prayer service in Borough Park on Friday in open defiance of Governor Andrew Cuomo newly imposed restrictions on religious gatherings in COVID hotspots. The service was led by a prominent rabbi who tested positive for coronavirus one week ago, multiple sources told Gothamist.
For five hours on Friday, roughly 300 people gathered without masks inside the Bobov-45 synagogue on 15th Avenue, according to one person in the room. Mordechai Dovid Unger, the grand rabbi of the Hasidic dynasty, led the ceremony from behind a plexiglass shield.
Congregants of Bobov-45 say they were informed by synagogue leaders last Friday that Unger would miss the first night of Sukkot due to a positive coronavirus diagnosis. He made brief appearances outside the synagogue later in the weekend alongside a physician, but then stopped coming, sources said.
In an Instagram post on Sunday, the local news site BoroPark24 reported that Unger had tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing mild symptoms.
Two members of the Bobov-45 community, who asked that their names be withheld out of fear of reprisal, said they were shocked by Unger's decision to return to the synagogue for a full service on Friday.
"My reaction was, that’s very selfish and unethical and just crazy," said the person who attended today's service.
Another source told Gothamist he'd been avoiding the synagogue since hearing the news last Friday. "I used to be there all the time" he said. "But it's just not safe. They're not doing the right thing."
The illicit religious gathering comes one day after Governor Cuomo ordered new restrictions for neighborhoods — including Borough Park — currently experiencing a spike in COVID cases. The governor has explicitly singled out synagogues, noting this week that "one of the prime places of mass gatherings are houses of worship."
The governor's decision to limit the capacity of religious services in the cluster zone to just 10 people has enraged many in the ultra-Orthodox community, prompting fierce protests this week that at times erupted in violence. A lawsuit filed by an ultra-Orthodox interest seeking a restraining order on the restrictions was rejected by a judge on Friday.
A person who attended the Bobov-45 service said that the resurgence of the pandemic — and the rabbi's personal test result — was not mentioned on Friday. "It seems like no one’s concerned," he said. "Everyone believes they got the virus already."
Health officials have stressed that there is no evidence of herd immunity in any part of the city.
Inquiries to the synagogue were not returned. Reached by phone, another rabbi at the synagogue said he couldn't talk because he was sick in bed (the man said he did not have COVID).
Neither the Mayor's Office nor Governor's Office responded to request for comment on the gathering.
Both Cuomo and de Blasio have repeatedly promised a large-scale enforcement effort in cluster areas. After the governor criticized the city's enforcement efforts, the mayor announced this week that houses or worship that don't comply with the new restrictions could be fined $15,000 per day.
The person who attended the service said he saw no sign of police or other enforcement personnel in the vicinity of the synagogue.
Participants in Friday's service were observing Hoshana Rabbah, one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar, and the final day of Sukkot. This weekend marks Simchat Torah, a joyous celebration that typically involves large crowds and dancing.
Some Hasidic health care workers have warned the festivities could drastically accelerate the spread of the virus.
“It’s going to be like the apocalypse,” Blima Marcus, an ultra-Orthodox nurse practitioner in Borough Park, told Gothamist earlier this week. “I don’t see how that can end well."
I don't know if masks are 100% protection and some doctors even feel that they don't work , so I'm not posting here about the science of it. I wear the mask when I'm with people since I'm in a high risk category who tested negative 3 months ago, so I have no antibodies, but I'll test again soon, because some days I'm not feeling 100%.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile in the red zones here in Brooklyn, younger members of my family came down with Corona last week as did a relative residing in my house. 3 members of my shul tested positive as well. Thank G-D the symptoms aren't as severe as happened months ago, but people are still getting it and some are critical.
Now, here's my beef:
When Cuomo & DeBlasio , who otherwise are nursing home murderers and allow BLM criminals full reign on the streets , warned that shuls, mosdos and businesses will be shut down , when TV news crews showed up near my block to film maskless Jews going into shuls , and despite that , people walked to shuls/stores maskless, then that is a problem. The issue for us is not whether they are hypocrites, or in Israel, if the government are hypocrites when allowing maskless demonstrations while trying to enforce hareidi compliance.
A week before , Cuomo warned the residents that he'll shut down … Our shul administration announced to members, that regardless of whether you already had the virus, or whether you're uncomfortable wearing one , please wear it to shul ...they're watching..
That Thursday, huge posters in Yiddish asked and begged the community to obey the guidlines…. wear masks and social distance in shuls/stores.
Most didn't give a damn..! Friday night was a bit crowded, 95% no masks, and I left.
A maskless wise-ass tells me without provocation .." So you're wearing a mask.. Stay home, don't come to shul, I'll walk by your house, look out the window and I'll wave to you."
I ranted to some outside as we left shul and paraphrasing myself, I said :
" ...You guys don't give a tinker's damn if people lose their parnassah altogether after struggling for months. You don't give a damn if people get sick..Even if the mask doesn't help, can you just wear it so the reporters see our compliance ? Do you know the entire world is watching what we're doing ??
Where do you think you are?.." Don't you care if families are massively on Tomchei Shabbos ???
Today Simchat Torah, it got a big crowded , mostly unmasked , … after shachris, I left.
Now.. I don't want to hear sermons ad nauseum about why G-D gave Covid? Save it for a better day, becaue it's still
ongoing and NOTHING changed as far as we Yiddien are concerned.... Stop writing your banal ,trite columns and YouTube toilelach ( I assume that.. I don't watch them ) unless you 'll be talking tachlis..!
Nobody learned anything form Covid..
I'm a p/t employee in a certain "business/institution " and now I lost my job until Cuomo reopens. I and my coworkers.
Do you give a crap ???.. HA !!
Bim-Bam-Gonie