Lubavitch HQ Statements on Coronavirus

By COLlive reporter

Agudas Chassidei Chabad International, the umbrella group of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, and Merkos L’inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of Chabad which oversees Chabad centers and institutions, both issued statements about the outbreak of coronavirus.

Writing on behalf of Aguch, its Chairman Rabbi Avraham Shemtov said the “current situation is worrying” and encouraged Chabad Chassidim to follow the instructions of the government and medical experts. Chassidishe Rabbonim should be consulted as well.

As for Chabad centers and institutions, Rabbi Shemtov wrote in the Hebrew letter that “the rule is that in each location, the Head Shliach should make decisions according to the local circumstances.”

Rabbi Shemtov and members of Aguch will be visiting the Rebbe’s Ohel on Monday to daven and read a “Pan Kloli”. Names can be added via email: [email protected].

Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, Chairman of Merkos as well as Machne Israel Development Fund, issued the following statement in English:

During these trying days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries serving in 108 countries and thousands of communities around the world are doing their utmost to provide calm and support while following protocol to protect their own safety and the safety of their communities.

Chabad emissaries are adapting as per local guidelines, and are working to the best of their abilities to help those in need, especially the most vulnerable. With the forthcoming Passover holiday, they will attempt—within these curtailed circumstances—to ensure that people will not go without matzah, and without a Passover Seder.

An event like this reminds us of the fragility of our existence. The disruption of our frenzied routines by a force that is beyond our control, compels us to pause, to take time to focus on existential matters of life, meaning and purpose. Now is the time to review the quality of our relationships with family—especially parents and grandparents—friends and neighbors.

This outbreak challenges us to consider the health of our spiritual life and to deepen our faith. In keeping with our Jewish teachings, we know that there are no random events. Our trust that G-d choreographs each moment with deliberate intention prompts us to reflect on this crisis and take away lessons that make us wiser, and our world better.

Specifically, the virus reminds us that none of us is an island; that each one of us affects others and is affected by others—across oceans and continents. And if—as this virus underscores—something as small as a microbe is all it takes to trigger a global crisis, every deliberate act of goodness that we practice can create a positive universal transformation.

Let us then move past our instinctual reaction of fear and worry, and summon the courage to respond responsibly, with generosity and kindness to our fellow human beings. Perhaps you know of an elderly individual or a neighbor in need. Call to check up on them; find a way to bring them food, cheer, or other necessary provisions.

The need is great and all of us are affected. How well we come together in support of a mutual vision of hope and healing will determine the outcome of this crisis, and make all the difference to humanity and to our world.