http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/289460
A leading Sephardic haredi rabbi ruled Monday that prayer groups must exclude worshippers who aren’t wearing face masks, calling their prayers “an abomination”.
Rabbi Ben Zion Mutzafi said during his weekly lecture at the Musayof synagogue in Jerusalem that it is “forbidden” to pray with people who don’t have masks on during prayer.
“There are people outside who don’t have masks. You can’t include these people in prayer quorums [minyanim], it is forbidden to pray with them.”
“Their prayers are an abomination, since they are hurting others, God help us. They may have a beard, sidelocks, a long jacket, a gartel [prayer belt] and who knows what else – they can put on a shtreimel too even on a weekday, it won’t help.”
The variety of frum opinions regarding social distancing is amazing. Regarding those who back up carelessness with halachic sources, I am reminded of the man who kept a gold goblet in his sukkah and was amazed after it was stolen.
ReplyDelete"How's that possible?" he exclaimed. "According to the laws of levud the sukkah was completely shut!"