On Thursday morning, the Rabbinical Council of Bergen County, New Jersey, took the unprecedented step of shutting down the area’s Jewish institutions. Even in the face of the deadly and rapidly spreading coronavirus, this could not have been an easy decision; yet, it was the right one and we commend the rabbis’ leadership. Those who do not lead will follow soon enough as mandatory closures and other “social distancing” policies—the only proven method of containing the spread of the coronavirus—become the norm in both secular and religious institutions across the country. But how many lives will be lost or endangered while we wait?
The time to act is now.
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