Why Did I Choose to Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19? Part II.

 

Parashat Tzav

In Part I of this article, featured last week, Parashat Vayikra, we discussed the Torah criteria for deciding who is to be trusted in medical issues, since a non-professional reader has no ability to assess the arguments circulating regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. I also shared with you my results when checking the credibility of two Anti-Vaxxers. Furthermore, I compared the number who died from COVID-19 with those who died from the COVID-19 vaccine. Finally, I briefly addressed the question of whether the current pandemic is a hoax invented by ‘Big Pharma.’ Read Part I of this article. I got more comments on my blog and also privately than I could have imagined. I only responded occasionally, due to time constraints, and also because I don’t believe that it is possible to convince the anti-waxers (by the way that word is not meant derogatorily and I certainly didn’t use it to vilify anyone, but only to write more concisely). I do not expect you all to agree with everything I write although I’m happy for comments, but let us keep them on the topic, without making hateful judgments. 

Has the COVID-19 Vaccine Been Properly Tested?

I do understand those who are hesitating to get the COVID-19 vaccine due to it being relatively new, without much time to prove or disprove whether the vaccine could cause long-term side effects, G-d forbid. Yet, considering the devastating pandemic, that has claimed millions of lives worldwide and more than 6,000 lives in Israel alone, it is understandable that the FDA granted emergency validation to Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, a year after the outbreak of the pandemic. This was only after the vaccine had been going through rigorous phase III clinical trials, tested on more than 30.000 volunteers, and proven safe and efficient by numerous competent experts. In order to be qualified for evaluation by the FDA, the vaccine must first be approved by the DSMB, which is composed of independent experts, who remain anonymous, to prevent pressure from vaccine manufacturers and government officials. Today, more than 14 million people have been vaccinated and monitored. Although common side effects include sore muscles, headaches, and fatigue, these discomforts typically subside after 1-2 days. The COVID-19 vaccines in current use did not show evidence of unexpected serious adverse events. The effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccination is furthermore verified by the fact that thank G-d, Israel sees a 60% drop in hospitalizations for age 60-plus 3 weeks after the 1st shot. The effectiveness of the vaccine is even more evident from the drastic decline of active cases of COVID-19 in Israel from when the immunization of the vaccine kicked in (about 1-3 weeks after receiving the second shot). On Feb 4, three days before the end of the third lockdown in Israel, there were still 80,889 active cases of COVID-19. Despite opening the lockdown on February 7th, the active cases have steadily gone down, and today, March 24, Baruch Hashem we are down to 14,002 active cases on  Worldmeter Israel. Thus, since the vaccination, the active cases declined more than 65,000 cases so far!

Hashem Prepares the Cure Before the Wound 

We have a Talmudic principle, that Hashem always prepares the cure before the wound (Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 13b). More than 30 years ago, the method of mRNA used in Pfizer vaccines today, was developed by a Hungarian female biochemist called Katalin Karikó, based on scientific discoveries launched in 1961. Karikó was an ugly duckling in the academic world, but she persisted in her research, until, together with Drew Weissman, she finally received patents for the mRNA technology in 2012. When mice were injected with this modified mRNA, they lived. Both my mind and heart resonate very much with Karikó, and I believe she is sincere when she says, “I always wanted to help people…That was the motivation for me, and I was always optimistic. But to help that many people, I never imagined that… ”

What do the Rabbis Say? 

It is easy to compose a long list of rabbis who are both for and against anything because the term ‘Rabbi’ is very broad. It ranges from a Cheder rabbi, who teaches 5-year-olds, to a halachic posek, whose authority to render halachic decisions is accepted by hundreds of thousands of Jews. The anti-vaxxer list of supporting rabbis does not include top halachic poskim (halachic authorities). As expected, many of the rabbis opposing the vaccine are Breslev, a group known to shun the use of medicine in general. Rabbinic halachic authority, including those in the forefront of medicine and halacha, concede that receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is a halachic obligation, for the sake of saving lives. The rabbis concur that there is a Torah halachic obligation for an individual Jew to expose himself to a minimal future danger, in order to save someone else from a greater present danger. There is a halachic consensus that this is the quality of righteousness (Rashi, T. (2018). When the Arrow Came before the Trolley: Jewish Perspectives on the Trolley Dilemma. Philosophia, 46, 193–206). This halachic principle is explained well by Rav Asher Weiss, Rosh Kollel, Av Beit Din, and the posek for Shaarei Zedek hospital, responsible for answering weighty questions that require a blend of Torah erudition, a background in medical knowledge, and sensitivity to the issues involved. Another well-known Rabbi and Israel Prize laureate, who adheres to this halachic principle is Rabbi Professor Avraham Steinberg, who serves as Director of the Medical Ethics Unit & Chairman, IRB Committee, and is Senior Child Neurologist at Shaare Zedek Hospital; Chief Editor of the 27 volume Head of the Talmudic Encyclopedia, and author of the Encyclopedia of Jewish Medical Ethics. I am not attempting to supply a comprehensive list, but it includes Rabbis Chaim Kanievsky, Gershon Edelstein and Shalom Cohen, and many other highly respected Rabbis in the world of halacha. Also, the Biala Rabbi, Rabbi Ben Tzion Rabbinowitzthe late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, believed in the importance of vaccines. “For preventive medicine to be most successful and effective, it is necessary to start it from earliest childhood—beginning with vaccination…” There is virtually no dispute among contemporary rabbinic authorities (including Chareidi rabbis) regarding the halachic position justifying vaccination. Therefore, the reasons that some Chareidi communities apparently advocate vaccine hesitancy and skepticism are simply not rooted in any halachic approach… (Jewish Ethics Regarding Vaccination, Tsuriel Rashi, The Moskowitz School of Communication, Ariel University). 

Torah Sources on Vaccinations 

The Rabbis’ ruling, mandating COVID-19 vaccination, is based on Torah sources and the rulings of the Rabbinic authorities that preceded them. Commenting on the Torah verse, “Beware for yourself; and guard your soul and body” (Devarim 4:9), the Rambam writes, “It is a positive mitzvah to remove any obstacle that could pose a danger to life, and to be very careful regarding these matters. If a person leaves a dangerous obstacle and does not remove it, he negates the observance of a positive commandment, and violates the negative commandment: Do not cause blood to be spilled. Our Sages forbade many matters because they involve a threat to life. Whenever a person transgresses these guidelines, saying: I will risk my life, what does this matter to others, or I am not careful about these things, he should be punished by stripes for rebelliousness” (Rambam, Laws of Murder and the Preservation of Life 11:4-5). This principle, which prevents life-threatening danger is reflected in the Shulchan Aruch: “For any matter that threatens human life, there is a positive commandment to remove it and to guard against it and to be very careful about the matter, as is written, “beware and guard your soul” (Devarim 4:9). If a person does not remove it but leaves the matter resulting in danger, he nullifies a positive mitzvah and transgresses [the negative mitzvah] “you shall not cause blood [to be spilled]” (Devarim 22:8). Anyone who transgresses one of these things and related items, and says, ‘Behold I endanger myself and others,’ or ‘I am not careful in this,’ [the Court] gives him lashes for rebellion, yet, those who guard themselves against these will receive good blessings” (Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 427:8,10). 

On this background, Dr. Edward Jenner’s development of the first vaccine for smallpox, in 1796 was welcomed in the Jewish world. The leading 19th-century sage,  Rabbi Yisrael Lifschitz (1782–1860, Danzig) wrote, “…the righteous Jenner, who has invented this vaccine, is certainly one of the righteous among the Nations and will be rewarded in the next world for having saved thousands and tens of thousands from illness, death and the plague” (Tiferes Yisrael, Pirkei Avot 3:14). Even in the past, when vaccination was much more dangerous than today, the halachic authorities recommended them: “Although, there may be a certain danger caused by the vaccination, and some died through vaccination since the danger of avoiding the vaccination is so much greater, one is obligated to become vaccinated” (Tiferes Yisrael, Yoma 8:3). Avraham Hamburg collected several halachic responsa of the Rabbis of his time who answered unanimously that one must get vaccinated. This was despite the fact that in their time, some people would indeed die from the vaccine (Abraham ben Solomon, Aleh Terufah [Leaf of Healing],1785). “In (the previous generation), praise be to Hashem, we had expert physicians, who produced safe vaccines, which are used daily (Zivchei Tzedek). And now, physicians have become wiser, making an injection with a needle in the arm of the children, whereby, the children do not contract smallpox” (Rabbi Chaim Falagi, 1786-1868, Turkey, Kaf Hachayim, Yoreh Deah 116:60). 

What Convinced me to Get Vaccinated 

When I heard COVID-19 Vaccine in Halacha A Shiur By HaRav Asher Weiss Shlit"a,

I was extremely touched, not only by the Rabbi’s Torah erudition and the logical sequence of the many halachic sources that he quoted but by his caring, loving attitude. He spoke about feeling the pain of others and caring to do everything in our power to diminish their falling ill and suffering. “People are dying, people are suffering, but we can alleviate this awful pain, and diminish the suffering and save many people…” With these words, Rav Asher Weiss lifted me out of my selfishness, which I had, unfortunately, absorbed from my surroundings, thinking, “why should I, a healthy individual, risk bringing toxins into my system, when, most likely, I would survive, if G-d forbid, I was to contract COVID-19. Rabbi Weiss reminded me that we should care not only about ourselves. Rather, we need to feel the pain of others. People are suffering and dying by the millions, but if we are willing to do a small sacrifice, entailed by the risk of taking the relatively safe vaccine, we have the ability to end the pandemic. The Torah teaches us to care for the general community and mandates that we take a small risk, even to our own lives, in order to save many more lives in the long run. This caring attitude was a jarring contrast with what Sherri Tenpenny uttered: “I told all my family that if you get the vaccine, I will not take care of you when you get sick, I will not shop or cook for you or support you in any way.” This statement is diametrically opposed to the Torah outlook and halacha. For example, even when a person caused his own dangerous illness, we are still obligated to break Shabbat to take care of him or her (Rabbi Asher Weiss, The Laws of Healing on Shabbat and Yom Kippur pg. 28). The anti-vaxxers condemn the doctors, the medical system, and the government as being one big conspiracy, claiming that they will purposely try to kill us with their vaccine, whereas the inventors of the COVID-19 vaccine and the rabbis who advocate it, emphasize the importance of saving lives. When King Solomon decided the dispute between the two women, both claiming to be the mother of the same baby, he noticed that one claimed, “her baby is dead!” whereas, the other emphasized, “my baby is alive”. The wisest of all men then knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that the one who emphasized life spoke the truth (Malbim I Melachim 3:22). 

Some Recommended Relevant Articles and Videos of Halachic Approaches to Vaccine and more:
https://revivimen.yhb.org.il/2021/01/01/vaccination-against-the-corona-virus/
https://traditiononline.org/halakha-approaches-the-covid-19-vaccine/#easy-footnote-bottom-4-13392
https://www.yutorah.org/download.cfm?materialID=550132
https://www.chabad.org/therebbe/letters/default_cdo/aid/2185973/jewish/Vaccination-and-To
https://academic.oup.com/phe/article/13/2/215/5877016?searchresult=1
https://www.thelehrhaus.com/commentary/vaccines-hysteria-and-rabbinic-responsibility-a-plea-from-the-trenches/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvdRqMiPfL4...
https://www.timesofisrael.com/top-ultra-orthodox-rabbis-recommend-community-vaccinate-against-covid-19/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/orthodox-rabbis-in-us-israel-tell-followers-to-vaccinate-but-will-they-listen/
https://www.thelakewoodscoop.com/news/2020/12/forgery-harav-shmuel-kamenetzky-disputes-individuals-who-falsely-claimed-his-endorsement-against-covid-vaccine.html
https://5townscentral.com/2020/12/14/rav-shmuel-kamenetsky-responds-to-a-false-letter-in-his-name-regarding-covid-vaccine/
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/04/wellness-qanon-coronavirus/
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-25841-001