Musings on Coronavirus from the Torah and Talmud

Could it have been timed more perfectly?

At the start of this week's Torah portion, Ki Tisa, we read: "The Eternal One spoke to Moses, saying: 'Make a laver of copper and a stand of copper for it, for washing; and place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar. Put water in it, and let Aaron and his sons wash their hands and feet [in water drawn] from it. When they enter the Tent of Meeting they shall wash with water, that they may not die; or when they approach the altar to serve, to turn into smoke an offering by fire to the Eternal, they shall wash their hands and feet, that they may not die. It shall be a law for all time for them - for him and his offspring - throughout the ages.'" (Ex 30:17-21)

To situate this text, I'll note that the Torah gives instructions to the Israelites to build the mishkan (tabernacle)... a portable structure that served as the place of worship for the Israelites when they were journeying through the desert.  The priests were instructed to offer sacrifices in the mishkan, and in this week's Torah portion, we learn that they are supposed to wash their hands when they enter the "Tent of Meeting."  Okay, okay, I realize this instruction is specifically for the priests, and it's referring to a ritual hand-washing, but still, this is the general message: "When you come to Temple, wash your hands so you don't die!"  Could that message be any more timely for this week?

Two days ago (Tuesday), we began our JQuest classes at Temple Isaiah by asking each person (student, teacher, teen TA) to wash their hands as they entered.  Our Executive Vice-President stood at the door offering hand sanitizer to each person, or sending them to the bathroom to wash their hands with soap and water.  Literally, "Wash your hands when you enter Temple [so you don't die]!"  Wow, timely, huh?

Less than 24 hours later, the situation in our area changed rapidly enough that we decided to cancel most group gatherings at Temple Isaiah, including JQuest.  While we still encourage hand washing, our day-to-day practices are now different.  "Stay home," we said. "Don't go to places with 50+ people," we said.

In Jewish tradition, we move from study of Torah to study of Rabbinic texts (including the Talmud), since the Rabbis explore and expand on biblical texts.  There is a custom of reading a page of Talmud per day (called "Daf Yomi"), and I've been doing Daf Yomi since the new cycle started in January 2020.  On today's daf (page), we read about four different types of "domains," as defined by the Rabbis:

1) The private domain (r'shut ha'yachid)
2) The public domain (r'shut ha'rabim)
3) Karmelit (a domain that's neither public or private, but somewhere in between... more to come about this)
3) An "exempt" domain (makom pa'toor) (for more about this one, you'll have to get started studying Talmud! It's a bit too complicated for me to explain in this post)

This section of Talmud details things you can and cannot do on Shabbat... in particular, you are not allowed to carry things from one domain to another.  So, it's important to know what a domain is, and when you're moving between domains.

The Talmud gives fairly straightforward definitions for private and public domains.  For our modern purposes, we can think of them like this... a private domain is private to you - i.e. your house.  A public domain has to be very public - a major thoroughfare, for example... a place that is open on both ends, fairly wide, and where thousands of people traverse on a regular basis.  In our world today, we might think of a public domain as something like a highway.  But then there's that third category - karmelit.  There are endless discussions in the Talmud that try to understand the karmelit - it is that 'gray area' when it comes to domains - not quite public, not quite private.

As I've been studying Talmud and reading about these domains, I keep thinking about the latest Coronavirus recommendations, vis-a-vis public and private space (and that gray area the Rabbis called karmelit).

We can all agree that if you're quarantined (whether due to self-quarantine or mandated quarantine), it means you should stay in r'shut ha'yachid (your private domain) - i.e. stay home.

Most recommendations in the last few days have also said that people (whether sick or not) should avoid large crowds (concerts, sporting events, parades, etc).  Though this is not the definition of "public domain" by the Rabbis, my thinking in light of Coronavirus is "Stay away from the r'shut ha'rabim (public domain, i.e. large crowds).

Where it's tricky is karmelit - What do we do about smaller gatherings?  What's considered safe, and what's considered risky?  Do airports count as r'shut ha'rabim?  Restaurants?  The gym? A gathering with local family and friends at someone's house? A birthday party with 30 people?  How many people is too many?  In the area where I live, there is a recommendation to cancel all gatherings of 50 people or more.  In other cities, there are different guidelines (NYC is banning events with 500 people or more).  For all of us around the world, the question is the same - where do we draw the line?  What is karmelit, and what is r'shut ha'rabim?  Or do we avoid that question altogether and limit ourselves to r'shut ha'yachid (the private domain)?

When the Rabbis of the Talmud debate something and cannot settle on an answer, they end with the expression "tayku."  Literally, "let it stand," but colloquially it means "this dilemma will remain unresolved."  Or "we have no idea."  Or, some say it's an acronym meaning "The Messiah will ultimately solve all difficult questions" (i.e. one day, when the Messiah comes, we'll figure it out!).

And so when it comes to Coronavirus and which domains to enter and which domains to avoid, I say - tayku.