Belief in the Talmud, wisdom and skills to survive a plague.

Abstract

While the current pandemic is unprecedented in its global reach, humanity has suffered plagues of lesser and greater severity throughout history. Jewish liturgy bears scars of that pain in its daily repeated pleading to ward off pestilence and plague, words that have tragically become very relevant for the first time in a century. As we mourn for those who die alone in hospital beds isolated from their loved ones, and as we stagger back to normalcy, I hope we can find comfort and confidence from the ancient empathy, wisdom, and survival skills of generations past. (from Conclusion)