Letter | My brother died alone. Why are hundreds attending these funerals?

Instead of righteous indignation, chastise those who think it is alright to sacrifice the needs of the community in order to satisfy their own needs.

APRIL 19: A casket is placed into a van outside of a funeral home in the heavily Orthodox Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn which has scene a large number of deaths due to the coronavirus on April 19, 2020 in New York City. Hospitals in New York City, which have been especially hard hit by the coronavirus, are just beginning to see a slowdown of COVID-19 cases. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Image by Getty Images

By Mel Young April 30, 2020

Dear Editor,

I am a committed Jew. My brother died last week and was buried virtually alone due to regulations about crowds and social isolation. It made me very sad.

Now, we read that in certain areas of the Orthodox community, rules of social isolation are ignored and people are going to home minyans or funerals or weddings. These people are fools.

Instead of righteous indignation, chastise those who think it is alright to sacrifice the needs of the community in order to satisfy their own selfish needs. I’m no fan of the mayor, but in this case, Bill de Blasio is correct!

Sincerely,

Mel Young
Boca Raton, Fla.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward. Discover more perspectives in Opinion. To contact Opinion authors, email [email protected].

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO