CoronaVirus;

The world is slowly coming to a halt.

The implications are enormous, the decisions astonishing, our lives changing dramatically.

And yet, relative to what is going on in ‘the world’, for a Bochur the implications are far smaller.

Think about what parents are going through.

The average family has very little savings – they don’t earn enough to put too much away. Now business is stopping, so money is not coming in, which means that there is no money for salaries and payments.

For a family with only $3000 in the bank, but $5000 monthly expenses, what are they supposed to do once the money runs out? Imagine when after three weeks there is no more milk in the house, but also no money on the card. How will they pay for the milk when they get to the store? The answer? They won’t – the family will have to go without milk, but slowly the meat, and the pasta, and the cereal and… also run out, what now? How will they pay for food?

Then there is mortgage/rent and all other basic life daily needs, and all this in week three. Imagine if Chas Vesholom this would continue for three more months… Where does that leave a young father? Imagine the pressure he is under, imagine what he will have to do when this is all over, to make up for everything missed out?

All this difficulty for one purpose; to protect someone else – someone vulnerable.

From current information, statistically, we ‘younger people’ carry a very limited risk. The pain to ourselves caused by the world stopping is, for most of us, far more difficult than the tiny percentage of risk we have from the virus itself.

Yet, it is obvious to all that all that pain is worth it, to help another person.

And so, as we sit at home for what will with רחמי שמים be only a few weeks, let us reflect on this lesson; one we speak about so often, yet rarely coming so deeply into Da’as. The lesson of putting aside our self-interest for the benefit of another. Disregarding the difficulty to ourselves, and limited personal benefit.

On a practical note: as we sit at home, surrounded perhaps by younger siblings and parents facing a once in a lifetime pressure,

At this time, when confronting the choice of whether we should indulge ourselves and relax, or lend a hand and help our parents shoulder their responsibility,

Let us reflect on the decisions being made by governments the world over, in putting another persons well-being first,

And learn from them how much more so should be the ways of the Am Hanivchar.

That we are talking about helping our own parents, siblings, and friends should make supporting them even easier.