The Rebbe’s opinion on vaccinations

The statistics:[15]

In Israel, 97% of children are vaccinated, holding one of the highest rates of vaccinated children in the world. In the USA 92% of children receive the MMR vaccine, while 99.3% of children receive at least some vaccines. The worldwide estimate of vaccinations against measles [MMR] stands at 85%.

An analysis of the Rebbe’s opinion:

While it is clear that the Rebbe’s looked positively upon the administration of vaccines as an integral duty of a Jew in preventive medicine, and thus advised people to do so, in a number of the above letters the Rebbe depends this on whether majority of people have taken the vaccine, and the question is asked as to why this point makes a difference. If according to medical science vaccines are a necessity for disease prevention, and one must heed their words according to Halacha, then why should it make a difference whether majority of people do the right thing or not. The following are several speculations on the possible intent of the Rebbe:

1.       The Torah follows majority: The successful administration of a vaccine to majority of the population shows that it works and does not have lasting side effects, thus proving its reliability according to Torah law, which follows the majority.

2.       Hashem guards the masses-Shomer Pesaim Hashem: When the majority of people and Jewry perform an action which carries certain health risks, they receive Divine assistance and protection against any harm coming as a result of it.[16] Accordingly, there is no need to worry of any possible long-term side effects of a vaccination, as one receives Divine assistance regarding it, and thus the long-term benefits of disease prevention override.

3.       Not to separate from the community practice-Halacha: The Torah does not take lightly the fact that one disengages from the common practice of the community and it thus encourages one to join their efforts.[17] Doing so may have both Halachic and spiritual ramifications. In Halacha we find that if a certain standard of living is accepted in a neighborhood, then people who live in that neighborhood must adhere to those public standards.[18] In the case of vaccines, one who does not vaccinate his children in a community where this is the standard practice makes that community susceptible to potential outbreaks due to their unimmunized child who walks around the neighborhood and attends in their schools and classes.

4.       Not to separate from the community practice-spiritual:[19] Another reason for why one should not separate from the community practice is spiritual, as doing so can cause undue personal observation and scrutiny of the spiritual attribute of judgment. A community receives certain Divine protection that is not afforded to one who separates himself from them. Accordingly, one who does not vaccinate possibly places himself under the eyes of scrutiny of the attribute of judgment, heaven forefend.[20] 

Q&A

Does this mean that according to the Rebbe everyone should immunize themselves and their children? What if I know people who had bad side effects, or I or my children had bad side effects? In fact, I even know someone whose child passed away r”l right after an immunization!

As in everything in life, there is no one shoe that fits all, and specific medical conditions and/or family history require special scrutiny by a medical professional regarding the question of whether vaccines are in their best health interest. This concept can be found in the Torah itself. While, the Torah obligates every male child to receive a “spiritual vaccine” called the Bris Milla on the 8^th day, it recognizes special cases and situations of illness where this cannot medically be done and thus must be pushed off indefinitely until the child is deemed healthy. Likewise, we find parents with a family history of death caused by circumcision to at least two of their children, are required to push off the great Mitzvah of circumcision and not circumcise their child until, if at all, it is deemed medically safe.[21] From here we can learn a number of Halachic perspectives: a) Don’t ignore family history or a medical condition when it comes to taking a normally accepted medication or treatment. b) Don’t abstain from taking medication [in our case vaccines] just because you know of a case where it had negative or lethal effects. The Torah speaks to the majority, and for every case of negative consequences due to vaccines you have millions of others who attest to their reliability and health benefits. One cannot sabotage the norm due to the exception, without medical reason to believe that he is part of that exception group. A simple example of the above is with regards to peanuts. About 1.4 percent of children in the U.S. are said to be allergic to peanuts, and between 150-200 people die each year as a result.[22] Now, does this mean that the average and normal child is to avoid peanuts and is Halachically mandated to do so. Absolutely not! Since 99% of children are not allergic, we follow the majority, and only in a case of a medical reaction witnessed in one’s child is one required to avoid it.

Perhaps the Rebbe’s opinion is “outdated” and was correct at the time based on the information known. However, today, where new medical research has shown and proven the potential damaging effects of vaccinations, the Rebbe would reverse his opinion?

Without getting into the subject of belief in the words of a Tzadik and the immortality of his teachings, the statement above is factually and Halachically misleading, misguided, and incorrect. As stated in the opening of this discussion, according to Halacha, the opinion of professional doctors and health care providers are the sole authorities regarding all health matters, and it is forbidden to take an amateurs opinion into account. Halacha does not give credence to conspiracy theorists, or any other amateur opinion, regarding medicine. Accordingly, a Halachically valid medical opinion regarding vaccines must come from a medical professional and not a conspiracy writer, or an individual with a prior agenda, or even from an unbiassed medical novice who is analyzing the subject to the best of his ability. Any and all information that the non-medical community provides regarding the danger of vaccines is to be given to the medical community for them to review and establish or reject. Many people read various articles of propaganda against vaccinations and become convinced with the “facts” and statistics they read. Once, again, the Torah gave the authority of digesting this information, and giving medical advice based on it, solely to professional doctors, and not to the amateur writer irrelevant of how convincing his one-sided arguments may seem.

With that said, aren’t there MD’S and people in the medical community who have voiced the dangers of vaccines, past the Rebbe’s times?

Yes. From amongst the over 1,000,000 medical doctors in the United States[23] and between 10,000,000- 15,000,000 doctors around the world[24], there do exist credible doctors from within the professional medical community who have shared different concerns regarding vaccines, with some opposing it in its entirety. There have also been clinical studies performed which show links between vaccines and other medical issues. Nonetheless, this represents but a mere fraction of the medical community, and medical research. The overwhelming majority of research and clinical studies, including reports by the most prestige and professional scientific medical research firms, contradict these findings. Likewise, the overwhelming majority of doctors in the medical community are in agreement that vaccinations are necessary to prevent disease and should be administered. It is their opinion that is followed by all nations and governments throughout the world, and the vast majority of people place trust in the medical community and administer vaccines to themselves and their children [see statistics above].  Accordingly, since the Torah instructs that a Jew must follow the majority and most expertise opinion amongst doctors[25], and the Rebbe instructs not to separate from the community, the Rebbe’s directive and the Halachic ruling stands strong likewise today.

Showcase Rabbinical response to anti-vax community members voicing frustration at the Rabbinical authorities for not taking their position:

This letter is a response by Rabbi Yeshaya Braun Shlita, Member of Crown Heights Beis Din, to the question of an anti-vax mother pushing back against his Pesak to vaccinate, reprinted here with his permission  [we did not bring the original letter of the questioner due to reasons of privacy]:

I have read your email several times. Your pain and anguish is clearly noticeable and very well understood. At the same time, I don’t want my reply to come across as an off the cuff answer coming from someone who wishes to give you a wishy-washy answer, just to get you off my back. Therefore, I was seriously considering the notion that it might be better not to answer at all, because the answer might be perceived as though not taking your considerations seriously.

An additional point noteworthy of consideration here is: What I have encountered in many such discussions is the fact that the two sides often have strong opinions on the matter and they’re hardly convinced by hard facts, rationale or evidence. The different opinions are often based on cultural differences, personalities or backgrounds and other similar distinctions. A verbal or written exchange of ideas often results in further disillusionment, disappointments and widening the gap even more. This is no good for anyone. Obviously, this does not preclude my responsibilities as a Rav to express my opinion clearly on the matters I believe are governed by Halacha, especially when dealing with issues of potential Sakanas Nefashos. I understand that you’re well aware that I have done so already and that you appreciate the fact that my sole motivation for doing so was in order to act in accordance with my responsibility as a Rav.

(The fact that these rulings aren’t popular, or make me unpopular, is really not relevant. Many a time, a Rav has the Achrayus to give a communal Psak which won’t sit well with some members in the community. Of course, the Rav has to assess the situation well and reach a decision whether it’s better to speak or to remain silent. But once a decision has been reached that it’s incumbent upon him to state his opinion he may not shy away from it due to fear of reprisals or even of people being alienated by the Psak. Some recent examples come to mind: the Eruv controversy, call of the Shofar etc. In all these cases, the Rabbonim have researched the issue and have given a Psak which many people didn’t like. But that wouldn’t be a reason to withhold the Psak from the public.)

At the same time, repeating this Psak again and again won’t accomplish much and will only serve to alienate further those who have already been alienated, or even those who have not been alienated so far.

The same applies to a point by point rebuttal of the arguments mentioned: in my opinion they serve no purpose. There’s enough information available out there for those who wish to avail themselves of it in order to know the response that the pro-vaccination establishment, or in my opinion more correctly stated as the position of those who follow credible science, would say – and have said – about all the points raised. There are many doctors and professionals who could give you satisfactory answers to all these points, much better than anything I would write.

Another important point: responding to the specific arguments would mean that I’m engaging in medical and scientific issues, which is not my field or specialty. This would also take away time from my primary duty to teach Torah and Pasken Halachic Sha’alos. It is self understood that it makes no sense for a doctor to engage in Halachic research in order to reach a Halachic decision; if he would be doing so he will be overstepping his boundaries and would undermine even his medical standing. Likewise, the Rav must indeed seek out medical information from doctors and professionals and form a Halachic ruling. But it would be wrong for him to be involved in medical discussions and medical research on his own.

Incidentally, this is one of the core issues at the heart of the so-called vaccination debate. Society has reached a point where everyone has at their fingertips a wealth of information on the subject and can now form their own decisions without having the requisite training to know how to distinguish between fact and fiction or pseudoscience vs. real science. Even a simple matter such as statistics is a very thorough and comprehensive field, and stats can often be manipulated to achieve the desired result, something very different than the real truth. Only someone with a real understanding of the issues would be able to see things for what they really are.

Many of us experience this issue with our kids, specifically teenagers. The little bit of knowledge that they have makes them think they know better than us and should be making their own decisions. At times they are right, but unfortunately sometimes their choices can be quite dangerous.

A healthy dose of humility is in place for one to recognize their standing and know about which matters they’re capable of reaching decisions on their own and when they should rely on those wiser or more experienced than them to decide what the correct strategy is.

This is something we have heard countless times from the Rebbe about the delineation and demarcation of the various different professions and how it’s important that only the specialist in each field is consulted in order to form an opinion. When it came to territorial concessions in Eretz Yisroel, the Rebbe made it clear on many occasions that only the military experts are to be consulted and it should not involve politicians who have a different agenda. The Rebbe compared this to medicine that only doctors are the ones trusted according to Torah to rule what’s medically necessary.

As a general rule, the Rebbe has requested that the following formula be followed regarding all future questions that people wish to ask him: When it comes to business matters, friends who understand the situation should give advice; for Halacha matters – Rabbonim should Pasken; for medical issues we should follow the opinion of the majority of doctors, and in issues of Avodas Hashem the opinion of one’s Aseh Lecha Rav should be sought.

This brings me to the issue of the letters of the Rebbe you mentioned in passing. I take it that you, or others who are like minded, seek to interpret these letters in a different manner. I’ve heard many such arguments in the last few months from quite a few people. Truth be told, it seems to me that their interpretation is at best stretched, or worse an interpretation which is motivated by a preconceived notion. But none of this is germane to our discussion. It really makes no difference what I think of other people’s attempt to interpret these letters. The most important point for me is that as a Rav who’s been given the task to rule on such matters I must follow what I believe is the Rebbes’s position on these issues, even when others think their interpretation is superior.

(Moreover, the normative Torah approach is that Rabbonim are the one’s interpreting Torah and the laypeople follow their interpretation; it is surprising that people who always accept a Psak from a Rav in all matters of Torah are quick to point out in this matter the shortcomings of the Psak and attempt to impress upon the Rabbonim their own Peshat.)

As for the fact that some people are unfortunately alienated by this Psak, sadly there is not much that can be done about this. But there is a workable solution.

Under ordinary circumstances I wouldn’t take this approach. However upon reading your email over and over, I realize this is most suitable here, especially since we are dealing with an issue which involves saving lives and we cannot afford to sit back and relax. I don’t know who you are (at least, the name you used in this correspondence is not familiar to me), but the sincerity is clearly noticeable in your writing and indicates to me that you really desire to do the right thing Al Pee Torah. I therefore have taken the liberty to urge you to consider the following approach:

This can be understood by comparing it to the following scenario. One is involved in a heavy duty din Torah and has presented all their claims to the Beis Din, only to receive a Psak which deems them guilty and compels them to pay out of pocket thousands of dollars. The individual knows he is in the right. The Beis Din seems to have gotten it totally wrong. What is he to do in this situation? According to Torah, how is he supposed to perceive this situation? Unfortunately, there are many people who after losing a Psak in Beis Din were totally alienated from the Beis Din and Batei Dinim in general, refusing to accept the Psak and in some cases have even decided to take the issue up in secular Court, a grave offense according to Torah.

However, the Torah approach which many individuals have successfully mastered despite their initial misgivings and the obvious difficulty involved is to accept the Psak with humility and Bittul and appreciate that the Ratzon Hashem now is for him to pay the hard earned money to the other litigant, regardless of what he thinks about the matter. The same Torah that instructs him to wear Tefillin or her to wear a Sheitel wants him to pay out the money.

The only thing I can think of that can work over here is to do the same: accept the Psak with Bittul and Kabolas Ol and recognize that as “Chassidishe families” who understand “the integral role that Rabbonim play in leading a Frum life” we ought to follow them even when it doesn’t sit well with us. I know this might sound harsh and demanding, but anything else would really be untruthful to the perspective of Torah. It is plainly clear that the position that some Piskei Dinim are up to our discretion whether to accept or not is anathema to Torah.

The following might seem extreme to you but it is a real reflection of the truth according to Torah. I imagine that If you would have asked the Rebbe and received a clear answer to vaccinate here and now and to publicize this to others you wouldn’t hesitate for a second, despite all the issues you have raised. The truth is that a Psak from Rabbonim is exactly the same (aside from the fact that the Rebbe has already answered). For the sake of your kids’ lives and our kids’ lives, please take my words as they are intended, words from the heart which enter the heart.

Wishing you Hatzlacha.

Rabbi Yeshaya Braun