Chabad Rov Pens Letter To Community Urging Parents to Vaccinate Against Measles

by CrownHeights.info

Amid growing concern over a measles outbreak in Eretz Yisroel, HaRav Yitzchak Yehuda Yaroslavsky—senior rov of the Chabad community in Eretz Yisroel, secretary of the Beis Din Rabbonei Chabad, and rov of Nachalas Har Chabad in Kiryat Malachi—has issued an urgent call to the local Anash to vaccinate against measles.

In a strongly worded letter, Rav Yaroslavsky warns that the current situation in which measles cases have increased, presents a real and immediate danger, particularly for young children. He urges parents to act without delay and ensure that their children are properly vaccinated.

Referencing recent developments abroad, Rav Yaroslavsky noted the troubling spread of measles in the United States, where a widespread outbreak has already led to the hospitalization of over a thousand children, with some cases requiring advanced life support. He further pointed to the tragic toll over the past year, in which multiple children—most of them previously healthy—lost their lives after contracting the illness, all of whom had not been vaccinated.

Closer to home, the rov writes that cases within the neighborhood have been steadily increasing, with several children already hospitalized. The nature of close-knit community living, including shared shelters and communal spaces, has contributed to rapid exposure and heightened risk.

Rav Yaroslavsky emphasizes that taking preventative measures is not merely advisable, but a clear חיוב על פי הלכה, rooted in the posuk “ונשמרתם מאוד לנפשותיכם.” Ensuring that children are vaccinated, he writes, is a matter of pikuach nefesh.

Calling on parents to utilize the organized vaccination opportunities available in the community, he concludes with a reminder that protecting one’s own child also safeguards others—fulfilling the Torah’s directive of “וחי אחיך עמך.”

Residents are urged to take this message seriously and act swiftly to protect their families and the wider community.