The coronavirus, like an unwelcome and uninvited guest reminiscent of the biblical plagues of the Exodus, will force the most-observed annual Jewish ritual experience, the Seder, to be practiced very differently.
It is as predictable as day follows night. A crisis erupts — pandemic, financial, security — and the conspiracy theorists come out of the woodwork. Today, with the Coronavirus pandemic, is no different. It is equally foreseeable that, sooner or later, the Jews will be among those blamed. Isn’t the heart of antisemitism, past and present, the assignment to Jews of evil powers and demonic aims?
Rabbinic directives for social distancing and curtailing prayer gatherings and other religious social meetings are not new. Indeed, dealing with contagious disease has been a Jewish preoccupation since ancient times.