Yehuda Lave, Spiritual Advisor and Counselor

Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money,  and spiritual engagement. Now also a Blogger on the Times of Israel. Look for my column

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Breaking news: Israel to grant entry to foreign participants in educational programs

Interior and health ministries agree to ease virus ban on non-nationals; move could enable thousands to arrive for study in yeshivas and educational trips

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein have agreed to enable foreign students attending various programs to enter the country despite an ongoing ban against non-nationals due to the coronavirus pandemic .Normally only citizens or those with a special VISA can get into Israel. 

Those who arrive will still need to observe a mandatory 14-day quarantine, according to the Behadrei Haredim website, which caters to the ultra-Orthodox community.

Deri, of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, and Edelstein, of Likud, agreed to open the borders for students at men’s yeshivas and women’s seminaries, those participating in the Masa program heritage trips, high school exchange students on the Naale program, and other long-term high school study programs.

Easing the restriction could enable thousands of yeshiva students and others to start the coming year of study.

Those who arrive will be required to quarantine in groups of no more than six, the report said, with each institution’s director having sole responsibility to ensure that isolation rules are maintained.

“We are making great efforts to maintain the routine under the limits of the coronavirus, and any decision that is made is made after many deliberations, out of a serious desire to allow life to continue while adhering to the strict guidelines of the Health Ministry,” Deri said in a statement reported by the website.

“It is important for us to be very careful to prevent the spread of the virus, along with a desire to allow a normal life,” Deri said.

During an initial wave of the virus earlier this year visitors from abroad were identified as one of the main sources spreading the virus, prompting Israel in March to ban entry to non-nationals unless they obtain special permission from the Population Immigration and Border Authority. Returning Israelis are required to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Earlier this week the Israel Airports Authority announced that the entry ban was to be extended until the beginning of September.

Most school programs begin in September and yeshiva studies for the coming year will begin around the last week of August.

Last month the Calcalist business daily reported that the cancellation of trips for Jewish youths and young adults due to the coronavirus crisis is set to cost the Israeli economy about $200 million.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

The Summation of the Journey of the Children of Israel

The Portion of Masei

The Summation of the Journey of the Children of Israel

The Israelites are at the border. The Land of Israel lies before them. Now is the time to summarize their journey of 40 years. We don't want it forgotten.

Israel was not wandering for 40 years in the desert. For almost 38 years they were in Kadesh Barnea and for almost 1 year they were at Mount Sinai. They were traveling a little less than two years. That is still a lot of traveling for 600,000 men plus women and children and animals.

The 40 years of wandering in the desert were accompanied by miraculous wonders. How was this phenomenal experience to be passed on to future generations? How was the tradition to be preserved?

Just as anyone who embarks on a lengthy journey will relate in great detail the places which he visited and the places where he stayed, so to does our portion. The Torah lists all the places where the Children of Israel encamped, and this for the benefit of future generations and against those who claim that the wandering in the desert continued for 40 years due to false navigation. They simply were lost! (In accordance with the explanation of Maimonides in the Guide to the Perplexed.) Remember the old joke that this was before GPS. Moses puts in his primitive GPS and it says in primitive ways that the journey will take 40 years!

The story of the lengthy journey assumes even greater significance when it is written as it is in certain Torah Scrolls where the points of embarkation and disembarkation are clearly delineated. These Torahs were commonly written in Eastern Europe in the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.

Here is an example of such a Torah.

Beauty School Dropout

"What happened to you?" asked a bystander of Herman Himmelman, lying on the sidewalk outside of the beauty parlor.

Herman shook his head groggily and rubbed his bruised chin. "Well, the last thing I remember was my wife Sadie coming out of the beauty salon. I took one look at her and said, 'Well, honey ... at least you tried.'"

Masks Are Neither Effective Nor Safe: A Summary Of The Science

Print this article and hand it to frightened mask wearers who have believed the alarmist media, politicians and Technocrats in white coats. Masks are proven ineffective against coronavirus and potentially harmful to healthy people and those with pre-existing conditions.

Wearing masks has become an emotional issue when all of security of life has been taken away from us. People have become desperate to return to their own life's and they have in their brain that if they wear a mask everything will be OK. This article will therefore be very hard to be able to be read for that reason.

At this writing, there is a recent surge in widespread use by the public of face-masks when in public places, including for extended periods of time, in the United States as well as in other countries.   The public has been instructed by media and their governments that one’s use of masks, even if not sick, may prevent others from being infected with SARS-CoV-2, the infectious agent of COVID-19.

A review of the peer-reviewed medical literature examines impacts on human health, both immunological, as well as physiological.  The purpose of this paper is to examine data regarding the effectiveness of facemasks, as well as safety data.  The reason that both are examined in one paper is that for the general public as a whole, as well as for every individual, a risk-benefit analysis is necessary to guide decisions on if and when to wear a mask.

Are masks effective at preventing transmission of respiratory pathogens?

In this meta-analysis, face masks were found to have no detectable effect against transmission of viral infections. (1)  It found: “Compared to no masks, there was no reduction of influenza-like illness cases or influenza for masks in the general population, nor in healthcare workers.”

This 2020 meta-analysis found that evidence from randomized controlled trials of face masks did not support a substantial effect on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza, either when worn by infected persons (source control) or by persons in the general community to reduce their susceptibility. (2)

Another recent review found that masks had no effect specifically against Covid-19, although facemask use seemed linked to, in 3 of 31 studies, “very slightly reduced” odds of developing influenza-like illness. (3)

This 2019 study of 2862 participants showed that both N95 respirators and surgical masks “resulted in no significant difference in the incidence of laboratory confirmed influenza.” (4)

This 2016 meta-analysis found that both randomized controlled trials and observational studies of N95 respirators and surgical masks used by healthcare workers did not show benefit against transmission of acute respiratory infections.  It was also found that acute respiratory infection transmission “may have occurred via contamination of provided respiratory protective equipment during storage and reuse of masks and respirators throughout the workday.” (5)

A 2011 meta-analysis of 17 studies regarding masks and effect on transmission of influenza found that “none of the studies established a conclusive relationship between mask/respirator use and protection against influenza infection.” (6)  However, authors speculated that effectiveness of masks may be linked to early, consistent and correct usage.

Face mask use was likewise found to be not protective against the common cold, compared to controls without face masks among healthcare workers. (7)

Airflow around masks

Masks have been assumed to be effective in obstructing forward travel of viral particles.  Considering those positioned next to or behind a mask wearer, there have been farther transmission of virus-laden fluid particles from masked individuals than from unmasked individuals, by means of “several leakage jets, including intense backward and downwards jets that may present major hazards,” and a “potentially dangerous leakage jet of up to several meters.”  (8) All masks were thought to reduce forward airflow by 90% or more over wearing no mask.  However, Schlieren imaging showed that both surgical masks and cloth masks had farther brow jets (unfiltered upward airflow past eyebrows) than not wearing any mask at all, 182 mm and 203 mm respectively, vs none discernible with no mask.  Backward unfiltered airflow was found to be strong with all masks compared to not masking.

For both N95 and surgical masks, it was found that expelled particles from 0.03 to 1 micron were deflected around the edges of each mask, and that there was measurable penetration of particles through the filter of each mask. (9)

Penetration through masks

A study of 44 mask brands found mean 35.6% penetration (+ 34.7%).  Most medical masks had over 20% penetration, while “general masks and handkerchiefs had no protective function in terms of the aerosol filtration efficiency.”  The study found that “Medical masks, general masks, and handkerchiefs were found to provide little protection against respiratory aerosols.” (10)

It may be helpful to remember that an aerosol is a colloidal suspension of liquid or solid particles in a gas.  In respiration, the relevant aerosol is the suspension of bacterial or viral particles in inhaled or exhaled breath.

In another study, penetration of cloth masks by particles was almost 97% and medical masks 44%. (11)

N95 respirators

Honeywell is a manufacturer of N95 respirators.  These are made with a 0.3 micron filter. (12)  N95 respirators are so named, because 95% of particles having a diameter of 0.3 microns are filtered by the mask forward of the wearer, by use of an electrostatic mechanism. Coronaviruses are approximately 0.125 microns in diameter.

This meta-analysis found that N95 respirators did not provide superior protection to facemasks against viral infections or influenza-like infections. (13)  This study did find superior protection by N95 respirators when they were fit-tested compared to surgical masks. (14)

This study found that 624 out of 714 people wearing N95 masks left visible gaps when putting on their own masks. (15)

Surgical masks

This study found that surgical masks offered no protection at all against influenza. (16) Another study found that surgical masks had about 85% penetration ratio of aerosolized inactivated influenza particles and about 90% of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, although S aureus particles were about 6x the diameter of influenza particles. (17)

Use of masks in surgery were found to slightly increase incidence of infection over not masking in a study of 3,088 surgeries. (18)  The surgeons’ masks were found to give no protective effect to the patients.

Other studies found no difference in wound infection rates with and without surgical masks. (19) (20)

This study found that “there is a lack of substantial evidence to support claims that facemasks protect either patient or surgeon from infectious contamination.” (21)

This study found that medical masks have a wide range of filtration efficiency, with most showing a 30% to 50% efficiency. (22)

Specifically, are surgical masks effective in stopping human transmission of coronaviruses?  Both experimental and control groups, masked and unmasked respectively, were found to “not shed detectable virus in respiratory droplets or aerosols.” (23) In that study, they “did not confirm the infectivity of coronavirus” as found in exhaled breath.

A study of aerosol penetration showed that two of the five surgical masks studied had 51% to 89% penetration of polydisperse aerosols.  (24)

In another study, that observed subjects while coughing, “neither surgical nor cotton masks effectively filtered SARS-CoV-2 during coughs by infected patients.”  And more viral particles were found on the outside than on the inside of masks tested. (25)

Cloth masks

Cloth masks were found to have low efficiency for blocking particles of 0.3 microns and smaller.  Aerosol penetration through the various cloth masks examined in this study were between 74 and 90%.  Likewise, the filtration efficiency of fabric materials was 3% to 33% (26)

Healthcare workers wearing cloth masks were found to have 13 times the risk of influenza-like illness than those wearing medical masks. (27)

This 1920 analysis of cloth mask use during the 1918 pandemic examines the failure of masks to impede or stop flu transmission at that time, and concluded that the number of layers of fabric required to prevent pathogen penetration would have required a suffocating number of layers, and could not be used for that reason, as well as the problem of leakage vents around the edges of cloth masks. (28)

Masks against Covid-19

The New England Journal of Medicine editorial on the topic of mask use versus Covid-19 assesses the matter as follows:

“We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection.  Public health authorities define a significant exposure to Covid-19 as face-to-face contact within 6 feet with a patient with symptomatic Covid-19 that is sustained for at least a few minutes (and some say more than 10 minutes or even 20 minutes).  The chance of catching Covid-19 from a passing interaction in a public space is therefore minimal.  In many cases, the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.” (29)

Are masks safe?During walking or other exercise

Surgical mask wearers had significantly increased dyspnea after a 6-minute walk than non-mask wearers. (30)

Researchers are concerned about possible burden of facemasks during physical activity on pulmonary, circulatory and immune systems, due to oxygen reduction and air trapping reducing substantial carbon dioxide exchange.  As a result of hypercapnia, there may be cardiac overload, renal overload, and a shift to metabolic acidosis. (31)

Risks of N95 respirators

Pregnant healthcare workers were found to have a loss in volume of oxygen consumption by 13.8% compared to controls when wearing N95 respirators.  17.7% less carbon dioxide was exhaled. (32)  Patients with end-stage renal disease were studied during use of N95 respirators.  Their partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) decreased significantly compared to controls and increased respiratory adverse effects. (33)   19% of the patients developed various degrees of hypoxemia while wearing the masks.

Healthcare workers’ N95 respirators were measured by personal bioaerosol samplers to harbor influenza virus. (34)  And 25% of healthcare workers’ facepiece respirators were found to contain influenza in an emergency department during the 2015 flu season. (35)​

Risks of surgical masks

Healthcare workers’ surgical masks also were measured by personal bioaerosol samplers to harbor for influenza virus. (36)

Various respiratory pathogens were found on the outer surface of used medical masks, which could result in self-contamination.  The risk was found to be higher with longer duration of mask use. (37)

Surgical masks were also found to be a repository of bacterial contamination.  The source of the bacteria was determined to be the body surface of the surgeons, rather than the operating room environment. (38)  Given that surgeons are gowned from head to foot for surgery, this finding should be especially concerning for laypeople who wear masks.  Without the protective garb of surgeons, laypeople generally have even more exposed body surface to serve as a source for bacteria to collect on their masks.

Risks of cloth masks

Healthcare workers wearing cloth masks had significantly higher rates of influenza-like illness after four weeks of continuous on-the-job use, when compared to controls. (39)

The increased rate of infection in mask-wearers may be due to a weakening of immune function during mask use.  Surgeons have been found to have lower oxygen saturation after surgeries even as short as 30 minutes. (40)  Low oxygen induces hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1). (41)  This in turn down-regulates CD4+ T-cells.  CD4+ T-cells, in turn, are necessary for viral immunity. (42)​

Weighing risks versus benefits of mask use

In the summer of 2020 the United States is experiencing a surge of popular mask use, which is frequently promoted by the media, political leaders and celebrities.  Homemade and store-bought cloth masks and surgical masks or N95 masks are being used by the public especially when entering stores and other publicly accessible buildings.  Sometimes bandanas or scarves are used.  The use of face masks, whether cloth, surgical or N95, creates a poor obstacle to aerosolized pathogens as we can see from the meta-analyses and other studies in this paper, allowing both transmission of aerosolized pathogens to others in various directions, as well as self-contamination.

It must also be considered that masks impede the necessary volume of air intake required for adequate oxygen exchange, which results in observed physiological effects that may be undesirable.  Even 6- minute walks, let alone more strenuous activity, resulted in dyspnea.  The volume of unobstructed oxygen in a typical breath is about 100 ml, used for normal physiological processes.  100 ml O2 greatly exceeds the volume of a pathogen required for transmission.

The foregoing data show that masks serve more as instruments of obstruction of normal breathing, rather than as effective barriers to pathogens. Therefore, masks should not be used by the general public, either by adults or children, and their limitations as prophylaxis against pathogens should also be considered in medical settings.

Endnotes

1  T Jefferson, M Jones, et al. Physical interventions to interrupt or reduce the spread of respiratory viruses. MedRxiv. 2020 Apr 7.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.30.20047217v2

2  J Xiao, E Shiu, et al. Nonpharmaceutical measures for pandemic influenza in non-healthcare settings – personal protective and environmental measures.  Centers for Disease Control. 26(5); 2020 May.

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/5/19-0994_article

3  J Brainard, N Jones, et al. Facemasks and similar barriers to prevent respiratory illness such as COVID19: A rapid systematic review.  MedRxiv. 2020 Apr 1.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.01.20049528v1.full.pdf

4  L Radonovich M Simberkoff, et al. N95 respirators vs medical masks for preventing influenza among health care personnel: a randomized clinic trial.  JAMA. 2019 Sep 3. 322(9): 824-833.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2749214

5  J Smith, C MacDougall. CMAJ. 2016 May 17. 188(8); 567-574.

https://www.cmaj.ca/content/188/8/567

6  F bin-Reza, V Lopez, et al. The use of masks and respirators to prevent transmission of influenza: a systematic review of the scientific evidence. 2012 Jul; 6(4): 257-267.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5779801/

7  J Jacobs, S Ohde, et al.  Use of surgical face masks to reduce the incidence of the common cold among health care workers in Japan: a randomized controlled trial.  Am J Infect Control. 2009 Jun; 37(5): 417-419.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19216002/

8  M Viola, B Peterson, et al. Face coverings, aerosol dispersion and mitigation of virus transmission risk.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.10720, https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/2005/2005.10720.pdf

9  S Grinshpun, H Haruta, et al. Performance of an N95 filtering facepiece particular respirator and a surgical mask during human breathing: two pathways for particle penetration. J Occup Env Hygiene. 2009; 6(10):593-603.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/15459620903120086

10 H Jung, J Kim, et al. Comparison of filtration efficiency and pressure drop in anti-yellow sand masks, quarantine masks, medical masks, general masks, and handkerchiefs. Aerosol Air Qual Res. 2013 Jun. 14:991-1002.

https://aaqr.org/articles/aaqr-13-06-oa-0201.pdf

11  C MacIntyre, H Seale, et al. A cluster randomized trial of cloth masks compared with medical masks in healthcare workers.  BMJ Open. 2015; 5(4)

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/4/e006577.long

12  N95 masks explained. https://www.honeywell.com/en-us/newsroom/news/2020/03/n95-masks-explained

13  V Offeddu, C Yung, et al. Effectiveness of masks and respirators against infections in healthcare workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.  Clin Inf Dis. 65(11), 2017 Dec 1; 1934-1942.

https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/65/11/1934/4068747​

14  C MacIntyre, Q Wang, et al. A cluster randomized clinical trial comparing fit-tested and non-fit-tested N95 respirators to medical masks to prevent respiratory virus infection in health care workers. Influenza J. 2010 Dec 3.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1750-2659.2011.00198.x?fbclid=IwAR3kRYVYDKb0aR-su9_me9_vY6a8KVR4HZ17J2A_80f_fXUABRQdhQlc8Wo

15  M Walker. Study casts doubt on N95 masks for the public. MedPage Today. 2020 May 20.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/publichealth/86601

16  C MacIntyre, Q Wang, et al. A cluster randomized clinical trial comparing fit-tested and non-fit-tested N95 respirators to medical masks to prevent respiratory virus infection in health care workers. Influenza J. 2010 Dec 3.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1750-2659.2011.00198.x?fbclid=IwAR3kRYVYDKb0aR-su9_me9_vY6a8KVR4HZ17J2A_80f_fXUABRQdhQlc8Wo

17  N Shimasaki, A Okaue, et al. Comparison of the filter efficiency of medical nonwoven fabrics against three different microbe aerosols. Biocontrol Sci.  2018; 23(2). 61-69.

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/bio/23/2/23_61/_pdf/-char/en

18  T Tunevall. Postoperative wound infections and surgical face masks: A controlled study. World J Surg. 1991 May; 15: 383-387.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF01658736

19  N Orr. Is a mask necessary in the operating theatre? Ann Royal Coll Surg Eng 1981: 63: 390-392.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2493952/pdf/annrcse01509-0009.pdf

20  N Mitchell, S Hunt. Surgical face masks in modern operating rooms – a costly and unnecessary ritual?  J Hosp Infection. 18(3); 1991 Jul 1. 239-242.

https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/0195-6701(91)90148-2/pdf

21  C DaZhou, P Sivathondan, et al. Unmasking the surgeons: the evidence base behind the use of facemasks in surgery.  JR Soc Med. 2015 Jun; 108(6): 223-228.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4480558/

22  L Brosseau, M Sietsema. Commentary: Masks for all for Covid-19 not based on sound data. U Minn Ctr Inf Dis Res Pol. 2020 Apr 1.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/04/commentary-masks-all-covid-19-not-based-sound-data

23  N Leung, D Chu, et al. Respiratory virus shedding in exhaled breath and efficacy of face masks Nature Research.  2020 Mar 7. 26,676-680 (2020).

https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-16836/v1

24  S Rengasamy, B Eimer, et al. Simple respiratory protection – evaluation of the filtration performance of cloth masks and common fabric materials against 20-1000 nm size particles. Ann Occup Hyg. 2010 Oct; 54(7): 789-798.

https://academic.oup.com/annweh/article/54/7/789/202744

25  S Bae, M Kim, et al. Effectiveness of surgical and cotton masks in blocking SARS-CoV-2: A controlled comparison in 4 patients.  Ann Int Med. 2020 Apr 6.

https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-1342

26  S Rengasamy, B Eimer, et al. Simple respiratory protection – evaluation of the filtration performance of cloth masks and common fabric materials against 20-1000 nm size particles. Ann Occup Hyg. 2010 Oct; 54(7): 789-798.

https://academic.oup.com/annweh/article/54/7/789/202744

27  C MacIntyre, H Seale, et al. A cluster randomized trial of cloth masks compared with medical masks in healthcare workers.  BMJ Open. 2015; 5(4)

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/4/e006577.long​

28  W Kellogg. An experimental study of the efficacy of gauze face masks. Am J Pub Health. 1920.  34-42.

https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.10.1.34

29  M Klompas, C Morris, et al. Universal masking in hospitals in the Covid-19 era. N Eng J Med. 2020; 382 e63.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2006372

30  E Person, C Lemercier et al.  Effect of a surgical mask on six minute walking distance.  Rev Mal Respir. 2018 Mar; 35(3):264-268.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29395560/

31  B Chandrasekaran, S Fernandes.  Exercise with facemask; are we handling a devil’s sword – a physiological hypothesis. Med Hypothese. 2020 Jun 22. 144:110002.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32590322/

32  P Shuang Ye Tong, A Sugam Kale, et al.  Respiratory consequences of N95-type mask usage in pregnant healthcare workers – A controlled clinical study.  Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. 2015 Nov 16; 4:48.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26579222/

33  T Kao, K Huang, et al. The physiological impact of wearing an N95 mask during hemodialysis as a precaution against SARS in patients with end-stage renal disease.  J Formos Med Assoc. 2004 Aug; 103(8):624-628.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15340662/

34  F Blachere, W Lindsley et al. Assessment of influenza virus exposure and recovery from contaminated surgical masks and N95 respirators. J Viro Methods.  2018 Oct; 260:98-106.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30029810/

35  A Rule, O Apau, et al. Healthcare personnel exposure in an emergency department during influenza season.  PLoS One. 2018 Aug 31; 13(8): e0203223.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30169507/

36  F Blachere, W Lindsley et al. Assessment of influenza virus exposure and recovery from contaminated surgical masks and N95 respirators. J Viro Methods.  2018 Oct; 260:98-106.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30029810/

37  A Chughtai, S Stelzer-Braid, et al.  Contamination by respiratory viruses on our surface of medical masks used by hospital healthcare workers.  BMC Infect Dis. 2019 Jun 3; 19(1): 491.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31159777/​

38  L Zhiqing, C Yongyun, et al. J Orthop Translat. 2018 Jun 27; 14:57-62.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30035033/

39  C MacIntyre, H Seale, et al. A cluster randomized trial of cloth masks compared with medical masks in healthcare workers.  BMJ Open. 2015; 5(4)

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/4/e006577

​40  A Beder, U Buyukkocak, et al. Preliminary report on surgical mask induced deoxygenation during major surgery. Neurocirugia. 2008; 19: 121-126.

http://scielo.isciii.es/pdf/neuro/v19n2/3.pdf

41  D Lukashev, B Klebanov, et al. Cutting edge: Hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha and its activation-inducible short isoform negatively regulate functions of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. J Immunol. 2006 Oct 15; 177(8) 4962-4965.

https://www.jimmunol.org/content/177/8/4962

42  A Sant, A McMichael. Revealing the role of CD4+ T-cells in viral immunity.  J Exper Med. 2012 Jun 30; 209(8):1391-1395.

https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/3420330

Former Health Ministry Chief Yoram Lass Calls Out ‘Coronavirus Lie’ By David Israel

Yoram Lass, 75, an Israeli physician and researcher who served as the Health Ministry’s Director-General and was a Labor MK between 1992 and 1996, has been attacking the official line of the health ministry since the onset of the pandemic, and on Sunday raised the ante on his claim, accusing Israel’s health officials of engaging in a “Coronavirus lie.”

Lass posted the following message on Facebook Sunday morning:

Out of 264 cases registered as deceased from the coronavirus as of May 15, 2020, 263 suffered from one or more severe background diseases (actually, all of them did). Half of them were over the age of 83. For those who understand – this explains the second negative wave that is appearing in Europe. And for this, the destruction of the First Temple was carried out in March-April, and the destruction of the Second Temple is currently taking place.

“Why is everyone wrong?” Lass is asking in an earlier post Sunday, and answers:

1. The virus is not new.
2. The virus is a close cousin of regular corona viruses that attack every winter.
3. The virus is a close cousin of the SARS and MERS viruses.
4. Therefore – a significant portion of the population is naturally immune due to exposure to normal corona viruses. (T CELL IMMUNITY)
5. The test that is being carried out these days reveals a dead genetic material that is neither dangerous nor contagious.

Dr. Lass refers his followers to the July 2 article “Why everyone was wrong,” by Dr. Beda M Stadler, the former director of the Institute for Immunology at the University of Bern, Switzerland. Dr. Stadler describes what she calls “The fairy tale of no immunity:”

From the World Health Organization (WHO) to every Facebook-virologist, everyone claimed this virus was particularly dangerous, because there was no immunity against it, because it was a novel virus.

Even Anthony Fauci, the most important advisor to the Trump administration noted at the beginning at every public appearance that the danger of the virus lay in the fact that there was no immunity against it. Tony and I often sat next to each other at immunology seminars at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda in the US, because we worked in related fields back then. So for a while I was pretty uncritical of his statements, since he was a respectable colleague of mine.

The penny dropped only when I realized that the first commercially available antibody test [for Sars-CoV-2] was put together from an old antibody test that was meant to detect Sars-1. This kind of test evaluates if there are antibodies in someone’s blood and if they came about through an early fight against the virus. [Scientists] even extracted antibodies from a llama that would detect Sars-1, Sars-CoV-2, and even the Mers virus. It also became known that Sars-CoV-2 had a less significant impact in areas in China where Sars-1 had previously raged. This is clear evidence urgently suggesting that our immune system considers Sars-1 and Sars-Cov-2 at least partially identical and that one virus could probably protect us from the other.

Dr. Stadler then explained:

Here a succinct and brief summary, especially for the immunity deniers, of how humans are attacked by germs and how we react to them: If there are pathogenic viruses in our environment, then all humans — whether immune or not — are attacked by this virus. If someone is immune, the battle with the virus begins. First we try to prevent the virus from binding to our own cells with the help of antibodies. This normally works only partially, not all are blocked and some viruses will attach to the appropriate cells. That doesn’t need to lead to symptoms, but it’s also not a disease. Because the second guard of the immune system is now called into action. That’s the above mentioned T-cells, white blood cells, which can determine from the outside in which other cells the virus is now hiding to multiply. These cells, which are now incubating the virus, are searched throughout the entire body and killed by the T-cells until the last virus is dead.

So if we do a PCR corona test on an immune person, it is not a virus that is detected, but a small shattered part of the viral genome. The test comes back positive for as long as there are tiny shattered parts of the virus left. Correct: Even if the infectious viruses are long dead, a corona test can come back positive, because the PCR method multiplies even a tiny fraction of the viral genetic material enough [to be detected]. That’s exactly what happened, when there was the global news, even shared by the WHO, that 200 Koreans who already went through Covid-19 were infected a second time and that there was therefore probably no immunity against this virus.

Dr. Stadler concluded:

The virus is gone for now. It will probably come back in winter, but it won’t be a second wave, but just a cold. Those young and healthy people who currently walk around with a mask on their faces would be better off wearing a helmet instead, because the risk of something falling on their head is greater than that of getting a serious case of Covid-19.

See the video by copying and pasting this link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=4QxlvqiaYCM&feature=emb_logo

Would You Rather Be Right Or Happy? By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman

At the core of many high-conflict situations is the strong desire for one or both parties to be right. Getting to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth may be a value in court, but if pursued too often in relationships, it will lead to continual strife.

When counseling clients through conflict, clarifying the end goal is essential. If our ultimate goal is justice, fairness, and truth, we will have to suffer the consequences that generally come when others disagree. If our ultimate goal is peace, harmony, and sustained relationships, we may have to swallow our desire to be right.

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Commenting on the conflict of Korach, the Maharal argues that people get into disputes because they follow din – the strict letter of the law. They get sucked into a mindset of rigidity of purpose in their pursuit of justice and judgment. In the wake of the hunt, destruction and calamity tend to befall these justice seekers and those around them.

Dr. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg writes that these kind of people suffer “from a kind of manic rationality.” In contrast, those who are willing to go lifnim mi’shurat hadin – beyond the letter of the law – avoid unnecessary disputes. They either realize that there are two sides to the story or they are willing to let things go, even if they “know” they are correct. They’d rather have peace than be right.

In order to prove to all that Aharon was chosen as the kohen gadol, Hashem told Moshe to take a staff from the head of each tribe and place them all in the Tent of Meeting. By the next day, Aharon’s staff had blossomed and sprouted forth almonds.

Rabbi Menachem Sacks, in his commentary Menachem Zion, finds a deep symbolism in the fact that the staff produced almonds, not another fruit. In the context of the laws of tithing, the Mishnah discusses two types of almonds: those that are bitter when they are small and sweet when they develop and those that are sweet when they are small and bitter when they grow bigger.

Fights and disagreements often feel sweet and right in the moment but lead to bitterness and regrets in the long run. Peace, on the other hand, is often difficult to maintain in the moment. It is difficult to bite our tongues and not respond when we think we are justified. But in the long run, it will lead to ultimate sweetness.

I don’t mean to suggest we should give up on communicating our deeply-held beliefs just because someone might disagree. The Mishnah (Avot 5:17) identifies the conflict of Korach and his followers as a “dispute not for the sake of Heaven” and pits it against the disputes between Hillel and Shammai, which were “for the sake of Heaven.” Obviously, there is a place for disputes, but they must be “for the sake of Heaven.”

The difficulty is knowing how to define “for the sake of Heaven,” especially when one can easily rationalize that one is pursuing truth and justice for ideal reasons.

Of course, each case is different, but suffice it to say that most of the arguments we have on a regular basis with our spouses, children, family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, community members, and social media acquaintances are probably not what the Mishnah would consider to be “for the sake of Heaven.”

The question then becomes: What’s our goal? Do we want to be right or be happy? If we want happiness, let’s consider focusing less on truth, and more on peace.

Can It Happen In America? By Rabbi Chananya Weissman

You immediately knew what “it” is, because deep down you know we’re not that far away.

Fifteen years ago I was teaching social studies to fifth-graders in America. At the time, Donald Trump was an eccentric businessman, no one had heard of Barack Obama, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hadn’t mixed her first drink.

No one realized that half the products in their shopping cart were racist, let alone something that should enrage them. There were only two genders – well, there still are, but no one had to pretend otherwise to keep their job. It was a better time.

I taught my students that their basic rights in America were not really guaranteed. For example, I told them, Congress could declare that “All men are created equal” only applies to human beings – not to animals or a sub-species like Jews – and, voilà, the Bill of Rights would no longer protect them.

It seems I overestimated what it would take for such an unthinkable scenario to become plausible. Who needs Congress to vote on anything anymore? The toxic formula of the day is social media campaigns, a takeover of the educational system, media outlets relentlessly spreading propaganda, and a coordinated effort of politicians, celebrities, and activists to manipulate blind followers.

Diaspora Jews seem oblivious to the danger they’re in. They believe the old institutions will protect them, ignoring the fact that these institutions are no longer respected. The Constitution is a piece of paper in a museum. The law is only as powerful as the will of the people to respect it, the ability of the police and justice system to enforce it, and the determination of leaders to uphold it.

The revolutionaries have successfully abolished any semblance of respect for the law, tradition, or civility. The police have been effectively neutered. The leaders on one side support the revolution, and the other side has failed to muster a meaningful response.

When – not if – the riots come to Jewish neighborhoods, no one will stop them. Inviolable boundaries no longer exist and there’s no conceivable way that things will just settle down. The revolutionaries are on a roll, and they have no intention of stopping.

Consider what will happen following the trial of the Atlanta police officer currently facing the death penalty for killing someone who attacked him, stole his weapon, and used it against him. The case can end in several ways:

1) The officer is acquitted. Pandemonium will ensue. The police have been so demonized and the lower elements of society have been so brainwashed that even the possibility of acquittal is anathema to them. Atlanta will burn, there will be riots all over the country, and this “injustice” will become the trigger for the next steps of the revolution that are currently in the planning stages. Of course, they will be “spontaneous” when they actually occur.

2) The officer is convicted of a lesser charge and sent to prison or receives some other punishment. With the death penalty on the table, anything less will enrage the mob that forever seeks pretexts to be enraged. Atlanta will burn, and there will be riots all over the country.

3) The officer is convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. The revolutionaries will celebrate their victory, fueling their insatiable appetite for more such victories and more “social changes” that include riots and burnings. Police will turn in their badges en masse, and the streets will be ruled by gangs, vigilantes, and private security.

4) The officer is sentenced to death and receives a presidential pardon. The pandemonium and riots will be just as bad as if the officer was acquitted.

There is no scenario in which this turns out well, the revolutionaries stop breaking boundaries, and Humpty Dumpty is put back together again. If you are a Jew who feels secure in America right now, I invite you to present your case and argue why people should believe in it. But I caution you: This is not a theoretical Talmudic discussion. This is real life. Your life.

You may believe the average American has strong moral underpinnings and therefore “it” is unthinkable. Think again. The average American – much like the average German or Pole – is not going to risk himself and his family to hide you or protect you.

You don’t need an entire society to hate Jews for Jews to be in mortal danger. You need a critical mass, a breakdown of the institutions that uphold the society’s higher values, and sufficient fear among the rest to stand in their way.

All three exist right now in America. When the revolutionaries come to Jewtown, USA, the police are not going to shoot them. Your gentile neighbors, who may have already kneeled before some of these people, are going to think about their job and their family. They might not hate you – they might even think you’re okay – but they are not going to sacrifice everything for you when the tidal waves come crashing down.

Tell me why this can’t happen. Tell me why this won’t happen. Because people are intrinsically good? Because you have good relationships with your neighbors? Because you made some show of solidarity with the revolutionaries? Because this is America and it can’t happen here?

Social unrest, economic hardship, political upheaval, a breakdown in law and order, and hate-filled tribalism have never turned out well for the Jews. Now is the moment of truth. America is tearing down its history, and you need to learn from yours.

You have a place to go where you will be warmly welcomed by your own people, where there will always be a place for you, where your neighbors will share your past and your future, and where they will sacrifice for you and fight for you – because they are your family.

There’s plenty of open land waiting for you. Now is the time.

See you Sunday bli neder We need Moshiach now!

Love Yehuda Lave