Tehran Chief Rabbi: Iranian Jews Should Not Fast On Taanis Esther

TEHRAN (VINnews) — Rav Yehuda Grami, the Chief Rabbi of Tehran in Iran, ruled that the Jewish communities in Iran should not fast on Taanis Esther this coming week. According to Rav Grami, an alumnus of the Ner Yisrael Yeshiva in Baltimore who was ordained by Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, because Iran has been hit so hard by the Corona virus, being the most affected country outside of China, the Jews of Iran would be in a weakened state by fasting and that would put them at greater risk of catching the virus and of being adversely affected by it.

Official reports place the death toll at 107 with more than 3500 cases diagnosed but there have been unofficial reports that the number of dead is much higher, with some saying that there are at least 1,400 people dead. Anonymous sources on social media report that there are people, including children and the elderly, dying on the streets and the dead are being buried in mass graves. The victims include senior members of the Iranian government, including Mohammad Mirmohammadi, a senior advisor to Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as One of the country’s top clerics, Hadi Khosroshahi. 23 members of the Iranian parliament have also contracted the virus including the head of emergency services in Tehran.

Ironically the story of Esther occurred in Persia and the graves of Mordechai and Esther are allegedly to be found in the Iranian town of Hamadan, but this year Jews will be unable to fast there on Taanis Esther.