Introduction
This publication has been prepared on behalf of the talmidim of Moreinu Harav Shmuel Kamenetzky, shlit”a, Moreinu Harav Elya Ber Wachtfogel, shlit”a, and Moreinu Harav Malkiel Kotler, shlit”a.
In this chapter, when mention is made of “our Gedolim,” the reference is to these three of our leading American Gedolim. Our Gedolim have made their views on vaccination known to their talmidim and to their petitioners. Their view is not extreme. They do not advocate against vaccination. They rule that vaccination is a parental choice, and that parents may not be coerced into vaccination. Perhaps most importantly, they state that parents who
choose not to vaccinate should be viewed as parents exercising a right and making a justifiable decision, not as agitators recklessly endangering the public welfare.
This publication refutes the assertions—which have been recently circulated widely—that all Gedolim obligate parents to vaccinate, and that non-vaccinating parents are rotzchim and rodfim. Non-vaccinating parents in our communities are acting with the full consent of da’as Torah, yet they are being maligned and vilified, and, in countless cases, victimized and hurt. The achdus and shalom within our communities and families is being
gravely damaged; the above unfounded and untrue assertions have had much to do with it.
