CHICAGO (JTA) — As the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, we’re all tasked with slowing its spread through social isolation. 

Editor’s note: This column by Dr. James Hinrichs was made possible thanks to the generosity of Dr. Jonathan Root, Dr. Norman Druck and Galia Movitz. 

Surreal.

As rabbis and cantors of the St. Louis Rabbinical and Cantorial Association, we are reaching out as one to the members of our community during this unprecedented time. Our hearts go out to those members of our community who are ill, and those who are afraid. We ache for those who have had to…

CHICAGO (JTA) — I am an infectious disease epidemiologist who worked at the World Health Organization on epidemics in over 25 countries around the world. 

PHOENIX (JTA) — I am not a medical professional, an epidemiologist or an expert on pandemics. I leave the serious information in those important fields for the professionals who have the appropriate training to help us get through the coronavirus epidemic.

If I were a coach talking with a locker room full of local print journalists, here is what I would tell them: “This is our last, best shot.”

In photos and videos, Papa fades into the background. Sometimes half of his face sits outside the frame or only the back of his head appears. More than likely, he’s behind the camera, recording a birthday party or Hanukkah celebration to be kept in the archives of his children’s basements. 

This letter has been reposted with the permission of Rabbi Reuven Fink.

Over President’s Day weekend, I was pleased to help chaperone a Jewish Student Union (JSU) relief trip to New Orleans. Eight students, Rabbi Yitzchak Staum and I traveled there Wednesday, Feb. 12 to join other staff and students from all over the Midwest. Forty of us together embarked on an …