A form of religious worship holds "inherent risks", the city health commissioner said yesterday.
Dr. Thomas Frieden's comments came the day the Daily News reported that his agency is investigating whether an infant who died of herpes last year contracted the disease from kissing a Torah Scroll while attending services at a local synagogue.
Two more city babies were found to have contracted herpes after they came into contact with the same scroll.
The babies belong to a sect which practices a ritual used mostly among ultra-Orthodox Jews called neshika bi peh, in which the person performing the rite kisses the cloth outer covering of the scroll directly using his mouth.
"We do believe that there are inherent risks to this practice and we're discussing those in a respectful way with ultra-Orthodox leaders'', Frieden said.
The issue of neshika bi peh has been debated in recent years within the Jewish community. Some, like Yeshiva University Prof. Rabbi Moshe Tendler, argue it's not required and too risky.
"It's seen as the frum" - or observant - "thing to do," he said. "Being 'frumer than thou' is now the sign of personal piety. At certain life-cycle events, people are afraid to take a lenient approach."
"Today, 90% of Jews follow the practice of neshika b'yad, literally "kissing by hand", where the worshipper touches the scroll with his fingertips and then brings his fingertips to his lips. This virtually eliminates any chance of infection as long as the fingers-scroll-lips sequence is followed and not reversed."
"The only practitioners of this medieval, outdated practice are some Jews of Hungarian decent, who refuse to recognize the latest advances in medical research."
Rabbi Tendler is spearheading an effort to work with City, State Departments to address other non-hygienic practices common among Hungarian Jews.
They seek to pass legislation to protect the health of those among the faithful who have yet to come to terms with modernity and current hygienic practices.
Some of the risky practices targeted by the Rabbi:
Dvash B'peh - The practice of young boys licking honey from a sheet of paper in order to encourage their study of the Hebrew Alphabet.
Shirayim B'peh - The ritual sharing of partially eaten food among Hasidim.
Tzitzis B'peh - During prayer, the kissing of strings which may have been exposed to environmental toxins.
Kiddush B'peh - A ritual where multiple worshippers sip wine from a communal goblet.
נשלח ב-8/3/2005 16:54
הרב זאלי, עס איז יא קלאר געווארן ארויס געברענגט.
"Today, 90% of Jews follow the practice of neshika b'yad, literally "kissing by hand", where the worshipper touches the scroll with his fingertips and then brings his fingertips to his lips. This virtually eliminates any chance of infection as long as the fingers-scroll-lips sequence is followed and not reversed".
נשלח ב-7/3/2005 22:53
לויט ווי איך הער טוט זיך דאקטאר ראבינער טענדלער אן "גלאווס" ווען ער גייט צו א שמחה, אז אויב איינער וויל אים קושן די האנט זאל ער נישט באקומען קיין דזשוירמס.
בקרוב וועט די סיטי פארלאנגען פון אלע רביס אנצוטאן גלאווס בשעת זיי פירן טיש.
נשלח ב-7/3/2005 20:30
אגב, איז נישט קלאר ארויסגעברענגט, דער אופן פון די וואס מאכן "נשיקה ביד".
ווייל אויב מען קושט קודם די הענט, און ערשט דערנאך דעם ספר, האט מען גארנישט אויפגעטון, ווייל מען לייגט נאך אלס ארויף די זשערמ'ס...
