Dear Parents, As many of you have already heard, there is a concern that the Yeshiva may have to close because of a proposal from the City of New York. Let me assure you that we have been in daily and open communication with the Department of Health. We have made them aware of any cases within the Yeshiva – both confirmed and possible – and the precautions we are taking. These include sending home entire classes if there was a single case in the class and quarantining Beis Medrash bachurim in their on-campus residences. This is in addition to the months of preparation that we invested in opening school safely. From mask procurement, to daily disinfection of our facilities, to daily temperature checks of students and staff, to social distancing and ‘cohort’ measures throughout the school, we have taken every possible precaution to keep our talmidim safe. Some facts: – Yeshiva Darchei Torah is in compliance with all published City, State and Federal government rules and regulations. – Yeshiva Darchei Torah is in daily consultation with leading infectious disease specialists, and has accepted and implemented all of their recommendations and suggestions. – Yeshiva Darchei Torah remains in contact with the Department of Health and we are confident that together we will come to a reasonable and amicable resolution that will keep the interests of the children at the forefront. There is no replacement for in-person learning, which we have been conducting in a safe and efficient manner — in careful adherence to the instructions of world-class infectious disease specialists — since late August. However, our staff is hard at work preparing a plan to transition to virtual learning. We are working feverishly to resolve any issues and will keep you updated. This is a nisayon. Life is full of nisyonos, and our job in life is to overcome them–and grow in the process. Im Yirtzeh Hashem we will pass this nisayon with flying colors. I close with the tefillah from Selichos that should be our focus during this nisayon, as we ask Hashem: “Asei limaan tinokos shel bais rabban shelo chat’u.” Rabbi Yaakov Bender (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

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