Do I need my mask for this?
Having just moved from our apartment to a home, I’ve been confronted with a new dilemma. In a crowded apartment complex, there was never a question. I needed a mask every time I opened the front door.
Now?
Sometimes, I’m headed to the front yard to build furniture or clean. Sometimes, I’m simply taking out the trash. So…do I need my mask for this?
The more I pondered the question, the more Jewish the question seemed. In essence, it represents a question of what we owe each other. Must one remain so vigilant that they are prepared for chance encounters, even if they had no intention of meeting someone?
The Shulchan Aruch, a sixteenth century codex of Jewish law, stipulates that anyone trained to save a life must volunteer their services in a life-threatening situation. However, Jewish law does not demand that a physician or someone similarly trained always maintain equipment on hand in order to effectively do so.
However, there are activities where Jewish law demands that we prepare for the unexpected. For instance, the laws of leket, shich-chah, and peah (which demand that farmers abandon gleanings, forgotten produce, and the corners of their fields) do not stipulate that anyone will actually arrive to collect these gifts left for the poor. Nevertheless, the farmer is obligated to abandon them. Jewish law goes so far as to say that these offerings were never actually the property of the farmer; rather, they belong to the poor, to harvest or ignore according to their wishes.
For the moment, I have decided to take my cues from the latter concept. Even if a chance encounter seems unlikely, acknowledging the street as shared property suggests that proximity to the street requires prudence, in this case, a mask tucked firmly into the pocket.
— Rabbi Josh Knobel