Chaveirim Leadership Meets with Rav Mechel Steinmetz Regarding Shabbos Protocols
By: Boropark24 Reporter
Since its inception, Chaveirim was a six-day-a-week operation—24/6.
However, with time, many calls came in that needed immediate attention—some which would be permissible on shabbos, and some which would result in a cheapening of the honor of shabbos.
“We have known for a while that we need to set in place a set of guidelines that would guide our members in their work on shabbos. It was no longer an option to close the organization for shabbos,” said one coordinator to Boropark24.
To this end, they met with Rav Mechel Steinmetz, the Skverer Dayan, who worked long and hard—in tandem with Chaveirims leadership—to develop a set of protocols for responding on shabbos that would preserve the sanctity of shabbos.
One example is the fact brought in Gemara and Poskim that a child under six years old must have the company of his parents, and if he is locked in or out of a room, it is permitted to call Chaveirim on the phone. The same goes for the elderly, or people whose medication (depending on which one) is locked away.
Chaveirim will also be publishing a list of addresses where residents of the community will be able to walk over without the need to place a call—ushering the organization into a new era of chessed with an eye on shemiras shabbos.