Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri stands in protest TB Shabbat 26

I think that today’s daf TB Shabbat 26 helps relieve some of the anxiety of preparing for Passover this year because of the coronavirus.

“Rabbi Tarfon says: one may only light with all of oil alone. The Gemara relates: Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri stood on his feet and, contrary to this statement, said: And what shall the people of Babylonia, who have only sesame oil, do? And what shall the people of Medea, who have only nut oil, do? And what shall the people of Alexandria, who have only radish oil, do? And what shall the people of Cappadocia, who have neither this nor that but only naphtha, do? Rather, you have a prohibition only with regard to those substances with regard to which the Sages said: One may not light with them. All other oils are permitted.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri’s is saying we shouldn’t make a blanket pesak halacha, decision of Jewish law, but we need to contextualize it in terms of time and place. We should lean on his approach to Jewish law concerning Passover this year. Of course I can’t find the source right now, but I read how some Orthodox rabbis are teaching that we should rely on leniencies while preparing for Passover. Obviously, we should not have any visible Chametz in the house. All Chametz should be stored away in the cupboards with some type of sign or tape preventing its accidental use. We may not be able to do our normal Passover cleaning this year and we should not drive ourselves crazy. All we have to do is clean as best we can and rely upon the sale, the annulment, and the destruction of the Chametz (which could mean throwing out the Chametz you searched for the night before the Seder to the curb).

Rabbi Eliyahu Abergel, head of Jerusalem's rabbinical court; the Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Gat, Rabbi Shlomo Ben Hamo; and Rabbi Aharon Cohen of Yakir wrote that it was permitted to launch Zoom before the festival began and then leave it running, and that this would not constitute a violation of halacha.

They added that it was possible to be lenient about the prohibition of “uvda d’chol” [typical weekday activities] given the special circumstances, and that there was no reason to be concerned that allowing such a leniency in the current situation would lead to people using the technology in the future as well, as people would understand that it was only being permitted in an emergency.

By following Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri’s we can still make Passover a joyous holiday in spite of all the restrictions to flatten the curve.