Shidduchim and Vaccination

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

I received a phone call late at night from a former student who is now a physician. “Rabbi Hoffman, are you aware that there are shadchanim advising young ladies that if they get the vaccine, they will not get a shidduch because the vaccine causes infertility?”

The question hit right away: Are these shadchanim in violation of the “bad advice” form of lifnei iver? “Lifnei iver lo sitein michshol” is the prohibition of placing a stumbling block in front of the blind. There are three aspects of this concept that are discussed by the poskim.

1. Causing someone to stumble in Jewish law

2. Causing someone to stumble by giving bad or faulty advice (eitzah she’einah hogenes lo)

3. Actually placing a physical stumbling block or something similar in front of someone

The source for these three aspects of the verse is found in the Sifri at the end of chapter three of Parashas Kedoshim.

Why would the shadchan’s comment be bad advice? Well, firstly, the vaccine does not cause infertility. It is true that there is a placental protein that shares a short amino acid sequence with a spike protein found in the SARS CoV-2 virus. But it is false that the vaccine, which teaches the body to attack the virus, will also teach the body to attack the placental protein.

The concern is somewhat akin to mixing up two phone numbers simply because they both share two digits next to each other. Here is an example:

• The phone number of the main office switchboard for BMG in Lakewood is 732-367-1060.

• The phone number for Yale University’s main office is (203) 432-4771.

Both numbers have the digits “32,” but no one will confuse the two phone numbers. As Pfizer spokeswoman Jerica Pitts told the Associated Press in an e-mail, “It has been incorrectly suggested that COVID-19 vaccines will cause infertility because of a shared amino acid sequence in the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and a placental protein. The sequence, however, is too short to plausibly give rise to autoimmunity.”

Giving this faulty advice to others not only places them in harm’s way in that they will not get the vaccine, but it also places numerous others in harm’s way, too.

How Did The False Rumor Get Started?

There were actually two elements that contributed to the false rumor.

1. The first element was a petition filed by a British former Pfizer employee named Dr. Michael Yeadon and by a German physician named Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg to the European Medicines Agency. Yeadon left Pfizer nine years ago. The petition demanded that clinical trials of the Pfizer vaccine be stopped in the European Union until more safety and efficacy data can be provided. In their petition, both doctors admitted that there is no indication “whether antibodies against spike proteins of SARS viruses would also act like anti-syncytin-1 antibodies.” But they do say, “If this were to be the case this would then also prevent the formation of a placenta which would result in vaccinated women essentially becoming infertile.” Dr. Yeadon also said that COVID is effectively over in the United Kingdom. Dr. Yeadon never stated that there is a guaranteed association between the vaccine and fertility, but asked if the vaccine makers were sure there would not be a problem.

2. The second element was a blog called “Health and Money News,” which contained some false information. The article states, “The vaccine contains a spike protein called syncytin-1, vital for the formation of human placenta in women.” That part is true for the Pfizer vaccine. It is not true for the Moderna vaccine. It goes on to say, “The vaccine works so that we form an immune response against the spike protein; we are also training the female body to attack syncytin-1, which could lead to infertility in women of an unspecified duration.” That part was false.

Our Question

Now let’s get back to our question: Are shadchanim who tell people not to get the vaccine in violation of the Torah prohibition of lifnei iver? The answer is not all that simple. There is a difference between the first form of lifnei iver, in regard to halachah, and the second form of lifnei iver, in regard to bad advice. The difference is discussed in the footnotes to the Mossad HaRav Kook Ritva on Yevamos 342 (column 1) written by Rabbi Refoel Aharon Yoffen, zt’l.

In the first form, the person is in violation of the prohibition even if he or she was completely unaware that there was a halachic violation involved. In the second form, that of bad advice, the violation only occurs if the person offering the advice was aware that it was bad advice.

Why, then, is it not so simple? The answer is that numerous poskim have ruled that one is halachically obligated to take vaccines that help prevent the spread of deadly disease (see Zera Emes Vol. II #36, Nishmas Avraham Choshen Mishpat 427, and also Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach’s Minchas Shlomo 2:29:4). This is particularly true with the COVID-19 vaccine where many contemporary poskim have ruled that there is an obligation to take it. If there is such a halachic obligation, then the shadchan is also violating halachah, not just dispensing bad advice.

Rav Asher Weiss ruled in a shiur that there is not a full-fledged obligation to receive the vaccine since one can opt to socially distance and wear masks at all times. He added, however, that it is very advisable to take the vaccine. On the other hand, according to those poskim who hold that it is good advice to take the vaccine, but not an obligation, then those who erroneously advise not to get the vaccine are not in violation of lifnei iver.

Should Pregnant Women Get The Vaccine?

Expert doctors are reporting that pregnant women are at increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness when compared to non-pregnant women of the same age and health. These risks include need for intensive care treatment, intubation, and mechanical ventilation, as well as increased risk of death. That being the case, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends the following: “Based on the mechanism of action of these vaccines and the demonstrated safety and efficacy in clinical trials, it is expected that the safety and efficacy profile of the vaccine for pregnant individuals would be similar to what is observed in non-pregnant individuals.” ACOG, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) all agree that eligible pregnant women should not be denied the option to receive the vaccine. ACOG recommends that pregnant women should engage in “shared decision making” with their healthcare provider.

This article is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice or as a halachic psak. Readers are advised to consult their own physician and rav for guidance.

The author can be reached at Yairhoffman2@gmail.com. Read more of Rabbi Hoffman’s articles at 5TJT.com.