Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the chief rabbi of the city of Tsfat (Safed), called for mass prayers at the Kotel (Western Wall) to be held on Sunday morning.

“‘Hashem is good to all, and His mercy is upon all His works.’ (Psalms 145:9) We are called to pray for the residents of China who are in great distress. Tens of thousands of people are in solitude. Millions are in quarantine. One-fifth of the residents of the world are in great fear. For each and every one of them is said: ‘Dear is Man who was created in the image [of God].’ (Mishna Avot 3:14). We are called to pray for the people of China and also pray for all of the sick people in every nation, and to pray for the world.”

“May it be Hashem’s will that our prayers will be heard and the verse be fulfilled: ‘All the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you and your descendants.’ (Genesis 28:14)”

The prayers will be held on Sunday at 4:30 PM.

Earlier on Thursday, the rabbi posted:

“In the wake of the spreading of the coronavirus, we are calling for prayer. It is our spiritual duty to There is a tradition held by the people of Israel, that one blessing draws another. And when there was an epidemic in the nation of Israel, King David taught us to thank and bless every favor we receive from God, and so the plague stopped (II Samuel 24). That gift which we received from King David, we want to pass on to the Chinese people.”

“King David taught us to bless with a song,” Rabbi Eliahu stated, calling on all “creative people, composers, musicians, and singers to compose a gift song from Israel to the Chinese people. A song of partnership, of prayer, of blessing.”