And
He will destroy on this mount the shroud That is
drawn over the faces of all the peoples And the
covering that is spread Over all the nations
Isaiah 25:7 (The Israel BibleTM)
While
Canada is being rocked by its largest civilian
protest ever (and convos around Israel joined in
to show unity), Canadian and Israeli researchers
joined in a study of the effects of COVID masks on
children. A recent study led by researchers at
Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba and York
University in Toronto found that wearing a mask
hindered facial recognition in adults. The recent
study concluded that this problem is even worse in
children and that this could lead to social
difficulties. The study coincides with worldwide
mask-mandate reversals. Since the study comes from
Israel, this phenomenon could be a fulfillment of
a little-known prophecy of Isaiah that is a sign
of the final redemption.
THE
BEST METHOD FOR MEASURING FACE PERCEPTION
Researchers
used a children’s version of the Cambridge Face
Memory Test, considered the best method for
measuring face perception abilities in humans, to
test the children’s ability to recognize faces
with and without masks.
The
study examined 72 children aged 6 -14, by showing
them pictures of faces with or without masks, both
upright and inverted.
They
found that children’s face-perception abilities
were impaired by 20% as compared to about a 15%
rate for adults.
THE
NATURAL METHOD OF FACIAL RECOGNITION
Mask
wearing has made it impossible for children to use
the natural method of facial recognition which
processes the face as a whole. Instead, the
children learned to resort to an analytical
approach for facial recognition when most parts of
the face are covered.
The
researchers wrote that difficulty in facial
recognition due to masks in conjunction with
social distancing “could potentially impact social
interactions with peers and educators, as well as
the ability to form important relationships.”
THE
HOLISTIC WAY FACES ARE PROCESSED
“Faces
are among the most important visual stimuli. We
use facial information to determine different
attributes about a person, including their gender,
age, mood, and intentions. We use this information
to navigate through social interactions,” said
York University Assistant Professor Erez Freud,
the study’s senior author. “Not only do masks
hinder the ability of children to recognize faces,
but they also disrupt the typical, holistic way
that faces are processed.”
The
study comes as many local governments in Canada
and the US are repealing their mask mandates. On
Monday, Oregon, New Jersey, Connecticut, and
Delaware announced they will end indoor mask
requirements for public places and inside schools.
California,
which has enforced draconian pandemic measures
until now, just announced they will end their
universal indoor mask mandate next week and roll
back other restrictions. LA County will continue
to enforce the mask mandate.
REMOVING
THE MANDATE
When
asked on Monday about the lifting of the school
mask mandate in New Jersey, Jen Psaki, the White
House press secretary, pointed to C.D.C.’s
guidance that masks can reduce virus transmission
as justification for continued enforcement.
Though
most provinces in Canada are still enforcing mask
mandates, Saskatchewan and Alberta are moving to
remove the mandate.
ISAIAH’S
PROPHECY
Rabbi
Yosef Berger, the rabbi of King David’s Tomb in
Jerusalem, noted that the Prophet Isaiah predicted
that such a study leading to the removal of masks
would emerge from Israel. He cited the verse:
And
He will destroy on this mount the shroud That is
drawn over the faces of all the peoples And the
covering that is spread Over all the nations:
Isaiah 25:7
The
Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘shroud’ is
masecha (מַּסֵּכָה) which literally means a mask.
FOCUSED
ON ISRAEL
“The
Prophet Isaiah is telling us that the key to
removing the masks will be focused on Israel, more
specifically, Jerusalem,” Rabb Berger said.
“Israel is a tiny country but we have played a
major role in the global pandemic with the nations
watching us carefully. And nothing has united that
world like this pandemic. Everyone in the world
knows what COVID is. This unifying experience is
preparing the world for when ‘God will be One and
His name will be One’.”
“Taking
off the masks is the first step towards ending the
pandemic,” Rabbi Berger said, citing the next
verse in Isaiah.
He
will destroy death forever. My Hashem will wipe
the tears away From all faces And will put an end
to the reproach of His people Over all the earth—
For it is Hashem who has spoken. Isaiah 25:8
“Isaiah
is describing the final ingathering when all the
nations come to Jerusalem to praise hashem,” Rabbi
Berger said. “But, as the Prophet Isaiah stated,
nobody can come to Jerusalem wearing a mask. This
is an allegory, meaning that people must come as
their true selves, but also literally. We are
already seeing that these masks are a visible
declaration of a person’s belief. We are already
seeing a new global community of people who
believe in God who are easily identifiable by not
wearing masks.”