(JTA) — When the world shut down last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Natan Sharansky figured his experience as a Soviet political prisoner meant he had a thing or two to teach the millions of people who were suddenly confined to their homes.

So he recorded a video providing his advice that went viral among the many Jews around the world who have long seen him as a sage figure.

Nearly a year and a half later, Sharansky, 73, announced on Facebook that he and his wife, Avital, had contracted the disease. The Israeli couple had both been vaccinated months ago, and are both recovering.

“...