US synagogues prepare for unique, pandemic-era High Holy Days
More than 6,000 people participated in online “Slichot Night Live" with lectures, Havdalah and Slichot services led by more than 60 rabbis, kantors and speakers.
By JEREMY SHARONThree siblings in Mevaseret Zion, near Jerusalem, wave to their their grandmother in Haifa as she joins their Passover Seder via Zoom (photo credit: REUTERS/DAN WILLIAMS)
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the spiritual pinnacles of the Jewish calendar, will look very different this year in many synagogues around the Jewish world because of the novel coronavirus pandemic that has swept the globe over the last eight months.Some will be shuttered entirely and move to online services alone, some will combine real-world prayers with the virtual kind, and some, especially those in the Orthodox world, will hold physical prayer services on a reduced scale and in scaled-back formats.Despite the Jewish law restrictions for Orthodox communities on digital services on the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur itself, some have nevertheless invested heavily in online resources and events to bolster the High Holy Days experience despite the pall cast by the ongoing pandemic.The Kehilath Jeshurun Modern Orthodox community in New York City is one synagogue which has put a heavy emphasis on reaching out to its congregants – and beyond – online to guarantee that they preserve something of the holiday spirit in these straitened times.The synagogue started out by livestreaming the first of the slihot services on Saturday night, which garnered 1,400 viewers online.It has also produced a highly polished online “High Holiday Reader” with a wealth of commentary and thoughts about Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, as well as a guide for praying at home, and educational materials for children and youth.The synagogue will also be producing a one-hour highlights service of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services to watch before the holidays commence, and will live stream the Kol Nidrei service before the beginning of Yom Kippur and the shofar blasts marking the end of the fast.Real-world prayer services will also be conducted in several locations and at different times to accommodate those who will be attending in person.“We want to inspire people wherever they may be, so that if people can’t go to Kehilath Jeshurun, Kehilath Jeshurun can go to them,” said Senior Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz.“Some people have had catastrophic losses this year, others have had many other things taken away from them, and we wanted to ensure that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur should not be taken away from them as well.”
Congregations belonging to the Conservative Movement in the US have also been embracing the new digital options for the spiritual realm.More than 6,000 people participated in its “Slichot Night Live” on Saturday night with lectures, Havdalah and slihot services, and “Musical Moments” led by more than 60 rabbis, hazanim (cantors) and speakers.And the movement has also produced a unique, downloadable Rosh Hashanah Seder replete with the various services, ceremonies, and prayers for the holiday.Many of the Conservative movement’s synagogues have moved their High Holy Day services online, such as the prestigious Park Avenue Synagogue, also in New York, which has created a host of digital resources for its congregants to mark the holiday and participate in it from home.Study sessions on the holiday prayer books, online sing-alongs, communal activism opportunities and social outreach initiatives have all been made available online to help congregants get the most out of the High Holy Day season, despite the innumerable restrictions of the pandemic era.
