Health Ministry: ‘Pray outdoors even if synagogue prayer permitted’
The ministry said that masks must be worn at all times during prayer services and that anyone feeling unwell at all should not go to pray.
By JEREMY SHARONReligious leaders gather at Jerusalem’s King David Hotel to join together in the prayer (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
The Organization of Synagogues together with the Health Ministry has recommended that worshipers continue to pray outdoors and not inside synagogues, even if the government should allow indoor worship in the near future.The two bodies made a series of recommendations for communal prayer during the winter months in anticipation of the eventual revocation by the government of the current COVID-19 regulations banning prayer in synagogues and other indoor venues.As well as stating that worshipers should continue to pray outside, the ministry said that those in high-risk groups for COVID in particular should avoid indoor prayer.It was recommended to erect some form of shelter from the rain at outdoor prayer venues and to close off one side of such a shelter to protect from strong winds.The ministry said that masks must be worn at all times during prayer services, and that anyone feeling unwell at all should not go to pray.Prayer services conducted indoors, when it is permitted, should be done in well-ventilated venues with open doors and windows, and should be conducted in small capsules over several separate services instead of one large service.Radiators should be preferred for heating over the heating function of air-conditioning systems.
