RABBI DAVID ROSE

Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation

In the past few weeks, Jews have been reading in the Torah about the construction of the Tabernacle. At the heart of this project is the statement that God doesn’t dwell in the Tabernacle but among the people.

This idea is especially important at the moment. Our physical meeting places have mostly had to close and many people may be feeling abandoned and unsupported at a time when they need support the most. This is especially true for those most vulnerable.

The message of the Jewish community and all religious communities is that this is emphatically not the case.

Our communities not only continue to function, but are strengthening our activities. A community is not a physical building or even physical proximity to each other but bonds of caring and mutual responsibility.

It is in some ways unfortunate that what we are being asked to observe is called “social distancing”. What we are really required to observe is “physical distancing”. Socially we should be engaging more than ever. Many of our communities are already putting in place methods of care and interaction that ensure that everyone is connected, valued and, if necessary, looked after.

We are especially engaging our younger generation to join in helping those more vulnerable. By looking after each other, all working together and socially engaging while physically distancing, we will emerge on the other side of this crisis with an enhanced sense of community and a better society.