High Holy Days setback
Delta variant again forces Jewish congregations to readjust
Back in June, Brooklyn’s Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope decided its theme for the High Holy Days, starting Monday night, would be “Let us return.”
“We had imagined we’d be welcoming our whole congregation back into our sacred spaces to share in the holidays in person, altogether,” Rabbi Rachel Timoner told the Daily News.
“We’ve had to adjust that significantly in the last few weeks,” Timoner said, citing the fast-spreading COVID-19 delta variant.
In consultation with the historic synagogue’s panel of COVID experts, Timoner and her leadership team considered a range of options, including drastically scaling back in-person capacity to 20%.
They ultimately decided on a hybrid option, offering indoor holiday services at half capacity, multiple outdoor events and virtual access through Zoom and livestreaming.
They’re also requiring proof of vaccination for everyone 12 and older, a negative PCR test for kids ineligible for the vaccine, and masking and social distancing.
“When I first realized we weren’t going to be able to fill the sanctuary completely, I was disappointed. But now, I’m just really excited to be back. It’s still going to be incredibly uplifting,” Timoner said.
Congregation Beth Elohim is lucky. With a 1,300-seat sanctuary, half capacity still means more than 600 people. Last year, Timoner gave her Rosh Hashanah sermon alone in the massive space with only a cantor and a camera crew.
Planning for this holiest period of the Jewish calendar, which starts with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and includes Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, has been a moving target for temples across the city.
“In June, it felt like New York was coming back to life. People were going to Madison Square Garden to see Knicks games with 20,000 unmasked attendees, and most of our community was vaccinated. So we started to plan for being at full capacity,” said Angela Buchdahl, senior rabbi at Central Synagogue in Manhattan.
Rising case numbers due to delta upended that planning. The synagogue, which has a medical doctor as president of its Board of Trustees, decided to go with 50% capacity instead.
It also will require proof of vaccination for everyone who’s eligible, negative PCR tests for kids younger 12 and masks at all times. Its in-person family services, which typically gather hundreds of children younger than 12, will be completely virtual this year, Buchdahl said.
“We had a taste of what it felt like to be somewhat back to normal. So it’s hard to feel like you have to take steps backward again,” she said.
“I was so looking forward to gathering with the community and hearing the whole congregation singing out loud again, unmasked, and seeing their smiling faces.”
But even with all the changes, the focus of the holidays remains the same, she said.
“Our job is to remind people of what we can be grateful for and to give people a sense of hopefulness for what this year will bring,” she said. “One thing we’ve learned is that people can show up in a lot of different ways.”
Of course, not all synagogues plan to offer virtual options, including Orthodox congregations that eschew technology on holidays.
The Riverdale Jewish Center in the Bronx, which is Modern Orthodox, will not have any Zooms or livestreams. It also won’t be requiring proof of vaccination for the estimated 500 people expected to show up in person for its largest holiday events.
But it has added a masking requirement and extra services outside on the roof, due to the delta variant.
“We’ll still have our regular service inside, but then we added service outdoors for people who are not comfortable being indoors,” Executive Director Oren Hiller said.
“It’s hard. It’s a bit of a letdown. Everything seemed so good in May and June,” he said.