Temple Sholom adapts to keep tradition, community intact for High Holy Days
GREENWICH — Rabbi Mitchell Hurvitz began planning for the High Holy Days on March 12, one day after Temple Sholom in Greenwich closed to the public because of the coronavirus crisis.
The rabbi understood fully that properly observing two of the holiest days in the Jewish faith, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, while navigating a pandemic would be difficult.
“It’s like building an airplane while you’re flying it,” Hurvitz said.
Before he was done, Hurvitz would record more than 60 hours of services for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, with the help of a congregant who works in media production, for those worshiping from home. He and temple staff would also plan indoor, in-person services that would look and feel radically different from other years, when the Temple Sholom sanctuary is normally packed with worshipers.
“It’s a real mix of emotion for those people who are going to be in the sanctuary,” Temple Sholom Executive Director Eileen Robin said heading into the holy weekend. “It’s going to feel very empty. You’re going to have maybe 75 congregants versus 1,100.”
But to fully serve his congregation, Hurvitz knew he wouldn’t be able to fly alone.
Enter the Rev. Stephanie Johnson of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Riverside.
She approached Hurvitz early in the pandemic, as he searched for
solutions and she searched for ways that her congregation could help other spiritual groups in the community.
Her congregation often holds services outdoors, in the meadow beside the church building. She offered the field to the rabbi for the High Holy Days.
“It’s sort of this remarkable gift that we have, to be able to be outside and do our services [there] every Sunday morning,” said Johnson.
“So, it just seems like something we could share with other people who are looking to gather in community in safe ways.”
The church has a long history of giving its space to others. For years, St. Paul’s Episcopal shared its building with the Greenwich Reform Synagogue. The church now hosts movies, concerts and even yoga classes in its meadow.
“It’s our way of inviting the community and the different congregations to the abundance that we’ve been blessed with,” said Johnson.
The Temple Sholom congregation jumped into putting together music, prayers and other elements to suit services in the new space.
Robin said she hoped Temple Sholom’s offerings throughout this weekend — both indoor and outdoor — would help create the sense of community that is essential to both Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, especially after much of the congregation has been so long apart.
The build-up to the High Holy Days and the process of planning has helped keep the community intact, she said.
“To see them in our driveway, to wave to them through our windows, to put the holiday prayer books in their trunk and have an opportunity to say hello and spread our arms in a virtual hug has been tremendous and so poignant and reminded us about the importance of being together and the need for human contact,” said Robin.
On one afternoon in particular, the staff and clergy at Temple Sholom witnessed a powerful testament to people’s need for the fellowship the congregation provides.
Robin recalled that an older member of Temple Sholom walked to the synagogue one day just to wave to the security cameras studded around the building’s entrance.
One by one, clergy and staff filtered out from inside to greet the woman — a longtime member of the temple who had been home-bound for much of the pandemic.
“She’s been in her apartment. She’s only seen her sons and her grandchildren, and she really wants to feel connected,” said Robin.
Later in the day, the woman reflected on how full of joy the experience made her feel.
To Robin, that moment encapsulated the hope that her synagogue worked to deliver to congregants with the High Holy Days in the era of COVID-19.
“We need to continue to be visible to them and let them pray and see our faces throughout the years to come,” she said.
Hurvitz believes that continuing to be present and visible despite hardships is intrinsic to the Jewish faith.
“For 2,000 years of history, we as Jews had to deal with challenges. So, you always have had within our history a figuring out how to be nimble, to keep continuity,” he said.
This year, that has meant reaching across town and across faiths to embrace the invitation of another spiritual leader.
“I have always said the Greenwich is incredibly unique for the friendship, the real friendship and fellowship that exists between the clergy,” said Hurvitz. “Even though we have different ritual practices, we’re all the same people.”