Posted on July 7, 2020
July / August 2020
Back in March, when we began to move our synagogue services and programming to Live
stream, Zoom, and Facebook, most of us thought it would last a few weeks or at most a month
or two. But here we are. It’s summer time and there’s a lot of uncertainty about the spread of
the virus, when there will be therapeutics, and even when an effective vaccine will be ready.
The only thing we can be sure of is that we are going to have to deal and live with Covid 19 for
quite some time.
Each of us are making choices throughout this time. We decide whether we go to the
grocery store or Instacart our food items. Some of us are keeping family at a distance and
others are hugging them close. Some are playing, working out, and going to gyms and others
are limiting their outside exposure. We all know people around us making different choices
based on their age, health, or psychological needs. It’s not easy. This has been a time that has
tried the steadiest of nerves and have left many frustrate isolated, and downcast.
From the beginning, our synagogue has been committed to providing the highest quality of
worship and programming. After a service or learning event, we ask ourselves how we can do
it better. Even as we transition to allowing in person attendance, we remain committed to
providing excellent services and programs virtually. Live stream will continue even beyond
Covid 19. We have seen how many of you enjoy the opportunity to be part of our worship,
wherever you live.
Throughout this year, we are also committed to providing all events and learning through
both in person and virtual connections. We want each of you to be empowered and enabled to
make the right choice for you at any given time and to change your mind, if you need to. So
what this means is that our worship will be offered both live streamed and in person. Our adult
education will be offered both on Zoom and in person. Our Jewish school will be offered both
in person and remote learning for our students.
For those who choose to attend in person, we will follow our governor’s guidance for
houses of worship that entail many precautions for your well-being. We thank you for your
support in this regard. And for those who want to access our programming remotely, we will
continue indefinitely to provide that to you. In other words, we want you to be able to learn,
pray, and connect whether you are here or sheltering at home. We want to give our best to
you, our dear congregants.
It’s because we need community now more than ever. We need each other as we weather
the storms of this pandemic. May our will and resilience anchor us. May each of us and our
loved ones stay healthy. And may our relationships with each other and with God only grow
stronger. And may we go, chazak, chazak v’nitchazek, from strength to strength.