Synagogues grapple with High Holy Days 5782 and the Delta variant
As we head into 5782, synagogues already have one pandemic High Holy Days crisis under their belts. However, because of the surge in the Delta variant, this year’s services are laser focused on adapting the lessons from last year while scrutinizing the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
At this time last year, pharmaceutical companies were racing to develop a vaccine. This year, vaccines exist but breakthrough cases are appearing. Children under 12 are too young to be vaccinated, and every synagogue and Jewish ritual community is working hard to cover all the bases so that SoCal Jews can participate in meaningful High Holy Days services.
Of course, contingency plans differ among each community. However, one thing is certain: Every rabbi, cantor, teacher and community leader — often in conjunction with a medical task force — has tried to be as innovative as possible to ensure that their communities can come together in one fashion or another.
From beach and courtyard services to virtual services, watch parties and mandatory vaccinations, SoCal Jewish News spoke with several faith leaders* about the types of services they plan to lead, what they learned from 5781 and how they plan to keep their High Holy Days safe and meaningful in 5782.
*SoCal Jewish News reached out to multiple congregations. The information below was compiled from those that responded by the deadline.
Cantor David Shukiar
Virtual services: Yes.
Indoor services: Live, indoor services are limited to the rabbinical team, a 10-piece band and choir. Torah readers and their immediate families also are invited to be inside. The choir will be masked when singing. Band members, excluding wind players, will be masked. Instruments have covers so aerosol spread is limited.
Outdoor services: Limited to family services.
Children’s services: Rabbi Barry Diamond and Cantor David Shukiar and Torah readers will be outdoors. Other participants will watch via the livestream.
Do congregants need to be vaccinated/masked?: Everyone inside must be fully vaccinated if they are able, or have a negative COVID test 48 hours prior to services.
Task force recommendations: Windows will be open. The space has fans and two air filtration systems. Singers and instrumentalists will wear masks.
Lessons learned from 2020: Because we have been [using technology] for a year and a half, we have gotten good at our technology. We are still reaching more people because of streaming. [This year] we made the decision to go virtual three weeks before Rosh Hashanah. We are setting up 13 microphones to pick up choir members and mixers and wiring everywhere to present the music so people can feel they are hearing the full choir.
“With the Pfizer [vaccine] approved by the FDA, hopefully it encourages more people to vaccinate, and we can put the pandemic behind us. The core Jewish value is taking care of people. I’m grateful the choir and band [are] with us. It allows me to get to a deeper prayer space and I hope it projects onto our congregants.”
Rabbi Ed Feinstein
Virtual services: Yes. Services will be livestreamed.
Indoor services: Yes. We have a system of tickets, so we know how many seats there are but in the last few days, that has become moot because we’ve had many people call us and say,
“I ordered tickets. I don’t want them. I’ll just watch the service online.” It now seems that we’re going to have relatively small groups in person, and we can spread them out and social distance.
Outdoor services: No.
Children’s services: We had to cancel our children’s services. So instead, we have organized a very creative and clever children’s program. It’s sort of like a Disneyland ride. You go from station to station, adventure to adventure, going through prayers and stories and shofar blowing and apples and honey. And kids will walk with their families through the campus, experiencing parts of the holiday in small groups and outside so that they’re safe.
Do congregants need to be vaccinated/masked?: Yes.
Task force recommendations: We have a very wonderful group of medical professionals of doctors and scientists and nurses who we consult with. They’ve been working with us since the beginning of the pandemic, giving us guidance and advice and helping us find our way through this. And so we’ve been talking to them almost daily now — pulmonologists, infectious disease specialists, pediatricians, public health people. We have very strong connections with the county health department, which has been giving us advice as well. Then the decisions are being made by the staff and the board and the lay leadership.
Lessons learned from 2020: Because of COVID, we actually have built a studio in the synagogue and have professionals who are doing this. So if we have to go virtual, even at the very last minute, it will be difficult. It will be painful spiritually, but it will be possible.
“I have this tremendous, deep sense that our community is very, very hungry for connection: hearing each other’s voices, seeing old friends, being part of a cohort or part of a community for the beginning of the New Year.”
Communications Manager Jason Marx
Virtual services: Yes. The majority of our services will take place via Zoom.
Indoor services: No.
Outdoor services: Three outdoor services including Erev Rosh Hashanah and Kol Nidre. We are not restricting the number of attendees, but are requiring advance registration to anticipate how much seating to have ready.
Children’s services: In-person, outdoor services on Rosh Hashanah afternoon for families with young children, as well as Zoom “junior congregation” services for children in grades 4-7.
Do congregants need to be vaccinated/masked?: Mask-wearing is mandatory for unvaccinated attendees (including children ages 3-11), and mask-wearing is recommended for vaccinated attendees. However, we are not requiring proof of vaccination.
Task force recommendations: None.
Lessons learned from 2020: We learned from last year’s Zoom High Holy Days services that our congregants are very understanding and adaptable. The sense of connection in those Zoom services was undeniable, and we received a huge amount of positive feedback. Overall, it was a very gratifying experience.
“The increase of the Delta variant in recent weeks has only reinforced our conviction that 5782 is not the year to encourage large numbers of people to gather indoors together.”
Congregation Kol Ami, West Hollywood
Rabbi Denise L. Eger
Virtual services: Yes. Erev Rosh Hashanah services and Rosh Hashanah Day 1 and separate family service. Tickets are available for purchase for nonmembers.
Indoor services: Yes. Rosh Hashanah Day 2. As of publication, Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur Day services will be in person and online at Harmony Gold Theatre. Tickets are available for purchase for nonmembers.
Outdoor services: No.
Children’s services: Yes. Family service on Rosh Hashanah Day 1 will be online only. Family services for Yom Kippur are online only at 1 p.m.
Do congregants need to be vaccinated/masked?: Masks will still be required outdoors (except when eating at the BYO Picnic Dinner at 6:30 p.m.). People will have to show proof of vaccination and sign an attestation that they are COVID free.
Task force recommendations: Our reopening task force has medical doctors, an epidemiologist, temple senior staff and board members as well as attorneys. We have been closely following protocols of the L.A. County Department of Public Health and the CDC.
Lessons learned from 2020: I’ve learned so much in this past year that is going to create this year’s experience. First, we have tried to include as many people as possible in the preparation of services utilizing their gifts and talents. This fosters the deep connections we have as a synagogue community and this is even more important to stem the isolation we have experienced over the course of the last 18 months. I’ve also learned that we can have multiple experiences, allowing for some things to be online and others in person. And I have been reminded that flexibility is key. We can’t be too rigid in our lives as things change rapidly and we have to adapt. We can learn resilience in this way.
“We are looking forward to a meaningful High Holy Days and onward into Sukkot, during which we will have many opportunities to gather outdoors in our sukkah, for celebration.”
Melissa Balaban, CEO
Virtual services: We are livestreaming all our services for free, for members and nonmembers, with no registration required. We are organizing small gatherings in people’s homes, where they can watch the livestream together.
Indoor services: We have drastically limited the number of people who will daven inside together. Indoor services are limited to members only and our indoor capacity is less than 20%.
Outdoor services: We also are creating an outdoor davening experience under a large tent where our community can more safely gather, and we will have outdoor family services.
Children’s services: Outdoor family services that will be led by clergy and teens and also will be livestreamed.
Do congregants need to be vaccinated/masked?: Yes. Proof of vaccination is required.
Task force recommendations: We have a medical task force made up of community members who carefully considered recommendations we have been following for the last year and a half.
Lessons learned from 2020: Last year was a crash course in how to create meaningful High Holy Days services over a livestream. We have learned how to keep clergy and relatively small numbers of in-person community members as safe as possible while creating a meaningful service for folks in person and at home. And we continue to learn and evolve on a weekly basis.
“Like most communities, we have congregants with different comfort levels and ability to meet in person while the Delta variant is as prevalent as it is. Our guiding theme for this year’s High Holy Days is that we can “Create Sacred Space Everywhere.” Our aim is to create the most meaningful and soulful High Holy Days programming possible. We also are sending out High Holy Days packages to all our members to help deepen their experience and provide inspiration even if they are not with us in person.”
Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills
Rabbi Sarah Bassin
Virtual services: Yes.
Indoor services: Led live inside the sanctuary by clergy. However, members cannot attend services inside.
Outdoor services: Yes, at our on-campus outdoor space via a screen, but we are restricting the number of congregants.
Children’s services: Yes. For Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur at Beverly Cañon Gardens for families, and a beach-based service combined with tashlich.
Do congregants need to be vaccinated/masked?: Yes. All those who are eligible for vaccination, or else they must show a medical exemption.
Lessons learned from 2020: Creating in-person opportunities is important after so many months in isolation. While most will feel more comfortable joining virtually, we want to make sure to speak to the needs of those who want to gather in person. The only way we feel we can do that responsibly is through outdoor gatherings.
“We are strongly emphasizing our need to draw on each other, recognizing that the pandemic has been hard on different people at different times. Given our heightened awareness of our collective needs, we want our congregants to be more comfortable asking for and offering help.”
Kahal Joseph Congregation, Century City
Rabbi Natan Halevy
Virtual services: No.
Indoor services: Yes, for members only. Only the chazzan and the rabbi will be on the bimah.
Outdoor services: Yes, for members only. Services will take place at Holmby Park.
Children’s services: Kids programming inside the synagogue. Jewish educational prayers for kids.
Do congregants need to be vaccinated/masked?: Masks must be worn inside. No vaccination required. Socially distanced throughout the sanctuary.
Task force recommendations: We have a board and they helped us figure out how to operate services indoors.
Lessons learned from 2020: We learned to be prepared for anything. We are a religion of faith and that is important. Yes, we have to be safe and healthy, 100%. Fear is an unhealthy emotion. Being safe and being smart and doing what you need to do, whether it’s being vaccinated or wearing a mask, that’s being safe. Fear doesn’t need to play a part in that.
“Whenever we get together and pray, we are always trying to uplift as much as we can. I do whatever I can to keep myself in high spirits. I can’t afford to be weak. My weakness affects the community. My positive state of mind has been crucial.”
Executive Director Deborah Moses
Virtual services: Yes. We are giving gift bags to anyone hosting a small gathering at home as well as an opportunity to borrow High Holy Day machzors.
Indoor services: No.
Outdoor services: Yes. All services will be outside. Members only and allowed to attend only two services. Family groups will have the ability to move chairs and socially distance from others.
Children’s services: Teen services will be held on campus at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 6 and Sept. 16. Family-friendly tashlich services start at 3 p.m. on Sept. 6. Children under 12 will not be able to attend in-person main services.
Do congregants need to be vaccinated/masked?: Yes. Masks and proof of vaccination required.
Task force recommendations: There are medical personnel on our COVID-19 task force to inform but not coordinate.
Lessons learned from 2020: Having a high-quality production works. The difference this year is the in-person option.
Temple Beth Am, Pico-Robertson
Assistant Rabbi Rebecca Schatz
Virtual services: Yes. Services will be livestreamed.
Indoor services: We will have services outdoors and indoors. We will have services on Rosh Hashanah Days 1 and 2, Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur through Neilah. Limited seating based on space for distance; everyone masked; everyone vaccinated (with proof shown upon arrival or registration); and no shofar service. Any person “presenting” will have a negative PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test and will be the only person unmasked only while leading. We do not have assigned seats, but because of our multiplex layout, we will keep an eye on the indoor locations and if one becomes full to limited capacity, we will only allow people to go outside.
Outdoor services: We also will have family services and programming all outdoors, all masked and distanced. Our service outdoors is open to anyone, with space to distance.
Children’s services: We have family services, child care, and more — all outside, all masked, all distanced and podded.
Do congregants need to be vaccinated/masked?: Yes.
Task force recommendations: We are in constant communication with our medical task force and the L.A. County Department of Public Health to help us make decisions based on medicine as well as the comfort of our community. We also have regular meetings with four other rabbis in Los Angeles and the L.A. County Department of Public Health.
Lessons learned from 2020: We learned that some people enjoy interactive services and some people enjoy shorter services. We learned that we can reach certain people better if we are streaming into their home. So we are carrying over all of those things and yet staying true to our community pre-COVID. We are a traditional conservative community that appreciates the flexibility of modern technology and chooses not to use it as the primary way of connection on Shabbat and holidays.
“We are trying to focus our congregation on joining us in the way that is most comfortable for them. Choosing comfort through safety rather than assignment of a seat or name of a minyan. We want our community to join us in whatever way will allow them to focus on the kavannah, the intention, the spirituality and the real reason for the High Holy Days.”
Pico Union Project, Downtown Los Angeles
Founder, Craig Taubman
Virtual services: Yes. Individuals, families, members and nonmembers can purchase virtual tickets here. We also are sending attendees a prayer outline with texts and alternate reading prior to services.
Indoor Services: No.
Outdoor Services: No.
Children’s services: No.
Task force recommendations: None.
Lessons learned from 2020: Last year, we spent a lot of time and money creating high-end videos. They were well received, but not nearly as warmly as the moments we were live — albeit not in person. One concrete example was learning about Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death. Had we [been] taped, we would not have been able to respond. This year, we are producing far fewer videos and allowing more time for people online to share, give feedback and comment.
“A few weeks ago we sent an email speaking about how ‘People Plan and God Laughs.’ You can expect the same joyous, uplifting celebrations all from the comfort of home.”
Rabbi Nolan Lebovitz
Virtual services: Yes. All services will be livestreamed.
Indoor services: No.
Outdoor services: Yes. On the patio. We are fortunate to have a large outdoor space, which we have tented in preparation for High Holy Days services. Tickets are required.
Children’s services: Yes. Outdoor services on Rosh Hashanah Day 1 and Yom Kippur.
Do congregants need to be vaccinated/masked?: Both vaccinated and unvaccinated are welcome. Those who show proof of vaccination will not be required to wear masks. Those who are not vaccinated or without proof must wear a mask/ face covering at all times, except while eating.
Task force recommendations: Our synagogue leadership, along with our board of directors and a task force established for this specific purpose, continue to review our policies in light of the changing numbers and department of health recommendations.
“We hope that these High Holy Days serve our community’s spiritual and emotional health in addition to abiding by the guidelines for our physical health and wellbeing.”
Rabbi Lori Shapiro
Virtual services: No.
Indoor services: No.
Outdoor services: Live on the beach (location provided to ticket holders,) along with Kirtan chanting with waves, breath workshops.
Children’s services: Children will be given baskets with beach toys, shovels and beach balls during beach programming.
Do congregants need to be vaccinated/masked?: We are following a mask protocol designated by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Attendees will be broken into socially distant pods. Congregants do not need to be vaccinated to attend services.
Task force recommendations: Our task force has two physicians whom we consult and we are following county and state COVID-19 protocols.
Lessons learned from 2020: We were in a parking lot last year. While it was beautiful, it was very expensive. This year, we are pivoting to the beach to keep costs down.
“We need to create spaces for live community so that we can all remember that it is through community that we rediscover hope.”
Rabbi Naomi Levy
Virtual services: Yes. All services will be livestreamed.
Indoor services: No.
Outdoor services: In person in beautiful meadows with the stunning Nashuva band. Social distancing because we will have plenty of space to spread out.
Children’s services: No, but we encourage families with young kids to lay down on blankets to participate in our prayerful and musical and deeply spiritual service.
Do congregants need to be vaccinated/masked?: Yes.
Task force recommendations: We received advice from L.A. County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer, and a trusted epidemiologist.
Lessons learned from 2020: We’ve learned to engage a large online audience and we’ve also learned just how precious in-person gatherings are, and that’s why we are choosing to hold our services outdoors and to livestream from a stunning outdoor setting.
“Now, more than ever, we can turn to one another for support. We can gather in safe ways to lift up one another and we can deepen our prayer lives and feel the very presence of God taking us higher and higher. No tickets are ever required at Nashuva but we do require registration and donations of the heart. We are looking forward to safely welcoming in a year of blessings, together in-person and online.”
Rabbi-Cantor Cheri Weiss
Virtual services: Yes. Services will be livestreamed via Vimeo from the Unity Center in Mira Mesa. Other events will be held over Zoom.
Indoor services: Yes. We are holding all Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services indoors at Unity Center church. The sanctuary is beautiful and very spacious, so there is plenty of room for the small crowd we are expecting to spread out so that everyone feels safe and comfortable.
Outdoor services: No.
Children’s services: No. Unvaccinated children will not be allowed to attend in person.
Do congregants need to be vaccinated/masked?: Vaccination or proof of a negative COVID test is required. Attendees must remain masked throughout the service. No walk-ins will be permitted. Also, there will be no “honors,” so no one will be allowed near the bimah other than those involved in the service.
Task force recommendations: We follow the guidelines of the venue and CDC protocols.
Lessons learned from 2020: It is possible to maintain energy and spirituality even in an empty room. We kept everything simple: no choir, no fancy videos spliced into the service by a technician, etc. This will be the case this year as well. Last year, we contacted all the hospitals, hospices, rehab centers and retirement communities in San Diego and offered them free livestreamed services and many took us up on it. They will have the same opportunity this year.
“Don’t let these disappointing and frightening circumstances keep you from finding meaning and purpose in these High Holy Days. If you are comfortable coming in person, then come. If you don’t feel comfortable, then watch online. Get involved somehow.”
