by
Rabbi Jeremy Gordon
Draft
Only At This Point
Summary
This will
be a Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur season unlike any other. We will offer a wide
range of provisions to get as close as we can to what we know and what I don’t
expect we can have this year:
i.Community-wide Zoom
Gatherings on the fringes of Festive days. As we did with our community
Passover Seder, we will offer opportunities for NLS members to come together on
Zoom to celebrate Festivals before they officially begin; probably to include
Kol Nidrei.
ii.Uploaded Resources. Pre-recorded
materials will give on-screen viewers the best experience of Rosh Hashanah and
Yom Kippur we can offer. These will come in two kinds, more traditional
offerings from Chazan Stephen and I as well as participative and collaborative
material with contributions from across the community. These videos will be
uploaded for viewing ahead of the Festive days.
iii.Physical Services at
NLS if
possible. These are likely to be shorter services with different foci. Physical
distancing and related protocols will be observed. Risk assessments will be
done (and redone) with closest attention paid to government and medical advice.
We are actively researching how best to be ready for the options that might be
open to us, by September, to create a safe environment for members and
staff.
iv.Live-Streaming. We will stream
services from the Synagogue using a ‘set and forget’ system. The streaming
offering, which will be viewable from the New London web-site, will not be
perfectly designed for online consumption, but it will be ‘live.’
Fuller
reasoning, explanations and Halachic engagement follows.
Now
I’m proud of how we have adapted
our prayer services to this new world. We have been hosting services on Zoom,
streaming and uploading a wide range of materials. And there are children’s
services, events and more. So far so good. We are reaching lots of people who,
otherwise, wouldn’t be accessing communal prayer.
But we aren’t streaming/Zooming
our most popular service – Shabbat mornings. And Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
are on their way.
Rosh Hashanah
and Yom Kippur
Even assuming a substantial
lifting of regulations, many members will have entirely reasonable concerns
about transmission and will avoid coming into the building, even if we take
significant steps to ensure physical-distancing. What about children who don’t
understand protocol? What about the anecdotal stories about the particular
dangers of singing together? An American colleague has even raised concerns
about transmission by Shofar, based on academic work on the “propagation of
respiratory aerosols by vuvuzelas.”[1] Many
larger communities have already declared that their buildings will be closed
for our most sacred days, shouldering a responsibility not to tempt members who
should not be attending into the buildings, no matter how tightly services are
controlled. It’s heart-breaking.
Easy
Decisions – Use of Facebook, Zoom and Streaming on the Fringes of Holy-Days
We will continue to share material
on our Facebook page; liturgical highlights, sermons and the like. This
material will be ‘up’ before Yom Tov.
We will continue to use the pre-
and post-moments of holy-days to allow membership to come together for these
special occasions. Our Zoom Pesach Seder and the regular Friday night services are
good models for this. I recommend we hold Kol Nidrei ‘together’ on Zoom timed to
end at 6:30pm and a Zoom Havdalah/Break-fast after Neilah the following night. These
can be preceded or followed by open-space for people to schmooze, perhaps even
using break-out room facilities.
We will need to pre-record content
that will give our members the closest experience of being together for RH/YK
that we can. I imagine three pre-records (which will need professional support
to create and edit). One will be a ‘traditional’ offering liturgical highlights
and a sermon. A second will be a children’s provision, perhaps using our expert
youth-educators as well as integrating short videos from our children e.g.
singing to a backing track which can be cut together. The third would be
‘second-space,’ and will be more creative also designed for families with older
children.
We can invite participation from
across membership (very short greetings to give people a chance to see
Shul-acquaintances, readings, bits of leyning etc.) I think we can create
something very special that will tick many of the ‘boxes’ of needs and desires
of the NLS family.
We need to draw our energies away
from ‘two-days a year’ and seek to engage every member over an extended period
that stretches from Ellul to the end of Tishrei; more phone calls, more
opportunities to reflect together, more possibilities for interaction between
members. We’ll need some creativity and an investment of time and effort and
we’ll need our members to understand that this year will necessitate a
different journey through these days, but that’s all doable.[2]
A Framework
for the Use of the Building if Government Regulations Lift a Reasonable Amount
What follows is on the assumption that,
by Rosh Hashanah, government regulation will
allow a set, but limited, number
on site. This number will be based on different household groups able to
maintain social distance.
We are keen to offer in-building
services in this eventuality and are looking at how to do that safely. It may
be that this will not be possible. It is too soon to know.
Advice to members who should be
self-isolating will be not to attend. Other members will not choose to attend
for any kind of public gathering come September, not even for Rosh Hashanah.
Those decisions will be respected and supported.
If we are able to offer
in-building services our physical-distancing, cleaning, disinfection and other
protocols will, of course, be guided by government and medical advice. Our goal
will not be to ensure ‘perfect’ levels of hygiene. We will formulate, implement
and communicate what we will be doing and will encourage our members to take
informed decisions.
Currently, I am not in favour of a
more heavy-handed approach to this issue. I do not, for example, advocate refusing
a ticket to those over a certain age or similar.[3] I
understand there are risks entailed in allowing members to make their own
decisions about attendance, but we are, and have always been, a community that
values members’ self-determination regarding their Jewish journeys. We should
avoid the overly paternalist approach.
We could structure in-building provision
as follows;
· Members would be able to select to attend one service over Rosh
Hashanah and would reserve a specific seat next to members of their household
but otherwise physically-distant from other attendees.
· The services would have different foci, for example;
o
8:30-11am
– speedily through close to a ‘full’ service, limited Chazanut & teaching.
Strict distancing protocols.
o
11:30pm-1pm
– liturgical highlights but much abbreviated (no Shacharit). Strict distancing
protocols.
o
2pm-3:30pm
– family focussed highlights with a more creative approach – parallel
children’s services for younger children, but older children would be expected
to remain in the sanctuary. Less able to give strongest guarantees maintaining
distancing protocols.
Depending on demand we could offer
similarly ticketed access to evening services and second day services for Rosh
Hashanah.[4] If we
are allowed to enter the building in reasonable numbers, we would need to
develop protocols for building hygiene, social distancing[5] and
tweak the service.[6]
Yom Kippur presents slightly
different challenges. I currently imagine that Kol Nidrei will be offered as an
on-line Zoom service before the fast comes in. Yizkor will certainly be offered
as a pre-recorded video and also as part of in-building and streamed services.
Streaming on
RH/YK
Reform and Liberal communities in
this country, and many Conservative communities in the States are already
streaming Shabbat services. Some have been doing so for some time, many others
have made that move since lockdown. The, largely American, Masorti legal
committee has recently passed a responsum permitting streaming of services on
Shabbat and Yom Tov,[7] but
streaming on Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur would be a radical departure from the
norms of a traditional community in this country
·
Halachah
Electricity
didn’t exist as the Halachic framework for Shabbat observance came into
existence, but it has been considered incompatible with the observance of
Shabbat, usually. Following the work of Rabbi Danny Nevins, [8] I consider the key Halachic concern in this area to be Koteiv;[9] not the
principle (De’oraita) category of physically writing letters, but subsidiary
(Derabanan) categories such as typing on keys and leaving a digital record of streamed
materials.
Additionally, the internet, phones and computers are also the paradigmatic
tools of our weekday engagement in the work of the world. Turning them off is,
perhaps, the single greatest way we can create and preserve a sense of Shabbat
in our lives, usually.[10]
That said, there are reasons, and ways, to use
electricity on Shabbat. The most famous is Pikuach Nefesh – in order to save a
life. A whole range of, usually, forbidden activities are also justifiable and
even mandated Mipnei Sakanot Nefashot – to avoid endangering health. But these
terms don’t apply to our challenge. Streaming services might be valuable in
many ways, but it isn’t going to save lives.
There are also ways to justify moving right to the
edge of permissibility when certain social circumstances demand such adaptation
– Tzorech Gadol. A good example of this is the use of hearing aids on Shabbat.
Many of the most rigorous and renowned decisors of the last century permit the
use of electrical hearing aids on Shabbat because of the ‘preservation of human
dignity.’[11] [12]
Such permissions, and this is very common in all
Halachah, are rarely blanket, but hedged by calls to minimise breeches of Shabbat
involved; for example stating that the aid should be turned on before Shabbat,
or turned on by a non-Jew, or turned on in an unusual manner (Grama). There is
also a Halachic distinction between the deliberate activation of an electric device
(for example switching on a computer) and our being part of a world where
electric transmissions happen around us both without any deliberation action on
our part (we walk down the road and a movement sensor causes a light to switch
on).
· Changing to Meet the
Challenges of the Age; On the One Hand, On the Other Hand
Judaism underwent a
massive transformation as a response to the destruction of the Temple; from a Jerusalem-based,
Cohen-led, sacrificial worship to a diasporic, rabbi-led, prayer-based worship.
Judaism has changed and transformed throughout our history, as, of course, our
founding rabbi understood so clearly.[13]
The example most on my mind is the Eruv.[14]
Reading the Torah and texts from the Second Temple period it’s clear carrying
was absolutely prohibited on the Shabbat. By the time Rabbinic Judaism comes
into formation, with the codification of the Mishnah, a complex legal mechanism
exists whereby connections across courtyards and otherwise allow observant Jews
to carry from one house to another. Remarkably there is very little
justification of this clearly new arrival in Halachah. The rough edges of
transformation have been sanded down over time. But the intent is clear. The word
Eruv means ‘intermingle.’ Rashi says the Eruv is the way in which neighbours in
a courtyard should be “MeEurovim - comingled, each appeasing each other.” The
Ritba says Eruv allows for a “Tarovet – complete mixing together – and love.”[15]
The perceived need to foster interconnectedness and fellowship results in a
transformation of Halachah as one modality of observance – the Temple – is no
longer capable to holding together Jewish community.[16]
Our ability to come together in fellowship on Shabbat is deeply important. And
Judaism has changed and even thrived as a result of bravery and transformative
creativity which has allowed that to happen.
On the other hand, Jewish
history is full of those who thought Judaism would be compatible with adaptations
and accretions and those pathways have ended in a loss of Jewish commitment.
Judaism adapts to changing
circumstances; it always has and always will, but there is a danger in chasing
after even genuine crises that are, in the context of the 3,000 year long
journey of our people, passing. It’s too early to tell whether it is better to
risk over-adapting or under-adapting. It’s always too early to tell. Judaism is
the pursuit of that which is beyond the passage of time, it cannot bend to the
will of time, all the time.
·
Temporary Measures
Jewish law has mechanisms for permitting
the usually forbidden in a ‘Shaah DeChak’ –pressing situation – but also understands
that, once-given, emergency permittances frequently result in the immediate
abandonment of once-treasured ideas. This is indeed a danger which will have to
be accepted and monitored.
·
My Own Position
I’ve been reflecting on the term
‘privilege’ when it comes to the question of streaming on Shabbat and Yom Tov.
I’m very fortunate. I live in a busy household. I miss my fellow New Londoners,
but I’m not lonely in lockdown. I’m also liturgically self-sufficient. I love
communal prayer and miss its rhythms, but I can connect to God through my own
prayer, without a screen on. Before his untimely death in 2019, my former
colleague, Rabbi Jeremy Collick wrote of his experiences during an eleven-week
hospital stay.[17]
Jeremy was in many ways the most stringent of my colleagues and a person who
would never countenance yielding on a commitment to traditional Halachah,
usually. But Jeremy wrote, “Having
been in hospital for so long, the worst day of each week, without doubt, was
Shabbat; few visitors, no TV and no services. After much heartache, I used my
laptop to be part of the Shabbat morning service of a Conservative synagogue in
Chicago and spent an incredible morning transported back to my world, to
Shabbat and the wonderful feeling of being a part of what we Jews do.”
Members
who won’t come to Shul on Rosh Hashanah will not avoid the Shul because they
don’t care about Shul, or being Jewish. Even for members who ‘usually’ only
come twice a year, these days are of tremendous importance, they matter. New
London is a community that understands and honours that a commitment to Jewish
life takes many forms, not only Halachic.
Part
of the role of a congregational Rabbi, as I understand this sacred task, is to
be prepared to be moved by the genuine needs of congregants. A member of our
Council noted that the Synagogue could not insist its clergy forsake our own
standards of observance to stream our services, and I’m grateful for that
support. But if I felt we, at New London, should stream services, I would do
everything I could to make that possible.
·
Spiritual Forces and Market Forces
What is our obligation to protect
the future of New London as a membership organisation? Many members are adapting
their religious engagement to these strange times and are sharing their delight
at the depth of this unusual faith journey. But we have a significant number of
members who expect only to connect to Jewish prayer twice a year. They have
either less desire or less ability to pivot and adapt. If they cannot or (for
very good reasons) will not attend at Rosh Hashanah in person they will look
for us on-line. If they cannot find a streamed service from New London they
will either not bother with Jewish prayer engagement at all, or go somewhere
else. My concern about this, it must be admitted, is partly self-interested – I
don’t want our members going elsewhere, or even nowhere. I want our community
to be stronger not weaker. But this isn’t just about self-interest. I believe
in the value of our community not purely in terms of our fidelity to Halachah. We
have a very special role, at New London, one forged through each of the
thousands of services and decades of years of our existence. And each member at
New London is a deeply valued part of that – even those who don’t come 52 weeks
of the year.
·
A Tentative Conclusion re
Live-Streaming
I recommend
New London streams services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I think we need to
stream on such a holy occasion to meet the needs of Jews who cannot, or should
not, attend a Synagogue, but who feel a need to connect to these most sacred
days through live congregational prayer. I don’t want New London to place the
needs of its congregants who cannot come to Synagogue below those who can.
There are ways to stream in a minimally Halachicly
invasive manner, which we will utilise. This entails creating a ‘set and
forget’ system using PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras driven by AI. The stream will
be embedded in the Synagogue’s website[18] and will broadcast from before Yom Tov until after Yom Tov,
functioning similarly to the Synagogue’s existing security camera set-up. We
will circulate technical guidance to allow members to set up their viewing
computer before Yom Tov so that it will continue to run through Yom Tov
broadcasting such visuals and audio as appear in front of the cameras without
the need for typing or similar direct interaction with the computer at home. I
consider this to be a breach of the subsidiary, or DeRabban categories of Shabbat
observance, justified by the needs of this time.
Streaming will not capture the
live-service in a manner ideally suited to at-home viewing. We also will be
unable to guarantee sound quality or even that a feed will be repaired if it
goes down. But the pre-recorded service will always be available – and will be
designed for at-home viewing.
Slippery Slope
I acknowledge
that if we think this is the right thing to do for Rosh Hashanah, we could consider
making provisions for ongoing streaming without calling on ‘Shaah DChak’
language. The Coronovirus lockdown has sharpened the fact that Nishtaneh
HaZman, Nishtaneh HaTevaim – time has changed and the nature of our existence
has changed. We live increasingly in worlds where on-line engagement is
ubiquitous. I believe passionately in the value of in-person ‘off-line’
connection, particularly on Shabbat. I believe many of us will crave the
opportunity to come together, in person, when it is safe to do so. But if this
is the right thing to do for September, it may be the right thing to do and we
will have to trust on the compelling experience of the in-person experience to
vouchsafe the strength of our future as a community that comes together in
person. That said, at the moment, I do not believe that the community wishes to
move in this direction.
I’ve reread the sermon I gave on the occasion
of completing ten years as the Rabbi of this special community.[19]
I looked 50 years into the future and suggested that the Judaism of our future
will;
· Be driven by that which is felt
meaningful
· Function as a lever for our
engagement with the world around us and
· Be open to all.
I
still think that is right, and I think that streaming our services is
orientating ourselves to be part of that future. This is not a position without
risk (what is?), and it’s not a decision which does not cause pain. Personally,
as Jew-in-the-pew, as Rabbi and a member of this community we will have to
accept that streaming releases our grip on a claim to full halachic observance.
There might even be members who will find this decision pushes them away from
the community – though I don’t think there are many for whom this is the case.
This is not a simple decision, but I think, and indeed have faith, that it is
the right one for us as a community.
Constitutionality
These
proposals have been discussed broadly, including at Council and Services
Committee. Council have decided that a decision to stream live on RH/YK only, this
year only, is not ‘substantial’, as defined by the Synagogue’s Articles of
Association. As such there is no need for a General Meeting to authorise these
decisions.
10
June 2020
[2] I’ve
found the following two articles helpful in this regard https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oCM61SWJB3wcJrXvMzxJhk_MhfQTRChNBY5iJZ5QFcU/edit?usp=sharing
And
[3]
Though right to refuse entry, even to members, will need to be retained by the
Synagogue for anyone showing symptoms of infection.
[4] With
First Day falling on Shabbat, Shofar will only be sounded on Second Day, this
year.
[5] We
could have a temperature-check on entry and have guidelines/rules for use of
gloves/masks etc. following medical and govt advice as that emerges over the
summer and into the autumn.
[6] We
can make the Bimah ‘one-person-at-a-time,’ Aliyot can be read from a Sefer on
the Bimah with Gabbai assistance and the Oleh standing ‘in place.’
[9] Other
classic Malachot that might be performed by a person using electricity Include
Mavir (lighting a fire), Boneh (assembling parts into a whole) and Bishul
(heating) among the Avot Malachah and Hashamat Kol (making a noise), Muktzeh
(handling prohibited items) and Shema Yitaken (lest be tempted to fix) among
Toledot Halachah.
[12] My
partner at New London, Rabbi Natasha Mann, has written on the issue of Halachah
related to abortion where mental distress can result in abortion (by default
forbidden in Jewish law), becoming permitted.http://vigilantejudaism.blogspot.com/2020/06/a-thought-on-hhdays-technology-and.html
[13] See
particularly, A Tree of Life, L. Jacobs, 1984.
[14]
Actually, three related Halachic transformations. I’m focussing here on Eruv
Chatzerot.
[16] In
ultra-orthodoxy, of course, where transformation in the early Rabbinic period
is acknowledged, it is acknowledged as vesting only in a Sanhedrin of equal
number and wisdom as the great gatherings of the first centuries of the common
era.
[18] As
distinct from being shared through Facebook/Youtube/Zoom or similar.
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