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July 7, 2020

15 Tammuz 5780

Dear members of Beth Shalom,

Over the past several months, we have been reading in our weekly Torah portions of the Israelites’ journey through the desert. At times, it may have seemed that they were not journeying purposefully, but wandering. Yet while it took forty years for them to be ready to enter the Land of Israel, their journey was in fact always purposeful, each step getting them closer to their destination.

So, too, with us. When we were forced to move our services online instead of in person, it may have seemed that there would be no end to this journey. And, in truth, we are still not finished – for weekday services, we will continue to meet online only, via Zoom, as we have been now for several months (and with excellent attendance and participation).

But we have reached a milestone in our journey. Based on recommendations from the Province and from our own in-house medical consultants, we are ready to begin meeting in person for Shabbat morning services, starting this week, Saturday July 11, at 9:30 am.

Much of our service will be as it always is: we will pray the full service, we will read from the Torah and the prophetic reading from the Haftarah. There will be a sermon (perhaps a bit briefer than before).

And parts of our service will be different: we will screen people as they come into the building, to ask if they have any symptoms that require them to return home. We will sanitize our hands as we come inside, and there will be masks for you to wear if you do not have your own. (We thank the Province of Alberta for providing these masks at no charge to places of worship.) We will maintain physical distancing throughout our service, with rows blocked off in the Sanctuary and with special procedures for Torah reading. There will be no communal kiddush lunch after the service.

Our reopening for Shabbat services is a milestone in our journey that we have been eagerly awaiting, even if for a few months instead of 40 years. Yet we all have a responsibility to each other to do this as safely as we can. If you are not well, you must stay home, for your own safety and for the safety of everyone else in our congregation and their families – even if you strongly feel the very understandable need to gather with your friends in prayer. This is required both by the law of Alberta and by halakhah – Jewish law.

For our members who cannot attend in person, whether due to illness or other reasons, we are working to put in place the technology and equipment to allow livestreaming of our services within halakhic guidelines. This will take some time, and we ask for your patience.

We all hope that this first stage of reopening will lead to more. But it is also possible that changing circumstances will require that we slow down or even reverse course, and we will keep everyone’s safety as our top priority – which is what Jewish law requires.

We look forward to seeing you this Shabbat, provided that you are healthy!

Rabbi Steven Schwarzman Laurence Abbott, President Gerald Sorokin, Ritual Vice President

Q & A

· Who should come to services?

Anyone who is healthy and would like to come is welcome.

· Who should NOT come to services?

Anyone with a health condition that puts them at risk, and anyone who is not healthy.

· Do I need to wear a mask?

Yes. If you don’t have your own, we will give you one when you come in, right after you sanitize your hands.

· Can I have an aliya or other honour?

Yes and no. Aliyot will be as usual, but we are limiting other honours to minimize close contact.

· Can I sit with my friends in my usual seat?

Unfortunately, no. You can sit with your own family. Friends need to keep two meters apart. Also, we have blocked rows of pews to allow for the necessary distancing, so your favourite seat may not be available.

· Will there be kiddush?

Not at this time. We will recite kiddush from the bimah, but we can’t yet share a meal together.

· What has the synagogue done to sanitize the building?

Yuri has disinfected all surfaces in the sanctuary, all doorknobs and handrails, and other surfaces.

· How long will things stay like this?

We don’t know, of course. We will adjust what we do based on guidelines from the Province and from our medical experts.

· When will livestreaming start? How will it work? Is it kosher?

We’re working to put into place a good technical solution that is also within the parameters of halakhah. We hope to have this ready in the coming weeks, because we know that not everyone can attend in person.