This week marks the second year that Jewish High Holidays are affected by the pandemic. At one local synagogue services have adapted to account for the delta variant of the coronavirus.
At Temple B'rith Kodesh in Brighton, Rosh Hashana services will be celebrated in person and virtually this year.
“A synagogue like ours is a place for people to find emotional connection to find support and sometimes that’s in creative ways like doing things online,” said Rabbi Peter Stein, “but it is a way of hopefully comforting people whether it’s directly with a loss or whether just living with the stress and uncertainty.”
All congregation members attending in person must be vaccinated and wear a mask. Children who are too young to be vaccinated and their families will be welcome outside under a canopy tent.
The decision stems from consults with medical experts within the congregation, and from CDC guidelines, said Stein.
“Anything and everything should be done to save life and that’s really what drives us in this moment,” Stein said. “At the same time there’s the idea of thinking not only of ourselves but thinking of the needs of other people. So we put on the mask not just for ourselves but because there are other people who need that protection.”
Other local synagogues are also holding virtual services throughout the Jewish High Holidays, including Yom Kippur.
The Rosh Hashana service on Monday night and on the evening of Sept. 15, at the beginning of Yom Kippur, will be streamed online and broadcast on WXXI’s Classical 91.5.
