Do not separate yourself from the community - Hillel, Pirke Avot 2:4
I used the above quotation in one of my earliest Temple Topics columns, as well as for a sermon series early in my tenure here at Temple Sholom. Never has it been so fraught as in these times of enforced distancing.
For the past six months I have been saying and e-mailing to people that I hope to see them soon, with “see” in quotations. Not that I would not see them, as Zoom is a video medium, but that phrase usually connotes being physically present with another, seeing them as someone standing in front of you. Sadly, for the last six months, I have had all too few opportunities to see, in person, members of our congregation and community. When I have been able to do so, it has been fleeting, and often from afar. I do not want to knock the Zoom experience. I was asked often whether it felt lonely to lead services in an empty sanctuary, Shabbat after Shabbat. My answer was that it never seemed lonely, as I was focussed on the faces on my screen, until after the service ended and I looked up to realize that I was the only one in the room. This feeling was multiplied in our recent High HolyDay services, when I could scroll through page after page of familiar faces - seeing not only people that I was happy to see, but often their family and living rooms as well. It was almost like being invited into your homes - or, less intrusively - that your homes were invited together into our congregational home.
I, along with many others that we heard from, were pleasantly surprised as to how haimische it felt to be worshipping together, even in so large a group as the Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur services. For those who had not been able to join us for a service up to that point, the surprise was total. For those who had joined us for Pesach, a Shabbat, or Bar or Bat Mitzvah, they had already experienced our joyful gathering together, but it was nice to see that feeling carried through, not despite of, but multiplied with the many more people present. The most common feedback that we received was how nice the first ten minutes were, as we gathered together, people checked in on each other (or asked whether we could hear or see them). Long-time members of the congregation - you should know that you have many fans who were very happy to see you.
As I write this, just before Sukkot, this past week has removed the quotation marks from the verb, to see. Dedicated volunteers, led by Matt Klein and Bill Nadel, got a chance to see many of our congregants and they delivered High HolyDay gift bags. We have had the opportunity to gather in person in our MegaSukkah(TM). Once again, the Klein and Nadel families, along with Neil Sedwin and other volunteers, helped to expand our usual patio Sukkah to include the entire upper parking lot. In that space, our religious school classes were able to gather and make decorations together, Sholom Again shared “Pizza in the Hut”, various congregational families joined together for dinner, Ellen Berman ate every meal, and I welcomed the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Ministerium for their October meeting. All of these opportunities were safely socially distanced, with people wearing masks, or eating at either end of an eight foot table. It was so wonderful to see people in person, even if behind a mask, and to hear their voices, not broken up by bandwidth issues.
We have worked very hard not to separate ourselves as a community. If you have been able to be a part of what we have done - thank you. If you have not, please give us a try. Your Temple family misses you. Open up the weekly Flame or the monthly Temple Topics to find out the ways that you can be a presence in the community, see or “see” each other, and still stay safe and healthy.
We are all here for each other. If you have reached out, it is appreciated more than you know. If you have not, please allow us to make that connection, as we find new ways to be a community.
Rabbi Abraham
