HOW AND WHEN TO REOPEN OUR SYNAGOGUE
Dear Congregational Family,
The beginning of this week's Torah portion of B'ha'alo't'cha describes the establishment of the Menorah. The lights of the seven branched candleabrum were kept lit perpetually to serve as a constant reminder of God's presence in our lives. As we know from the famous Chanukah narrative, the miracle of the oil kept the Temple Menorah perpetually lit until a new batch of oil could be produced.
While many synagogues may contain a symbolic Menorah, all synagogues possess a Ner Tamid, an eternal light, above the Ark containing the Torah scrolls. The Ner Tamid serves the purpose of the ancient Menorah. It is ironic that our Parsha this week hints to the eternal light and also later in the text makes direct reference to the Ark of the covenant.
The two most iconic symbols of the synagogue sanctuary are the eternal light and the holy Ark. For three months, we have missed not being able to congregate in our synagogue for community prayer and assembly.
On Monday afternoon, it was announced that this Friday, Ontario would allow public gatherings of ten people. Religious institutions would be permitted to welcome 30% of its seating capacity.
I and all of us look for the day when we can revisit our synagogue. We know that the vulnerable in our community will have to wait long past this week's provincial statement. While we at Beth Emeth earnestly want to open our doors, we must do so in a thoughtful strategic manner. To this end, we have put together three task force groups. One will establish health and safety guidelines. One will determine what kind of services will initially be held in the synagogue. One will provide social media links so that those at home can connect to live sanctuary services with comfort, quality, and in accordance with Jewish Law.
At Beth Emeth, we will prepare ourselves to reopen efficiently and judiciously but not hastily. I am reminded of a verse in Torah which appears almost exactly in the middle of Scripture: "You shall keep My laws and My rules, by the pursuit of which humanity shall live (Leviticus 18:5)."
On this verse, our Talmudic tradition comments, "live by them, not die by them," and "Pikuach Nefesh, saving human life, sets aside other Commandments."
While we all want to assemble soon in shul, our absolute health, safety, and wellbeing will always come first.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Howard Morrison
