Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

Like many of you, I am saddened not being able to pray, study, and socialize with you in person. I miss the small interactive adult study classes. I miss the daily Minyan groups. I miss the low hundreds on a Shabbat or Festival morning. I already miss the several hundred who would normally gather together for Yizkor on the last day of Pesach.

Most of us understand that from a traditional point of view, the concept of Minyan necessitates the requisite number of ten being in physical and visual presence of each other in a shared space. Once that is maintained, individuals may join in remotely if necessary. Admittedly, more liberal congregations than our own are not relying on Halakha, or they are relying on contemporary response from caring rabbis who are stretching or breaking the limits of Halakha because we are living nowadays "b'sh'at d'chak - in exigent circumstances."

We are all living in unchartered territory. The fact that rabbis and local communities draw their religious boundaries in different places is no surprise. Religious diversity and pluralism have always existed between different denominations and even within the same denomination. For example, before Pesach, leading Orthodox rabbis were divided on the use of social media at all in terms of having virtual guests at the Seder table on yom tov, even if the technology was activated before yom tov and not touched until sacred time was completely over.

I have noticed that in North American synagogues, some like ours consider a Zoom service without ten in the same physical room as a collective private service. Others, as noted above, stretch, break, or do not consider the Halakha so that theirs is a Zoom minyan during these exigent times. Some congregations, which allow a Zoom Minyan on weekdays, will not livestream services on Sabbaths and Festivals, while others will.

Are these differences any greater than other religious and ritual distinctions that exist on a regular basis in the best of times? Without judgement, each community must make sensitive decisions based on its customs, principles, and collective conscience.

We at Beth Emeth continue to offer you as expansive a menu as possible on prayer, study, creative entertainment, and socialization. We continue to reach out liturgically and musically before Shabbat and after Shabbat. With visual and written information, we try to equip, enrich, and inspire you as much as possible.

As a child, I was always sent out of the service prior to Yizkor out of respect for my living parents at the time. Years later, I learned of the practice allowing children to remain in the service with their parent's consent to memorialize the martyrs of our history. In a weird way, I have come to appreciate being involved and officiating at Yizkor for hundreds and hundreds of people. I have missed all of our time not spent physically together in small or large numbers the last few weeks. I will especially miss not being physically together with you this Thursday for Yizkor and the last day of Pesach.

I wish us all fond memories of our dear ones who have departed from this earth. May their memories be a blessing. I wish us a healthy and meaningful conclusion to Passover. Let us stay connected.

Better days are coming.

Moadim L'Simcha - Chag Sameach,

Rabbi Howard Morrison