Preaching Goes Viral

The Coronavirus is Transforming Judaism

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Just as the loss of Jewish sovereignty moved the sanctity of Jewish practice to the Jewish home — to the Jewish table, the symbolic remnant of the ancient altar — and to the synagogue, the coronavirus crisis has, at least temporarily, “moved” Judaism out of synagogues. We are now in cyber-Yavneh: Across the United States and beyond, synagogues are temporarily closing, moving their core operations — services, classes — to Facebook, Zoom, and other platforms. Many synagogues have done this without missing a beat, proving their resilience, and with it, their relevance. Judaism is (temporarily) not in the synagogues. Judaism is now in the cloud — which, let the record note, is a biblical euphemism for God.

2022-12-13

Jeffrey Salkin

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