Preaching Goes Viral

Look at this Rosh Hashanah as a bespoke experience

High Holidays, when COVID-adapted (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur)

[OLD] Accept or reject public health guidelines

[don't use] In-person communal gatherings (adapted)

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the most highly choreographed religious experiences across all Jewish denominations, from intimate shteibels to vaulted sanctuaries. The setting, songs, and community surrounding us combine to impart a sense of occasion and are key to the experience of awe and holiness of the High Holidays. The physical setting is a portal through which we achieve the spiritual. The entire Jewish world has been stressing since Pesach about the impossibility of High Holidays under current pandemic restrictions. Indeed this is when every synagogue seat is filled, we reconnect with distant friends and family members and we experience the effervescence of community at its best. The loss of this social component is especially acute now, at a time when our resilience is otherwise depleted and we most need the warm embrace of community.

2022-12-13

Rabba Dina Brawer

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