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| Setting up chairs for an outdoor Minyan (Mosaic) |
Needless to say, we are not anywhere near that yet. To be honest when the pandemic first broke, I never dreamed we would still be in the midst of it a full year later. But we are. That is the simple and sobering fact. Even though we now have the key to ending it by virtue of several vaccines (the latest of which was just given emergency use approval by the FDA) people are still getting sick and dying - as the daily statistics keep telling us. Things are improving but we still cannot change our behavior yet. The fear by health experts is that doing so will probably do what it has done in the past – cause a spike on the number of people getting sick and in the number of people dying.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Even if we can’t see it from here so clearly yet.
Professor Wertheimer has been keeping tabs on synagogue life (in all major denominations) virtually since the very beginning of the pandemic. He says what should be obvious to everyone. The effect of the pandemic on Shul life has been dramatic.
Early on Shuls closed their doors very suddenly. After a few weeks of that, most Orthodox Shuls reopened in limited fashion albeit altering the manner in which they conducted Davening. Masks and social distancing along with other modifications to the norm designed to reduce the chances of getting infected became standard operating procedure. This has been the case for over a year now.
Although Professor Wertheimer discussed in some detail of all denominations, I am going to focus his perspective in Orthodox Shuls. How have they fared and what is their future? I have taken the liberty of quoting extensively from Professor Wertheimer’s essay. It resonates with me. I believe what I have excerpted is exactly right. And the questions he raises are legitimate:
For the Orthodox, halakhic constraints on the use of technology… (prevents using it) to screen services on Sabbaths and holidays, and even during the week consider it impossible to form a minyan… They have thus relied much more on in-person gatherings. When weather allowed, synagogues organized outdoor minyanim…
Once colder weather returned, many Orthodox synagogues resumed holding services indoors, albeit with participants safely distanced from one another and masked. By all accounts, Modern Orthodox congregations took great care to ensure the safety of their members, developing distancing guidelines and limiting numbers allowed to assemble even more rigorously than required by government officials…
As widely reported in the media, some ḥaredi groups flouted those regulations. The results, tragically, became apparent when the numbers of coronavirus cases in those neighborhoods surged, as did death tolls. Many ḥaredi rabbis refused to shut down their communities, seeing a greater risk to their way of life in lockdowns than in the potential loss of lives; while others who took a stricter approach went unheeded…
No small number of Modern Orthodox Jews, meanwhile, have been appalled by this misbehavior and feel that it has tarnished their own reputation. The gap between Modern Orthodox and ḥaredi Jews may widen further due to their disparate responses during the pandemic…
Once services resumed indoors, men over the age of sixty were unlikely to attend in person due to health concerns, but younger men, especially the unmarried, also tended not to participate—likely seduced by the pleasures of sleeping late on Saturday morning. By staying at home, they were engaging in socially approved behavior. But will they return for regular Shabbat services when the communal sanction for nonattendance is gone?
(B)arely 20 percent of women attended religious services during COVID-19, including on the High Holy Days—a figure well below pre-pandemic times. In many cases women were asked to stay away in order to free more space for men to attend in person, with women’s galleries often occupied by men to facilitate social distancing. (According to rabbinic law, men are obligated to participate in public prayer, while for women it is optional). No one knows how Modern Orthodox women will respond once it becomes feasible and safe to return to synagogues…
Ironically, Orthodox synagogues may also be challenged because some of their members found the coronavirus services they joined more intimate and personally meaningful than those held in conventional synagogues. The backyard minyanim are also free of the distractions of children running around; they move at a faster pace and usually include no sermon; and they are more democratically run. And for some of those who have opted to worship alone at home, that private experience has proved moving and spiritual… How much pressure there will be to keep these informal minyanim going after the pandemic remains anyone’s guess.
As noted, these are all pretty accurate observations. They match my own. I must admit for example that at first I was quite frustrated and disappointed by not being able to attend Shul every day. Especially on Shabbos and Yom Tov. But I got used to it very quickly and found my Kavanah (concentration and intent) had actually improved. Since I was not under the constraints of a Shaliach Tzibur (who leads the services) I could Daven at my own pace and better concentrate on the actual words or prayer I was saying. After returning to shul a few weeks later, my Kavanah suffered.
This and his other observations are worthy of thought. Will our experiences during the pandemic alter how we Daven in the future? Charedi shuls will surely not have any changes. Especially those that ignored the rules and remained open during lockdowns.
And as Professor Wertheimer suggested, Modern Orthodox Shuls may have trouble getting some of their members to return.
However, for most mainstream Shuls, if I had to guess, I would say that eventually they will more or less go back to normal. I am really looking forward to that. Perhaps though we will have gained something from our pandemic experiences. Like coming to Shul in time and better Kavanah. Let us hope so.