{"id":2344,"date":"2020-09-25T14:30:30","date_gmt":"2020-09-25T18:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/?p=2344"},"modified":"2020-10-02T14:32:29","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T18:32:29","slug":"cjls-sukkot-simhat-torah-liturgical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/coronaguidance\/2020\/09\/25\/cjls-sukkot-simhat-torah-liturgical\/","title":{"rendered":"Committee on Jewish Law and Standards: Sukkot and Simhat Torah \/ Liturgical Considerations in the Time of COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prepared by Rabbi Amy Levin<\/span><\/p>\n

Please note that this is not an official responsum of the CJLS.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The intention of this letter of guidance is to address liturgical issues that arise in the observance of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simhat Torah in the home and in community. See the letter of guidance on lulav and etrog<\/a> and on sukkah<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our Conservative\/Masorti communities exist in a set of widely divergent realities: even within North America, COVID-19 statistics vary dramatically from state to state, from county to county, from urban to suburban to rural setting. Our communities in Latin America, Europe and Israel are all seeking guidance on how best to observe with joy the upcoming festivals of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simh<\/u>at Torah while observing local rules and guidelines.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the diversity of our geographic locations, it is also the case that among Conservative\/Masorti communities even within the same country a wide range of policies have been adopted in response to the challenges of the coronavirus: some congregations have created purely virtual experiences during weekdays and some during weekdays and Shabbat and yom tov. Some congregations have gone \u201chybrid\u201d with a core minyan (with masks and social distancing) in their prayer spaces while others in the community participate through livestreaming or Zoom. Yet other congregations have eschewed all virtual options and have reconfigured their inside and outside spaces to conform to local regulations while continuing to observe traditional halakhic guidelines for Shabbat and Yom Tov observance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before addressing a set of specific halakhic concerns, one point should be made at the outset: This year, no community, anywhere in the world, should be gathering in an enclosed space during Simhat Torah to dance and sing together. The combination of loud group singing, the physical exertion of dancing and the natural proximity of those dancing each raise the likelihood of spreading this virus to dangerous levels \u2026 taken together these actions would create a situation that no responsible congregational leadership should contemplate for a moment. Even holding hakafot outside raises serious concerns for the well-being of all those present.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Place of Singing and Dancing Together<\/span><\/u><\/p>\n

How might we express our joy in the presence of Torah in our lives when the persistence of this pandemic demands that we forgo our usual exuberant celebrations? <\/span><\/p>\n

Community Resources for Individuals and Families at Home<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Online technologies generally available to our communities do not support enjoyable group singing. While frustrating for those who would like to create an online version of hakafot for Simh<\/u>at Torah, the current reality prods us to think creatively about how to express the joy we have in our Torah. What follows are a few suggestions for alternative methods of expressing and sharing simh<\/u>ah. This is not a comprehensive list, but rather, I hope, a catalyst for some creative thinking and planning within your own community:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Distribute an online songsheet, preferably with links to audio files, so that all community members can sing the songs that normally enhance the hakafot.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Have clergy, teachers, leadership and members send in a short video: \u201cmy favorite verse in the Torah is \u2026\u2026 because \u2026\u2026.\u201d  Share the videos through email to the members and\/or create a link to a Facebook page and\/or page on the community\u2019s website where all the videos can be accessed.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Schedule a community-wide Zoom meeting [before or after Simhat Torah for those communities which do not engage in online programming during h<\/u>agim] during which the community celebrates Torah together. A few possibilities: share recipes using foods mentioned in the Torah, read an original poem (or even a limerick!) about a favorite biblical story, hold a Torah quiz, find people to chant the same few verses in Ashkenazic, Sephardic, Moroccan or other Torah tropes, have a sofer\/soferet demonstrate how a scroll is written or repaired.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Invite recent b\u2019nai\/b\u2019not mitzvah to share the name of their parashah and chant a few verses from their Torah readings.<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Run a Torah acrostic contest where members submit an acrostic of the word \u201cTorah\u201d (or \u201cSimh<\/u>at Torah\u201d) that highlights the significance of Torah, values established in the Torah, a cherished passage or person in the Torah.<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Create a \u201cSimhat Torah Reader\u201d distributed as a .pdf file containing the texts from D\u2019varim and Breishit that are read on Simhat Torah and include engaging, accessible commentaries to enhance the experience of readers at home.  Sources for such commentaries might include:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n