As we prepare to celebrate Rosh Hashanah in the time of corona, I’m finding comfort in one of the unexpected bright spots during this challenging period.
Back in late March, the official lockdown was less than a week old, and our community was acutely feeling the pain of shuttered synagogues and the mandate to stay physically apart. UJA decided to host a pre-Shabbat community-wide gathering on Zoom, creating a virtual platform for all of us to come together — freed of denominational and geographic constraints — to hear words of comfort and inspiration from Jewish leaders.
The first week featured three Upper East Side rabbis of different denominations — and drew thousands of viewers. So we kept going.
Each week we hosted a different group of rabbis, educators, and cantors, representing diverse Jewish affiliations, anchored by Rabbi Menachem Creditor, UJA’s scholar-in-residence. Someone might have tuned in to hear the familiar teachings of a beloved rabbi, but then had the opportunity to learn from another presenter well beyond the viewer’s usual realm of experience. Pre-corona, this kind of cross-denominational event was uncommon — never mind the difficulty of securing three rabbis on a Friday afternoon.
Over thirteen weeks, from March to July, with 46 leaders sharing their teachings and song over Zoom and Facebook and garnering tens of thousands of virtual participants, we created something to treasure for a long time to come.
In anticipation of the High Holidays, we curated a sampling of the teachings that were part of this pre-Shabbat program into an anthology called Wisdom in the Time of Corona: Reflections for 5781. Please click here to download. (We plan to publish all the teachings in the near future.)
The teachings are illuminating, inspiring, and a wonderful resource as we celebrate Rosh Hashanah in these highly uncertain times. Here are just a few highlights:
Rabbi Rachel Timoner, on the lesson of leaving the gleanings of the harvest for the poor: “We are only as safe as the most endangered among us, and we are only as well as the sickest among us, and when there are those in our midst who do not have what they need — food, shelter, healthcare, or health insurance — it actually puts us all at risk.”
Rabbi Steven Exler, exploring the concept of holiness: “Holiness is not just something which is shared; holiness is sharing. Holiness is understanding that if I have three of something, I keep one and I find two other worthy recipients. Reaching out to each other and making sure that if we have some of something, we give just as much, if not more, to others who may need it. This is holiness, and we all give and receive.”
Rabbi Joy Levitt, looking at the different ways the Jewish people reacted to the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE: “I think it’s fair to say that circumstances in Jewish history have made us a pivoting people. We’ve developed a muscle not just for surviving, but for animating our values in new ways with what emerges from tragedy. So perhaps this is our moment.”
As is often the case in times of crisis, the lines between us blurred over these last six months. Whatever our affiliation or level of observance — we all felt scared and disconnected. Our grief was universal. And we’ve all learned to find new appreciation for the joys that are so easy to take for granted.
So my hope for the New Year, which I shared in my own teaching, is that when life returns to a greater semblance of “normal,” this willingness to engage across the communal spectrum continues. That we will have created new rituals and good habits of respect and acceptance that ground us long into the future. And that we can look back at this time not only for the tremendous loss, but also for what was gained.
May 5781 be a brighter one for everyone — filled with much health, happiness, and peace.
Shabbat shalom and shanah tovah