Area Reform rabbis ramp up tech to ride out crisis

BY DEAN M. SHAPIRO, Special to the CCJN

With the spread of the coronavirus throughout the New Orleans area keeping most people sequestered in their homes, all of the local synagogues are closed and all in-house services are cancelled as the annual Passover observance begins Wednesday evening, April 8.

New Orleans area Reform rabbinate (l-r) Rabbis Katie Bauman, Daniel Sherman and David Gerber. (Photo by Alan Smason)

In lieu of the traditional gatherings for services and second night Passover seders, thre rabbis from the area’s south shore congregations and a representative from the Northshore Jewish Congregation (NJC) said they are reaching out to their congregants at home through a variety of technological means to get their messages out and make it possible for people in their homes to observe the holy days that mark the beginning of the Exodus from Egypt.

The Crescent City Jewish News interviewed the NJC representative and two of the three rabbis via telephone, while reaching out to Touro Synagogue’s Rabbi Katie Bauman via email. All of them commented on the response of the Greater New Orleans area’s Reform congregations to the pandemic. and recorded their perspectives and key information on the options their congregants have for observing the occasion.

TEMPLE SINAI

Rabbi Daniel Sherman reported that Temple Sinai has created a YouTube channel to help get Temple Sinai’s message out to its congregants at home, as well as sending out email messages. They are also using the Zoom video conferencing service several times during the Passover observance.

Temple Sinai’s Rabbi Daniel Sherman. (Photo by Alan Smason)

Over the YouTube channel, Sherman said, “There are going to be a number of videos people can watch while doing their seders or at any point to get ready for Passover celebrating. And there are a number of different links that are going up on our website. We also sent out an email message this past Friday with our plans for Passover.”

Last week Sherman sent out a message to congregants advising them to hold seders at home with their families and with others via virtual technology. “The good news is that people are going to have seders this year with people who they wouldn’t ordinarily be doing seders with,” Sherman said.

On Pesach morning there will be a Torah study via Zoom, as well as another session that evening, also over Zoom, the rabbi explained. “We’re just trying to put material in people’s hands or make sure they have access to it so they can celebrate and have a meaningful Passover. That’s our goal,” he said.

Along the same lines, Sherman noted that the publishing company of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, CCAR Press, will be making free copies of the Passover Haggadah available on their website, https://www.ccarpress.org/. “This is good for those who don’t have the Haggadah at home,” he said, adding, “I have no problem with people having seder with their computers next to them.”

“We know this is a difficult year to celebrate Passover and when the question is asked, ‘Why is this day different from all others?’ we know the answer to that,” Sherman said. “But, because of Zoom and FaceTime and Skype and all those other options, there is a bright side to this.”

For a complete schedule of Passover events go to the Temple Sinai website at https://templesinainola.com/. For Zoom information go to the Passover calendar on the Temple Sinai website home page. For emergencies contact their clergy at (504) 383-5058.

CONGREGATION GATES OF PRAYER

Speaking for Congregation Gates of Prayer, Rabbi David Gerber said, “We’re recommending that people maintain their isolation and connect with people virtually through Zoom or other virtual conferencing. We are trying to pair people up who need to join a conference with people who can take others in their conference. On the second night we’re doing a community virtual seder.”

Congregation Gates of Prayer Senior Rabbi David Gerber (Photo by Alan Smason)

Gerber also noted that Gates of Prayer is also maintaining a YouTube channel. “We’ve been putting out some music and some stories for the kids on the YouTube page. We’ve been doing live Torah studies online twice a week and we’ve been using Zoom and Facebook live for most of it. We’ve got pre-recorded videos and we’ve got messages going out to the congregation,” he added.

Gates of Prayer’s Zoom feed schedule for Passover is as follows:

Thursday, April 9

7:00 pm Second Night Online CGoP Seder – You can download the Haggadah that they will be using at this link: http://haggadahsrus.com/PDF/ADN%20Classic%202014%20final%20lo-res.pdf. Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/739760953

Friday, April 10

6:00 pm Shabbat Worship – https://zoom.us/j/415436671

Saturday, April 11

9:00 am – Torah Study https://zoom.us/j/129974254

6:00 pm – Havdallah https://zoom.us/j/940554947

For more information visit the Congregation Gates of Prayer website at https://www.gatesofprayer.org/.

TOURO SYNAGOGUE

Touro Synagogue Senior Rabbi Katie Bauman. (Photo by Alan Smason)

“Our Touro team has tried to remain focused on people: their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs and how we can best meet them, Rabbi Katie Bauman responded. “Mastering Zoom was a necessary step for us in order to serve that higher purpose this year. It took a little learning and failing, but with the support of a generous and understanding congregation, we are on a roll with it now.”

The rabbi organized Zoom seders, whereby congregants will be able to share their home observance with one another.

“Beyond our Zoom seders, our highest priority this Passover is remaining in touch with congregants through phone calls, emails, and online check-ins,” she added. “There is no way to mitigate the losses people are feeling right now – loss of security, loss of normalcy, loss of physical contact, and of course in some cases loss of life. The most we can all do, and it’s a lot, is to help one another carry that load”

Recently, Rabbi Bauman had to officiate at two Zoom funerals in one and the same day.

“Faces on Zoom on a tripod at the graveside is a poor substitute for warm embraces and a sea of voices saying Kaddish with you,” she mused in her email. “But it is also a noble sacrifice that families are willing to make for the sake of more life for everyone.”

For me, I am grateful for the tools we have within our reach that make being there for one another possible during this terrible chapter. And I have every faith that this season will make us hungrier than ever for the blessing of being all together, in person, sharing prayers and songs and food and smiles and holy energy.

According to the Touro Synagogue website, services will be offered by live stream and other electronic methods only. These include:

Zoom: To be used for meetings, classes, and other gatherings. Those who are not familiar with the platform can click here to learn more: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206618765-Zoom-Video-Tutorials?mobile_site=true

Facebook: Those who are not already connected to Touro through Facebook are asked to “like” their page: TouroSynagogueNOLA

Touro Synagogue Blog: This will include articles, photos, announcements and inspiration for their congregational family.

Touro will also communicate with its congregants via email. For other information visit their website at https://tourosynagogue.com/ or call (504) 895-4843.

NORTHSHORE JEWISH CONGREGATION

The NJC in Mandeville, like all of the other Jewish houses of worship, has also suspended its in-house services and other activities. The message on their website encourages all of their congregants to stay home and observe Passover and the seder on Thursday via live stream from Congregation Gates of Prayer.

NJC Board president Lena Liller explained that Assistant Rabbi Alexis Erdheim from Gates of Prayer “extended an invitation to our congregants to join her in the virtual seder and so we’re getting word out to them. We are encouraging them to join in Gates of Prayer’s live stream from their own homes.”

In preparation for Thursday’s seder, Liller said that she and others at NJC worked closely with Kosher Cajun caterers in Metairie to ensure that the congregants have all the food and other supplies needed for the seder. The boxes that were put together for the NJC families were delivered earlier this week.

The NJC website also said that Rabbi Eugene Levy has offered counseling for anyone who may wish to reach out to him. Congregants can contact him by leaving a message on the synagogue’s main number, (985) 951-7976, or on the NJC website, http://www.northshorejewish.org/home.html.

For immediate assistance, contact Liller at (504) 914-6941.