Synagogues are not rushing to reopen, even as vaccines are making gatherings safer March 16, 2021 5:58 pm Congregation Shearith Israel of Dallas will resume in-person services on the last day of Passover, with other services added over the following weeks. (Courtesy of Shearith Israel)
Advertisement
(JTA) Rabbi Craig Scheff knows he could safely hold indoor, in-person services at the upstate New York synagogue he leads.
In fact, the synagogue first experimented with an indoor service for up to 50 people last summer. Now it’s now holding bar and bat mitzvah services on Shabbat mornings for a maximum of 10 households and up to 40 people in the sanctuary, which typically held 100-150 worshippers on Shabbat mornings pre-pandemic. Those services are then streamed for the rest of the congregation.
American Jews are taking a hard look at racism in their midst
The challenge for white American Jews is to understand that they can be both targets of white supremacy and also accomplices. Rabbi Sandra Lawson, right, dances with others during Reconstructing Judaism s 2018 Convention in Philadelphia in Nov. 2018 the year she was ordained. Photo by Jordan Cassway
February 12, 2021
The boards of both synagogues were enthusiastic about hiring her.
But when they presented Lawson to the entire congregation, the membership backed down, acknowledging that while she was obviously qualified, they were not ready for a Black rabbi.
Lawson now wants to make sure other Black rabbis, and Jews of color generally, don’t have the same painful experience.