We are thrilled to continue to safely and slowly bring the Shul back to normal. After getting feedback from the membership, we have a great degree of certainty, that our Kehila has reached a stage of “herd immunity,” where many of the concerns that people still have when entering public places, no longer apply to our Shul premises.
On reflecting back over the last 15 months, our Shul was blessed to have zero transmissions of the COVID virus,
while conducting services safely and robustly. The Rabbi attributed it to both our spiritual and physical safety measures that we vigilantly adhered to. Although very soon, the physical safety measures will not longer be necessary, the spiritual safety measures must never be relaxed.
Those that have attended the shul over the last year, understand this, and have comported themselves appropriately. With many more people now entering the Shul for the first time, we run the risk of people being unaware of the vital requirement of respecting the spiritual safety of the Shul. To that end, When you enter the Shul, you will see the following message (below) visibly posted on all doors.
Please read this very carefully, and only come if you plan on complying 100 % with these spiritual safety measures.
• Do not enter with your coat/outerwear.
• Do not enter with your cell phone or any secular
reading materials.
• Do not eat or sleep.
• Enter with awe of God’s presence.
• Say “Ma Tovu” when entering the Shul, and go
directly to your seat.
• One may not be lighthearted in Shul and avoid
speaking idle talk or joking around.
• The Shul premises should always be clean. Garbage
should not be left around.
• Do not walk in with snow or mud on your footwear.
• Please talk in Shul, but only to Hashem.
We can not stress enough how vigilant we must be in adhering to every nuance of these spiritual safety measures. I know that people may feel that we are being extra careful, and probably overly careful, but this is what halacha demands from us.
No matter how much we love each and every one of you, we cannot make exceptions for leniencies in this area. The entire world, the rest of the people of our shul , and most importantly, the Almighty Himself, are watching our every move to know how we respectfully return to our Shul.
You should view yourselves as the Chashmonaim who were blessed to re-dedicate the Beis Hamikdash during the story of Chanuka. You will set the tone for how Shul members comport themselves in the future.
In addition, all members will receive the following business card sized “Ma Tovu” card that we urge everyone to read while entering the Shul. This is no less of a safety measure than the physical measures we have been practicing in the past.
