Ten wishes for our second straight pandemic Jewish New Year ….
The Jewish New Year of 5782 starts tonight (Sept. 6) with the two-day Rosh
Hashanah holiday. Here are some wishes for the new year, the second straight
year that the high holidays are being held in the midst of the coronavirus
pandemic.
(This column was published Monday, Sept. 6, 2021 in The Sun Chronicle of
Attleboro, MA).
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year of 5782, will usher in the High Holy
Days or Ten Days of Repentance on the evening of Monday, Sept. 6, with the New
Year being observed on the next two days. That will be followed by the holiest
time in the Jewish calendar, the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur, an intense
24-hour period of fasting, prayer and reflection, from sundown Wednesday, Sept.
16 to sunset Thursday, Sept. 17.
For the second straight year, this solemn period will be occurring during the
modern-day biblical plague that we’ve been dealing with for the last 18 months.
The coronavirus pandemic has so far killed more than 642,000 Americans and more
than 4.5 million worldwide, and it has upended nearly every aspect of our lives,
including religious observances.
Even though most houses of worship are no longer subject to official COVID-19 restrictions,
this summer’s surge of the virus is still hovering over Jewish New Year
observances. Some will be scaled back as the uncertainty caused by the virus’
delta variant and breakthrough cases --- people testing positive despite being
fully vaccinated --- has forced some congregations to offer virtual services
instead of in-person ones.
Attleboro’s Congregation Agudas Achim is one of those again offering virtual
services. According to a statement on its website (https://www.agudasma.org/) signed by the
congregation’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Alex Weissman, and five congregation
officials --- Amy Bono, managing director for
community; Molly Jacobs, managing director for education; Alan Wartenberg,
managing director for ritual life; Aaron Weintraub, managing director for
administration and finance; and Kim Bodemer, chairwoman of the ritual committee
--- the resurgence of virus cases prompted that decision.
“Between the rising health risks and the limitations that places on the experience
of services — both in person and for those streaming (attendees and leaders
masked, attendees not being able to sing, etc.) — we concluded that holding
services in this way would likely create more of a feeling
of disconnection rather than one of connection,” the statement reads.
“It broke our hearts to make this decision, both because of the loss of the
high holiday experiences we had hoped and planned for so many months ago, and
because of where it means we are in the course of this pandemic. We trust we
will still find meaning and connection in the holidays, even in the digital
experience.”
Despite the pandemic’s continuing hold on our lives, it’s nonetheless important
to our long-term sanity to maintain a sense of optimism at the Jewish New Year.
With that in mind, I offer 10 New Year’s wishes. I wish and pray that:
1. We’d work together to combat the pandemic instead of bickering over
the use of masks and vaccines, measures designed to mitigate, and ultimately
end, this 21st century plague.
2. We’d resolve to act compassionately toward each other instead of
promoting the never-ending hatred that dominates our public discourse.
3. Our political leaders would stop wasting energy and time trying to
undercut their opponents and instead focus on working together to help end the pandemic.
4. We’d resolve to treat each other with more respect.
5. We’d reach out to our friends, neighbors and relatives daily, so they
know they’re cared for. The mental health crisis is real as this unprecedented pandemic
continues to wear on all of us.
6. We’d resolve that, if all you can be is nasty, mean and insulting on
social media, then say nothing. There’s too much bitterness out there without
adding to it.
7. We’d resolve to use reliable sources and not unsubstantiated Internet
and social media sites to gather pandemic-related information.
8. People would stop comparing perfectly acceptable pandemic policies
such as vaccinations and wearing masks to the murder of more than 6 million
Jews and 5 million non-Jews during the Holocaust. Those comparisons are not
only wrong, but they’re incredibly disrespectful to Holocaust survivors and
their relatives.
9. We’d try to smile at a stranger once in a while; it will make both you
and the stranger feel better.
10. You’ll have a healthy, happy New Year. May it be one that will
sooner rather than later lead to the disappearance of the pandemic.
Larry Kessler is a retired Sun Chronicle local
news editor and can be reached at larrythek65@gmail.com. He blogs at larrytheklineup.blogspot.com
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