Triangle Jewish congregations prepare for Rosh Hashanah celebrations, pandemic style
Triangle congregations will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, with mostly online events that begin at sundown on Friday and run through nightfall on Sunday.
Just like those in most other faith traditions, members of area synagogues continue to worship outside their buildings to reduce the spread of COVID-19. That means the highest holy days in the Jewish calendar — beginning with Rosh Hashanah and ending 10 days later with Yom Kippur — will look different this year.
At least one synagogue, Beth El in Durham, allowed congregants to order life-sized cardboard cutouts of themselves from the waist up that will be placed in the sanctuary during services to keep the rabbi company. Money raised in the project went to a holiday food drive.
Here are some of the other festivities planned:
Beth Meyer Synagogue in Raleigh will livestream Rosh Hashana services Friday night, Saturday morning, Sunday morning and Sunday night on its Youtube channel. Members also may join the service through Zoom after registering on the synagogue’s website. Non-members may join the High Holy Days services via Zoom for $36.
Temple Beth Or in Raleigh will hold most events online. Members have access to prayers and worship on Friday, services, studies and activities on Saturday and additional services on Sunday. Also on Sunday there will be an in-person memorial service at the Raleigh Hebrew Cemetery from 11 a.m to noon, with a maximum of 25 people. That service also will be available via Zoom.
Beth Shalom in Raleigh will hold all its High Holy Days services Friday evening and Saturday morning, via Zoom. Members as well as guests are welcome, but guests must register. An in-person Family Nature Celebration is planned for Sunday morning in the synagogue’s back yard, with a limited number of pre-registered guests who must bring chairs or blankets.
Chabad Center of Raleigh will allow a limited number of people to attend services in person, with masks and at a distance from one another. Reservations are required. Live Zoom sessions will not be offered by Chabad Center during High Holy Days, in keeping with Jewish law governing the use of electronic devices during those days.
The Jewish Federation of Durham-Chapel Hill will hold a virtual Community Selichot at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Led by Eliana Light, the Zoom event will be open to those who RSVP to https://jccfed.wufoo.com/forms/2020-community-selichot/. The event is cosponsored by Beth El Synagogue of Durham, Judea Reform Congregation in Durham, Beth Meyer Synagogue in Raleigh and Kehillah Synagogue in Chapel Hill.
Beth El Synagogue in Durham is holding several online enrichment and study sessions, beginning at 10 a.m Saturday with a storytelling event called “Shalom/Goodbye 5780: Don’t Let the Door Hit You in the Tush!” and a discussion led by Orit Ramler called, “Rosh Hashinui, the Beginning of Change Coaching Session. On Sunday, Beth El will Zoom “’Poems and Legends About Creation,” “On Laughing, Seeing, and Shifting Our Perspective: Living Through an Absurd Time,” and a session on Healing Yoga,all beginning at 10 a.m.
Beth El in Durham will hold a few in-person events, for which registration is required. One is the Mobile Shofar Blowing on Sunday, during which shofar blowers will travel to six locations around Durham and Chapel Hill to sound the ram’s horn. Up to 25 people can attend at any given time, and celebrants are asked to wear masks and stand at least 6 feet apart. For those who would like to hear the shofar but can’t leave home, the synagogue will try to arrange a blowing.
Beth El also is allowing family groups to enter the sanctuary of the synagogue by appointment for up to 15 minutes of reflection and private prayer in front of the ark. Appointments are available between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Beth El’s website also has information on events scheduled for Yom Kippur.
Visitors also may come in person to the Durham Hebrew Cemetery for 30 minutes at a time by appointment in groups of up to 25 beginning Sunday. Masks and social-distancing are required.
Kehillah Synagoge and Congregation Etz Chayim, both in Chapel Hill, will hold joint online services for High Holidays 5781. Through Zoom, the congregations will offer four options: the main service, the lobby for casual socializing, children’s services and a variety of parallel programs. Links are available on Kehilah Synagogue’s website. Required passwords are available on High Holy Days brochures. Non-members are invited to attend main Rosh Hashanah services online Friday night, Saturday morning and Sunday morning. Information about parallel program is available on the synagogue’s website.
Judea Reform Congregation of Durham will livestream all its High Holy Days services via its Facebook page and its website. A children’s service will be held Friday at 5 p.m. and a congregational service at 6 p.m. A family service will begin Saturday at 9 a.m. followed by a congregational service at 10:30 a.m. Information about Yom Kippur services that will be livestreamed is available on Judea Reform’s website.
Chabad of Durham/Chapel Hill will hold in-person High Holy Days services in an outdoor tent with visitors wearing masks and social-distancing at 127 Mallette Street, Chapel Hill. Reservations are available through the website for services on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
This story was originally published September 18, 2020 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Triangle Jewish congregations prepare for Rosh Hashanah celebrations, pandemic style."
