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In this time of uncertainty and isolation, we turn to one another and we turn to prayer to help us cope. We miss being together in our sanctuary on Spruce Street, even as our own homes have become “houses of prayer.” As the current period of “stay at home” persists, BZBI is committed to adapting our spiritual offerings to meet the needs of our members. Based on recent updated guidance from the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, Rabbi Annie and I, together with BZBI’s Ritual Committee, have decided to expand our current Zoom prayer offerings to include Shabbat mornings, beginning this week.
We will be holding a service on Saturday, May 30, the second day of Shavuot. That service will include Yizkor instead of the previously-scheduled 5:30 pm service on May 28.
Zoom Shabbat will use the same link as our weekday Zoom Minyan, and you can register here for access.
The discussions around online services for Shabbat and Yom Tov have developed rapidly in the past eight weeks. My thinking on these questions has evolved as our understanding of the halakhic implications has developed, and I am deeply grateful to Rabbi Annie, our Ritual Committee and Board, and our entire staff for their honest feedback throughout the process of exploring online Shabbat and Yom Tov services.
We know that for some members of our community, this could mean a major adjustment in Shabbat practice. Speaking personally, this Shabbat will be the first time in nearly twenty-five years that I have used any kind of electronic device. I firmly believe that there is a halakhic justification for Zoom Shabbat services during this unprecedented time in which we are unable to meet in person (more on that below) and yet I remain uncertain of how it will actually feel to sit down at the computer screen when it is time for services on Shabbat morning. Rabbi Annie and I encourage anyone with personal questions about online Shabbat services to contact us for further discussion.
Although there are some signs of reopening in Pennsylvania, and some political leaders have called for houses of worship to resume normal operations, our tradition insists that pikuah nefesh – the preservation of life – take precedence over even our most sacred mitzvot. Rabbi Annie and I, together with BZBI’s Board of Trustees, feel that physical distancing remains the most prudent course of action for the foreseeable future, for the safety of our own members as well as for the greater good of Philadelphia. We are monitoring public health guidance and intend to return to in-person worship once it is recommended it is safe to do so. Until then, it is our hope that Zoom services will offer our members and the general community spiritual and communal engagement through these difficult times.
Our Zoom Shabbat services will follow a similar model to our weekday services, in which all participants, including clergy, will join from their own homes. The service will include song and prayers for healing, an abridged Torah reading (read from a humash) and/or the Haftarah. We intend to try out a variety of d’var Torah formats, including traditional sermons, discussions utilizing breakout rooms, and other learning formats. All lifecycle events, such as baby namings, will be available at Zoom Shabbat services; please contact a rabbi to make arrangements for your simcha. Following the service, we intend to use breakout rooms to offer a “virtual kiddush” social experience.
If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, I welcome you to contact me, Rabbi Annie, or Ritual Committee Chair Larry Kessler.
Specific Halakhic Guidance for Zoom Shabbat
This email offers broad guidance for Shabbat-appropriate participation in Zoom Shabbat services. Those interested in more technical halakhic detail than is presented here are encouraged to read my report to the Ritual Committee and Rabbi Joshua Heller’s teshuvah (halakhic opinion), “Streaming Services on Shabbat and Yom Tov.”
It is important to prepare ahead for Zoom Shabbat, in order to minimize any chance of accidental violations of Shabbat. Most importantly, if you have not already registered for Zoom Minyan, please do so clicking this link as soon as possible so you are signed up before Shabbat begins. A device should be designated for use with Zoom Shabbat before Shabbat begins, with your registration email for Zoom Minyan left open so that you can click the link directly to start your connection without any other steps. Typing on a computer – including entering passwords – constitutes a form of writing that is not permitted on Shabbat. The text chat feature will be disabled on Shabbat.
The following actions are permitted, in accordance with CJLS guidance, when accessing Zoom Shabbat:
- Clicking links to connect to the Zoom Minyan
- Using internal Zoom features, such as Mute/Unmute and Pin Video
- Switching between Gallery View and Speaker View
- Resizing the Zoom window for comfortable viewing
- Hosts may use breakout rooms and screen sharing as needed
- Anyone unable to use the Zoom app to connect to services may use the phone dial-in system instead.
For those who would prefer not to click links on Shabbat, there are ways to set a computer to automatically open the Zoom connection; Rabbi Joshua Heller offers a few suggestions in Appendix III to his opinion on online Shabbat services
Prayer Books & Resources
The Rabbinical Assembly has generously offered PDF copies of their Siddurim, Siddur Sim Shalom for Weekdays and Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals, as a free download via this link. We are also working on a system for lending BZBI’s siddurim to congregants who need them, and we will send information about that as soon as it becomes available. Each week, we will send out a selection of the Torah reading from the humash that we will be including in the service to all of the people who have registered for online prayer services.
Gratitude
Finally, I will take this opportunity to share my deep gratitude for the privilege of serving a community so devoted to caring for one another. Nearly every phone call or Zoom meeting I have had over the past two months has included someone sharing a story of another BZBI member looking out for them in some way – a phone call, a grocery pickup, wave from across the street. Thank you for sharing your lives with one another and with me.
With Blessings,
Rabbi Abe Friedman
Senior Rabbi
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