C

OVID-19 has affected 
people’
s lives in tragic 
ways. The pandemic 
has also caused us to adjust to 
new realities like 
our kids being 
home from 
school for the 
final few months 
of the school 
year. There have 
been countless 
events canceled, 
including vacations, summer 
camp, concerts, fundraisers and 
sporting events. Our children 
have been disappointed because 
of commencements and gradu-
ation parties that could not take 
place.
However, there are “silver 
linings.
” One of the unintended 
consequences of working at 
home for the past few months, 
in addition to increased family 
bonding time, has been an 
increased reliance on technolo-
gy to stay connected. For many 
in our local community, that 
has been a positive, allowing 
them to learn new skills and 
become more comfortable with 
virtual work technology. Some 
business owners have even 
questioned why they should 
continue to pay rent for their 
office if they can be just as effi-
cient working from home.
“I saw firsthand how video 
conferencing technology like 
Google Meet was beneficial in 

enhancing the learning process,
” 
said David Hack of Farmington 
Hills, whose son recently gradu-
ated from Hillel Day School. 
“Watching my son use 
Google Meet and Zoom to 
have virtual interaction with 
his teachers prompted me to 
look into using Zoom to meet 
with my clients in my dental 
scrap business. When dental 
offices were closed at the end 
of March, I was able to connect 
with my clients and not miss 
any planned sales meetings. I’
ve 
learned a lot lately about new 
ways of having meetings.
”
For Jeff Dwoskin, a local 
standup comic from West 
Bloomfield, technology tools 
like social media and video 
conferencing have long been 
part of his communications 
arsenal. However, he learned 
new ways of utilizing mobile 
apps to shop for his family’
s 
groceries. 
“Our family went all-in on 
Instacart. At the beginning of 
the governor’
s ‘
Stay At Home’
 
order, it was near impossible 
to get a time on Instacart, but I 
became an expert on figuring 
out the timing of placing our 
shopping orders online. We 
literally didn’
t go anywhere for 
months and Instacart was our 
lifeline.
” Dwoskin also used the 
time away from his office to 
launch his own podcast.
Risha Ring, president of the 

Jewish Historical Society of 
Michigan, said she has been 
grateful that the pandemic has 
forced her to push the organi-
zation to begin using technol-
ogy like Zoom. “
All of JHSM 
programming and our meet-
ings (locally and throughout 
the state) are now on Zoom. 
That technology has saved 
our organization. In fact, now 
people from as far away as Iron 
Mountain and the Soo [Sault 
St. Marie], plus the whole west 
coast of the state, are now our 
partners in sharing Michigan’
s 
Jewish history. That couldn’
t 
have happened without our 
quick embrace of video confer-
encing.
”
At Adat Shalom Synagogue 
in Farmington Hills, the entire 
catalog of programming and 
prayer services has become 
virtually accessible through 
Zoom. The congregation’
s 
communications director, Susie 
Steinberg, explained that her 
unplanned move home from 
the synagogue office came with 
many challenges, but it has also 
expedited her dependence on 
the internet to do her job. 
“I was thrown in headfirst to 
master new skills to effectively 
do the job at hand, which was 
to communicate virtually,
” 
Steinberg said. “I learned how 
to fearlessly (and I started with 
great trepidation) use AnyDesk 
to remotely connect to my 

office computer, how to multi-
task with only one computer 
screen and, most importantly, 
to Zoom.
” 
Steinberg added that now 
that the synagogue’
s staff has 
moved back into the office, she 
and her colleagues have a “new 
bag of tricks, but, most impor-
tantly, a confidence that we can 
meet challenges and create new 
and often exciting outcomes.
”
Some of the new technology 
adopted during the COVID-19 
pandemic is specific to certain 
industries. Clio Software, a 
comprehensive case manage-
ment tool for law firms, has 
been around for many years, 
but these months away from 
the brick-and-mortar office 
compelled attorney Jamie Ryke 
of Bloomfield Hills to become 
dependent on it. Ryke, a part-
ner in the Probate Law Firm of 
Thav Ryke and Associates, said 
that he has fallen in love with 
Clio because it’
s a “complete 
management system for law-
yers. It has combined the most 
important things I use daily to 
be organized and successful, 
namely my calendar, email and 
billing software.
” 
Ryke added that he has never 
been as organized as he is now. 
“Learning to maximize the Clio 
application has made life easier. 
I also have appreciated being 
able to attend legal hearings 
from home on Zoom, since it 
means I don’
t have to drive all 
over the state anymore.
”
Technology will continue to 
make our lives more organized 
and allow us to feel closer 
to others, but the ongoing 
COVID-19 pandemic has 
expedited our adoption of new 
technology and forced us to put 
it to use to stay connected. 

Rabbi Jason Miller is a local educator 

and entrepreneur. He is president 

of Access Technology in West 

Bloomfield (https://access.technolo-

gy). On Twitter: @RabbiJason.

24 | AUGUST 6 • 2020 

Jews in the D
jews in the digital age

Learning New Tech
Can Help Us Connect

Rabbi Jason 
Miller

