38 | OCTOBER 8 • 2020
I
n the tumultuous year that
is 5781, celebrating the High
Holidays has been anything
but a normal experience for the
Jewish community.
In response, the Orthodox
Union has released a document
spelling out guidelines and
recommendations for how Jews
can spend their Simchat Torah
in light of the COVID-19 pan-
demic, including strict social
distancing and no dancing.
The Orthodox Union (OU)
has served as an umbrella
organization for American
Orthodox Jewry since 1898,
with over 400 congregations in
its synagogue network.
Rabbi Adir Posy, Director of
Synagogue and Community
Services for OU, helped craft
the document. He believes cele-
brations can be just as fulfilling
as other years, in different ways.
“What we’
re trying to guide
people with is striking a balance
with keeping as much normalcy
as possible and being able to
connect to the traditions we’
ve
done every year, with the allow-
ance for making sure we are
extremely vigilant about safety
protocols,
” Posy told the JN.
“We must plan and prepare
for Simchat Torah, being espe-
cially mindful of the recent rise
in positive tests in many com-
munities,
” the document reads.
“This uptick is a source of gen-
uine concern, and we must be
committed to make every effort
to reverse it by proceeding with
appropriate caution.
”
OU worked with medical
experts and public health offi-
cials to see if environments for
celebration could be created in
a safe way.
“In most cases, we found
out the answer was yes,
” Posy
said. “There are ways to create
worship indoors or outdoors in
ways that are safe.
”
The OU advises Jews not to
dance during Simchat Torah
(Oct. 10-11).
“This special day is typically
celebrated by spirited dancing
with the Torah, which is some-
thing that seems impossible to
replicate this year while main-
taining proper safeguards,
” the
document reads. “Even without
holding hands, and even out-
doors, when dancing in circles
we are continuously walking
into the clouds of droplets gen-
erated by the vigorous singing
and dancing of others. Sadly,
there seems to be no way in
which this can be safely accom-
plished … These are certainly
meaningful disappointments.
”
While there’
s hope that next
year’
s High Holidays will see a
return to normalcy, Posy said
the restrictions have led to “an
explosion of innovation.
”
“One of the recommenda-
tions we made as we celebrate
the Torah is to celebrate the
ways in which the Torah or
connecting to studying Torah
has enhanced people’
s lives. So I
can imagine that type of sharing
is a very meaningful thing that
can exist in really any context,
and is one of the examples of
innovative ideas I think will be
able to stand the test of time.
”
continued from page 37
due to obstructive sleep apnea
or narcolepsy.
LONGSTANDING FATIGUE
He also said there’
s increasing
evidence that there’
s a post-
COVID syndrome with symp-
toms that include fatigue and
low energy but that the science
to trace that is developing. In
general though, symptoms of
CFS have to be longstanding
(six months or more) and cause
functional impairment. Often,
those with ME/CFS are pre-
scribed anti-depressants though
those medications often don’
t
solve the entire problem, Young
said.
One of Young’
s longtime
patients, Jane (not her real
name), said she was referred to
Young about 20 years ago after
working with a social worker
for severe anxiety and depres-
sion. Jane had noticed difficulty
in concentration and not being
able to filter out noise in large
crowds. She said she was also
having a very hard time waking
in the morning and finding
energy to tackle the day, consid-
ering she was helping her father
with dementia get his affairs in
order.
The woman who in the past
has volunteered with several
Jewish organizations, said she
learned she had a diagnosis of
ADHD, with moderate symp-
toms in addition to chronic
fatigue syndrome.
“I was overwhelmed, and my
energy level came in spurts,
”
she said. “I felt like I was having
a breakdown.
”
Jane was prescribed Zoloft
for her depression and Adderall
XR, which is a common pre-
scription for ADHD. She has
found great help with the med-
ications in terms of focusing,
recall and managing her emo-
tions.
“Family members close to me
noticed the stabilizing effect,
”
she said. “It was explained to
me that it was like putting a
shield on your emotions” so
that negative emotions don’
t
become overwhelming.
“The medication filters and
focuses you. I’
ve always taken
[the Adderall] when I’
m work-
ing,
” she said.
Although she’
s found living
in the pandemic world chal-
lenging, Jane finds joy in sing-
ing and has been taking online
programming and classes
through the Jewish Federation’
s
JLearn program.
“They have been wonderful
in getting you through and
feeling productive,
” she said.
She encourages those who feel
overwhelmed with fatigue and
negative emotions to ask for
help until all symptoms are
under control.
“Try not to tough it out your-
self,
” she said. “Once I got stable
on the antidepressants and
my mood, I realized there was
still a problem” with focus and
fatigue.
Health
“Oft
en patients with ME/CFS
feel abandoned, diminished
or marginalized.”
— DR. JOEL L. YOUNG
Orthodox Union
Issues Guidelines for
Simchat Torah
Social distancing, no dancing this year.
DANNY SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER