 DECEMBER 31 • 2020 | 31

P

rayer in Judaism is an 
interesting concept. 
While there is nothing 
inherently wrong with one 
praying by oneself, there is 
certainly a pref-
erence for com-
munal prayer. 
Worshiping 
k’yachid, or indi-
vidually, satisfies 
the Jewish obli-
gation for daily 
prayer, but there 
are several sections of the prayer 
service that can only be done 
when a minyan (prayer quorum 
of 10 people) is constituted.
During the COVID-19 pan-
demic, the strong desire we 
have for communal worship 
has posed a challenge to clergy. 
Certainly, technology has solved 
many of the inherent problems 
that occur when it is impossible 
for community members to 
congregate in person due to the 
health risks. We have seen how 
video conferencing apps like 
Zoom have become common-
place for group worship. But we 
have also seen examples of what 
happens when technology fails, 
as it did for dozens of congre-
gations dependent on the syn-
agogue website company Shul 
Cloud, whose servers failed on 
Yom Kippur, the most heavily 
trafficked day of the year for 
virtual synagogue prayer.
Congregations are not simply 
relying on Zoom to be the sav-
ior of communal prayer during 
the pandemic. New, innovative 
options are being created to give 
congregants the feeling of truly 
being together in a community, 
whether for Shabbat and holi-
day prayer services, bar and bat 
mitzvah ceremonies or funerals 
and shivah minyans.
A new cutting-edge tech-

nological prayer program 
that is gaining in popularity 
amid the pandemic is Visual 
T’filah. Created by the Central 
Conference of American Rabbis 
(CCAR), this app was used by 
nearly half of the Reform com-
munity during the recent High 
Holidays to enhance prayer and 
help worshipers find deeper 
meaning in prayers. 
Rather than simply show the 
prayer leader and pages from 
the siddur (prayer book) on 
Zoom, Visual T’filah creates a 
multimedia experience while 
participants are engaged in the 
prayer service. It utilizes con-
temporary technology to dis-
play liturgy intermingled with 
art and other visual imagery.
Interestingly, Visual T’filah 
has existed for several years but 
because of the pandemic the 
resource has gained newfound, 
widespread use as congregations 
look to enhance their remote 
services using Zoom. The tech-
nology is rather simple since 
it is a collection of PowerPoint 
files. Each congregation can 
use the multimedia files as they 
see fit during the virtual prayer 

service and can create custom 
slides as well.
Local congregations in 
Michigan have adopted Virtual 
T’filah already. “We have used 
Visual T’filah since we began 
meeting virtually this spring,
” 
explained Rabbi Matthew J. 
Zerwekh of Temple 
Emanu-El in Oak 
Park.
“I am thankful 
to have an artistic 
and easy-to-use 
tool that can help 
make our services 
accessible to our 
congregation, no matter if they 
have a prayerbook at home or 
not. Visual T’filah allows us to 
be flexible and creative with our 
liturgy and music while present-
ing a beautiful and meaningful 
presentation of the service.
”

SENSORY EXPERIENCES
When hundreds are gathered 
in a sanctuary, we are engaged 
in many sensory experiences. 
This is not the case when we are 
looking at a computer, tablet or 
phone screen and only seeing 
other people in boxes, as is the 

case with Zoom. Virtual T’filah 
seeks to provide some of those 
sensory experiences that add so 
much to our prayer experience, 
making it feel more spiritual.
Rabbi Hara Person, chief 
executive of the CCAR, made 
the case for Visual T’filah. 
“While this remarkable technol-
ogy has been used successfully 
by congregations nationwide 
for years,
” she said, “we’re 
very proud to see how rabbis 
and their communities have 
embraced Visual T’filah to find 
new opportunities for meaning-
ful spiritual experiences during 
this challenging time.
”
Visual T’filah was creat-
ed by Rabbi Dan Medwin, 
who serves as director of 
digital media for the CCAR. 
Congregations do not have to 
be affiliated with the Reform 
Movement to purchase a 
license for Visual T’filah. In 
fact, the files can be edited to 
adapt to any congregation and 
for any type of prayer service, 
from a high holiday gathering 
to an intimate bat mitzvah cel-
ebration.
Visual T’filah is just another 
example of the ingenuity that 
Jewish leaders are demonstrat-
ing during these unprecedented 
times. While it is still difficult to 
believe that we haven’t been able 
to gather as a community in 
our houses of worship since the 
early part of this year, we have 
been making due and technolo-
gy has played an important role 
in helping us feel as if we are 
gathered together to worship 
and give thanks to God. 

Rabbi Jason Miller is a local educator 

and entrepreneur. He is president of 

Access Technology in West Bloomfield, 

a full-scale tech company and web mar-

keting agency.

New App Enhances
Prayer During 
Pandemic

Rabbi 
Matthew J. 
Zerwekh

CCAR

IN 
THE
JEWS D
JEWS IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Rabbi Jason 

Miller

Visual T’filah

