10 | MARCH 18 • 2021
(and they do!) reduced the con-
stant possibilities of prayer, study,
book clubs and song sessions.
Still, a steady stream remained
— though lately they seem to
be dropping off even more. I
remain so hopeful that organiza-
tions of all sorts will realize how
they opened themselves up to so
many new people this past year,
and that they don’t have to lose
those people when they’re ready
to meet in person again. There’s
no reason they can’t or shouldn’t
continue providing accessible
virtual events indefinitely to
make sure all members of their
community can be a part of what
they provide.
My thinking has also evolved
in a way: Because I didn’t have
the opportunities to be con-
nected all the time before the
pandemic, I may have under-
estimated how much energy
online social interactions still
take. It’s not lazy to need to take
a night off from video calling (or
even texting!) your friends and
recharge.
Be kind to yourself. Surviving
in a pandemic is work. A year
later, it is still OK to see this time
as an opportunity to rest.
FROM SARA NUSS-GALLES
Anniversaries are often a time
of reflection — joy, accomplish-
ment, endurance, passage, loss
and this past year, for me, a
sort of survival. As a child of
Holocaust survivors, I often
tested myself with concentration
camp scenarios. Could I stand
at strict attention
in the freezing
Chicago winter?
Could I skip a meal
or two without my
mother’s interfer-
ence? Could I resist
the beloved Cella’s
Chocolate Covered Cherry that
taunted me from my jacket
pocket?
In the early weeks of the 2020-
21 year of COVID, I wrote that
not only did I inherit my parents’
trauma, but I felt strengthened
and prepared by it. My pantry,
refrigerator and, yes, even toi-
let paper supply, were always
stocked. All year I ate, I walked,
I FaceTimed, I Zoomed (too
much), I wrote and I read (a lot).
I managed all that pretty well.
What I hadn’t anticipated in my
projection turned out to be what
I missed the most: my people.
My children, my grandchildren,
my friends and, yes, my acquain-
tances in the grocery store, coffee
shop, yoga class and drug store.
The social capital that connects
us to others both intimately and
casually.
My husband and I are the
lucky ones, having had every-
thing we needed this past year.
And now, two vaccines later, we
are slowly, cautiously, joyfully
connecting with those missing
pieces — our family, our friends
and our acquaintances. We wish
it for the entire world.
FROM RABBI SETH
WINBERG
My personal view hasn’t
changed. Without minimizing
how emotionally difficult it can
be, Halachah requires being
together in person for certain
rituals such as the Mourner’s
Kaddish.
Many months of working
with young adults virtually and
in person has convinced me
that the most important and
fundamentally
human aspects of
community do not
transpose easily
to a virtual space.
Brandeis has had
very few COVID
cases on campus.
We’ve worked incredibly hard to
provide continuous religious life
in person for all faith communi-
ties on campus.
For some, virtual platforms are
a meaningful way to get through
the pandemic. For many others,
a physical connection to a local
community is vital and irreplace-
able.
FROM LINDA S. HAASE
When I left my office on March
12, 2020, I never dreamed that
a full year would
go by without my
returning. I never
imagined how effec-
tive I’
d be in work-
ing from home or
how much I would
miss interacting
with my colleagues. And I never
anticipated how thankful I’
d be
for Zoom, Teams and other tech-
nological tools that have enabled
us to stay connected to friends
and family — and to stream
Shabbat services every week.
But I did have one thing right:
When our community put our
Jewish values to work, it made
all the difference. From the
woman who delivered loaves of
challah to her neighbors every
week to the day school kids who
used 3-D printers to make face
shields for frontline workers, we
have found ways to care for one
another and stay connected.
Everyone has been so creative
and thoughtful in taking their
programming online. And I am
so proud to work for JUF (Jewish
United Fund of Metropolitan
Chicago), which has distribut-
ed nearly $20 million in extra
funding to help meet emergency
needs in the community.
FROM RABBI AARON
BRUSSO
We have spent thousands of
years turning our world into a
familiar and habitable place. We
have carefully curated our sur-
roundings to convince us that we
are the main characters on this
planet.
One year into this pandemic,
we are reminded that we are
strangers in a strange land. We
have seen traffic arteries cleared
of cars while ventilators were
“WHAT I HADN’T
ANTICIPATED IN
MY PROJECTION
TURNED OUT TO
BE WHAT I MISSED
THE MOST:
MY PEOPLE.”
— SARA NUSS-GALLES
“WHEN OUR COMMUNITY PUT
OUR JEWISH VALUES TO WORK,
IT MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE.”
— LINDA HAASE
“MANY MONTHS OF
WORKING WITH YOUNG ADULTS
VIRTUALLY AND IN PERSON HAS
CONVINCED ME THAT THE MOST
IMPORTANT AND FUNDAMENTALLY
HUMAN ASPECTS OF COMMUNITY
DO NOT TRANSPOSE EASILY
TO A VIRTUAL SPACE.”
— RABBI SETH WINBERG
PURELY COMMENTARY
Sara
Nuss-Galles
Rabbi Seth
Winberg
Linda S.
Haase
continued from page 5
continued on page 12
ONE CANNOT LIVE
BY MATZO ALONE
From Seder to Snacking and Everything in Between
P
U