18 | APRIL 1 • 2021
OUR COMMUNITY
L
ast March, when COVID forced us
to stop gathering publicly, many syn-
agogues transitioned their services to
an online format, where they remain today.
One year later, as more people are becom-
ing vaccinated and, for a while, the number
of reported cases in Michigan was trending
downward, things slowly started opening
up. Public schools brought students back
into the classrooms, restaurants reopened
with capacity limits, and a small number of
fans can now attend sporting events.
Event coordinator and logistic manager
seem to be the new roles of rabbis since the
pandemic started. Rabbi Yechiel Morris of
Young Israel of Southfield (YIS) half-jok-
ingly said he used to spend his spare time
working on sermons. Now he devotes his
extra time to making sure congregants are
safe when they come to synagogue.
After a three-month pause, YIS resumed
services last June, offering indoor and
outdoor options. Each holiday presents a
unique set of challenges for shuls like YIS,
depending on the time of year and typi-
cal crowd size. Purim, for example, took
significant planning, resulting in multiple
services to accommodate the number of
people who wanted to observe the festive
holiday at shul.
More congregations are reopening or
expanding their number of participants for
in-person services but keeping an online
presence. Others, however, are choosing to
remain virtual.
A SLOW AND SAFE RETURN
In January, Congregation Beth Ahm in
West Bloomfield started allowing up to 15
Some shuls have begun limited in-person sevices;
others wait.
A Return
to
Worship
JENNIFER LOVY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Virtual for Now
Not everyone plans to bring mem-
bers back into the sanctuary. B’nai
Moshe, Adat Shalom, Temple Kol
Ami, Shir Tikvah and T’chiyah are
among the congregations that will
remain virtual for now. In response
to a written request from the Jewish
News, congregation leaders out-
lined their plans. Some statements
have been edited for brevity.
Adat Shalom Synagogue: “Adat
Shalom has no current plans for
a return to a physical presence in
the short term. We have held b’nai/
b’not mitzvah in our sanctuary on
Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh, and
the attendance has been limited to
family members with an attendance
not to exceed 25 individuals. All
of our daily, evening and Shabbat
services are Zoomed, and we
anticipate that will become part of
the new normal. Clergy, members
of the professional staff and syna-
gogue members will be meeting in
the not too distant future to discuss
a timetable for a return to a physical
presence in the synagogue.”
— Alan Yost, executive director
Stained glass at
Congregation
Shaarey Zedek
Beth Ahm sanctuary
CBHAM.ORG