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