38 | SEPTEMBER 22 • 2022 
 
 
 
 

I

n these tenuous times when health 
officials have still not officially called 
an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, 
Jewish congregations are ushering in 5783 
with a delicate balance of in-person and 
livestreaming and virtual programming, 
outreach, education and religious services. 
Zoom and livestreaming are not going 
away, and many congregations are 
creatively making the most of outdoor 
spaces, such as courtyards, tents and 
pavilions, so long as the coming colder 
months will allow. 
At Southfield’s Congregation Shaarey 
Zedek, Rabbi Aaron Starr said 
they again will be live- 
streaming High Holiday 
services to members, but the 
congregation expects most of 
its congregants to be in person 
in the synagogue’s sanctuary. 
“We know there are 
still those among our 
congregational family who cannot attend 
in-person due to health reasons,” Starr 
said. “While the joy, the camaraderie and 
the uplift of the holiday season are best 
experienced in-person, it is important to 
CSZ that every member can access the 
song and spirit, the wisdom and warmth 

of community wherever they are.” 
During Rosh Hashanah and Yom 
Kippur, CSZ will offer two simultaneous 
services. One will be inside in the 
sanctuary where masks are optional, but 
there will also be a mask-required section. 
The second service will take place outside 
on the Saulson Pavilion. 
Throughout the month of Elul, CSZ 
hosted meetups in parks around town for 
those who want to fulfill the mitzvah of 
hearing the shofar blasts and having the 
option to socialize afterwards. 
Little moments of engagement like 
this are very important to CSZ’s Rabbi 
Yonatan Dahlen, who said beyond the 
High Holidays, outreach 
to congregants continues 
as a consistent deliberate 
daily practice, especially 
with young families. Dahlen 
created a WhatsApp group 
where young families can 
opt in to get announcements, 
calendar updates or a 
reflective message right before going into 
Shabbat. 
 “It›s a crazy world out there,” said 
Dahlen. “Our job is to be there as a 
resource to navigate it in all its complexity. 

And hopefully to do so with humility, with 
compassion and empathy, and with our 
undivided attention. Other than that, I’m 
on the phone and getting coffee with folks 
— not just to talk about big things that are 
going on in their lives, but for any reason, 
and, more often than not, just to check in 
and see how things are going.” 

DIGITAL IS HERE TO STAY
Rabbi Aaron Bergman of Adat 
Shalom of Farmington Hills 
said that the digital aspect of 
online services is something 
that is going to stick around, 
as technology has benefitted 
many people who either are 
anxious about returning to the 
sanctuary, are ill or who have 
mobility issues. The congregation holds 
daily in-person morning and evening 
minyanim that are also accessible through 
Zoom. 
“There are many good reasons to 
keep connections going through Zoom,” 
Bergman said. “Zoom has connected 
people to our Adat Shalom community 
who otherwise would not be connected, 
including our congregants who snowbird 
to warmer places in the winter. It’s allowed 

Congregations usher in 5783 with a mix 
of live and virtual programming.
A New Normal at Shul

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Rabbi 
Aaron Starr 

Rabbi 
Aaron 
Bergman 

Rabbi 
Yonatan 
Dahlen

ROSH HASHANAH
An outdoor 
service at 
Temple Shir 
Shalom

