Members of Temple Ner Simcha will have to show up early on Thursday if they want a spot at the annual Shavuot service.
On the upcoming holiday, the Los Angeles County synagogue will welcome in-person congregants for the first time in more than two months. Their sanctuary typically holds 300 people, but they鈥檒l only be letting in 70 per new COVID-19 guidelines, and they鈥檒l skip the customary dessert spread.
Still, Rabbi Michael Barclay says the gathering will come as a relief to many.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been really, really difficult on a lot of families whose emotional and spiritual needs have been ignored,鈥� he said.
Now that they have the green light to restart in-person services, California faith leaders have tough decisions to make about how to safely invite their congregants back onsite.
The California Department of Public Health announced Monday that places of worship can open . The change comes after President Donald Trump , and followingfrom 1,200 California religious leaders to Gov. Gavin Newsom, which Barclay signed.
The new rules say temples and churches can welcome up to 100 people or 25% of the building鈥檚 capacity, whichever is lower, as long as social distancing measures are in place.
鈥楥ritical Questions鈥� About Reopening
But even with precautions, scientists say large groups of people indoors pose a risk.
鈥淚t all depends on how big of a space those 100 people are in,鈥� said Stanford University biologist Erin Mordecai. 鈥淎re they able to maintain distancing between them? Is there really good ventilation that is circulating the air and making it so that people aren鈥檛 breathing directly on each other?
"Those are the critical questions," she said. "But I am a little bit surprised to hear that they鈥檙e considering allowing such large gatherings of people.鈥�
Bishop Bob Jackson of Acts Full Gospel Church in Oakland also signed the letter to the governor. He said religious organizations have a crucial role to play right now given people鈥檚 mental health needs during the pandemic.
鈥淚f a hospital deals with the body, the churches deal with the spirit,鈥� he said. 鈥淓verybody thinks we just come to church and jump and shout and holler and have a good time and go home, but that鈥檚 not all that we do.鈥�
But he said after looking at the guidance from the federal government, the state, Alameda County and his presiding bishop, he won鈥檛 be opening until late June.
Many places of worship across the state say they aren鈥檛 ready to come back just yet, and that they want to be better able to protect congregants before resuming services.
Making Worship Safer
The new guidelines recommend places of worship create cleaning protocols, screen their staff for symptoms and keep non-family members six feet apart.
They also recommend limiting or eliminating 鈥渞ecitations鈥�, as have been linked to faster spread of the virus.
鈥淏ecause they just increase the amount of respiration you鈥檙e doing and expelling viral particles into the air,鈥� Mordecai said.
At the Buddhist Church of Lodi, president Corey Okazaki said he鈥檚 worried about the chanting that happens in a typical service.
鈥淭he biggest thing is spacing. You鈥檙e certainly not going to have people outside their household sitting shoulder to shoulder, like you often do,鈥� he said. 鈥淐hurch is a very social activity for most people. That鈥檚 something that鈥檚 going to have to change.鈥�
If he were to reopen, he says he鈥檇 have to figure out how to mark socially distanced seating on the pews and get people in and out of the building without a bottleneck.
Okazaki is particularly worried about reopening because many of his members are older adults.
鈥淭hat may be fine for churches with younger and less affected membership, but I don鈥檛 feel like we鈥檙e at a point where we鈥檙e ready to open our doors and say we鈥檙e getting back to normal in any meaningful way,鈥� he said.
Redefining Sacred Space
Many houses of worship have responded to the COVID-19 crisis by moving services online. This can involve religious classes, virtual sermons and even .
Some religious leaders said going virtual has helped them reach more followers. Kevin Kitrell Ross, senior minister at Unity of Sacramento, said their attendance has quadrupled since they went web-only.
鈥淲e have in many ways become more connected with our community,鈥� he said. 鈥淚s our ministry going forward going to be so facility-dependent? That鈥檚 a question leaders need to be asking themselves not just because it鈥檚 COVID-19, but because of the way in which people are defining what sacred space looks like.鈥�
But there is one thing he says can鈥檛 be replicated online.
鈥淲e are a very hug-oriented community, very love-oriented,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or me, that鈥檚 a big part of what鈥檚 missing. But I want all of my people to be around to tell the story of this unprecedented time in history.鈥�
At Sacramento鈥檚 Mosaic Law Congregation, Rabbi Reuven Taff has been conducting services from a laptop in his home study. He said he had some technical difficulties at first, and leaned on synagogue volunteers for help.
鈥淚t has definitely been unexpected and certainly a huge adjustment,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ot only for me as rabbi 鈥� but also for the members of our congregation who crave being together in our physical space.鈥�
But he said Mosaic Law will not open for in-person services until leadership is completely sure it鈥檚 safe to do so.
鈥淲e just can鈥檛 risk people鈥檚 lives by gathering together,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here is a concept in Hebrew called 鈥榩ikuach nefesh鈥� 鈥� two Hebrew words which basically mean that the preservation of one鈥檚 life and one鈥檚 health takes precedence over all other Jewish religious obligations.鈥�
But other religious organizations are ready to get back to regular events.
At Temple Ner Simcha in Southern California, Barclay says it鈥檚 been impossible to cater to everyone digitally. For example, many conservative and orthodox Jewish people do not use technology on the Sabbath, and have not been able to participate in virtual prayer.
鈥淭here鈥檚 only so many adaptations and adjustments you can make,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely challenging for us, and the more observant you are the more difficult it will be.鈥�
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