Dear CRS family,
Our community is often filled with hugs and handshakes, as friends new and old greet each other warmly. Ordinarily, this is a blessing, but in the coming days and weeks, we are also mindful that even sacred spaces such as our own might be impacted by the COVID-19 virus (Coronavirus). As such, we are taking a number of precautions, which will become more evident in the coming days, and we ask that you help us do our utmost to keep each other healthy.
The safety and health of our community and staff are our priority. Throughout our buildings, we are placing an extra emphasis on disinfecting. We are cleaning elevator buttons, door handles, and bathrooms more frequently. Our public spaces, classrooms, and offices are also receiving extra daily cleaning.
With everyone’s safety in mind, the following safeguards are effective immediately:
Minimized Contact:
We look forward to welcoming you to CRS. At this time, however, we are holding off on hugs and handshakes. We hope you will understand—it is now well known that minimizing close contact can limit the spread of COVID-19. We encourage you to consider alternatives such as elbow-bumps, a smile, or a wave. We’ll know what you mean!
We have set up hand sanitizing stations at all temple entry points. We request that all people who enter use them—and also wash their hands frequently while in the building.
If you or a member of your family are feeling ill, please stay home.
We are recommending that our community adhere closely to the rule that people stay home until they are fever-free without the need for medicine for 24 hours. This also applies to child and adult caregivers who spend time with your family. We are asking parents to be extra cautious about sending a potentially sick child to Sholom Sprouts classes and Religious School/Youth events.
The
CRS livestream
offers everyone the opportunity to join the community remotely for Shabbat services. If you need help accessing the livestream, or wish to borrow a siddur, please email
info@crsnyc.org
.
Restricted Countries:
We are monitoring
CDC Travel Health Notices
. If you or a member of your family have been to or been in contact with anyone who has visited countries on the Warning or Alert levels list, we ask that you DO NOT come to the temple for 14 days, which is considered the timespan for the COVID-19 incubation period.
NYC Health:
Please know that there are no plans to cancel events or services at this time.
This is a time when we can all prioritize the value of kindness (or chesed in Hebrew). We encourage everyone to show support and to care for each other in our community. Clergy and staff are available to anyone from our community who is in need of support. Contact the clergy team by emailing
clergy@crsnyc.org
.
Warmly,
