Dear Friends,
Welcome back to Ansche Chesed!
After two High Holiday seasons seriously disrupted by the Covid pandemic, this year will certainly be better than the last two. During these difficult years, we often worried whether people’s Jewish behavior would be irrevocably altered and whether they would want to return to our shul building. In fact, every single day we speak to members who tell us how eager they are to be at Ansche Chesed for Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur this year. It is very gratifying, of course.
Naturally, everyone wants to know about our Covid policies for the upcoming holidays.
With respect to seating, we will return to pre-Covid times, with full rooms and assigned seats on Rosh HaShanah Day 1 and Yom Kippur, and unassigned seating on Rosh HaShanah Day 2. The vast majority of seats in the Sanctuary are already sold. If you have not reserved yours, please do not delay.
Please attend in person only if you have received appropriate vaccines. We will not ask you to show proof, but trust that everyone will behave responsibly for themselves and their families. Because the timing of booster shots will vary for individuals, we do not have a specific policy for whether you must have a 4th or 5th shot before attending.
If you feel sick at all, please be prudent and civic-minded; please stay home and connect via the Livestream at https://anschechesed.org/streamingservices/. That option is also available, of course, for those who do not feel ready to return to services in person.
But the question on many people’s minds is: What about masks? Like theaters, schools, and stores throughout New York, many synagogues are going mask-optional for Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. A number of our members have pressed AC to take the same route.
But we are taking a different route.
We ask those attending the High Holidays at AC to wear masks at all indoor services, except when taking leadership roles. This policy has the unanimous support of our clergy, our medical advisors, and the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees.
We understand why a mask-optional policy makes sense. Many people have mentally moved on from all the restrictions. People ask, reasonably: If I don’t have to mask at Broadway shows, at the Metropolitan Museum, at the New York Public Library, why must I keep masking at Ansche Chesed?
We agree this is the right direction, and we will get there soon. Following Yom Kippur, beginning on Shabbat, October 7-8, services at AC will be mask-recommended but not required. From that date forward, a section of the Sanctuary will be designated mask-mandatory, and the remainder of the room will be mask-optional.
But that is not the right policy for us on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur this year.
Why? We are a diverse community. Some people feel safe, having endured mild cases of Covid without lasting problems, and feel willing to risk another Covid exposure, confident that they will be fine. But others face different circumstances, from compromised immune systems to living with loved ones who have serious health problems, to Long Covid enduring from 2020. We consider it a communal imperative to permit the largest possible number of Ansche Chesed members to davven together on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. Sure, many - perhaps most - would be well served if we went mask-optional. But we have heard from too many people who would stay away from shul on the most important days of the year if we adopted that policy.
Let’s remember that Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur are not Shabbat. If we are fortunate, there will be hundreds of people – at some points as many as 1,300 people, the Sanctuary capacity – spending hours together in enclosed spaces. It would be wise to be more restrictive under these conditions than on normal Saturdays.
Also, the High Holidays are not theater visits. Unlike Broadway theatergoers, we won’t be watching others sing from 50 or 100 feet away. We will be standing close to others, singing with full hearts and full voices during Avinu Malkeinu and Ki Anu Amecha.
Moreover, no one has to attend the theater or the museum. If you skip “Hadestown” this fall, you can go later. “Starry Night” will still be at the MOMA next year. But Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur are different. We are glad that many in our community feel they must be in Jewish community on these awesome days. Our communal imperative is to make it possible for them, not give them reasons to stay away.
To those who would prefer to go mask-optional on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, we understand why you may object to this decision. We are grateful for your patience and generosity in helping us keep the doors open to as many people as we can. You have the gratitude of those AC members who would otherwise stay away from a crowded room during lengthy services.
And please come on October 8 and during Sukkot, so we can see your beautiful, unmasked faces then.
Warmest Wishes for a Happy Healthy New Year,
Dawn Kellman, President
Rabbi Yael Hammerman
Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky
