Preaching Goes Viral

Rabbi Adam Cutler – Saving Others and Elevating Ourselves: COVID-19 AND BEYOND

Social / physical distancing

[OLD] Accept or reject public health guidelines

Traditioning -- scriptural

[don't use] Virtual communal gatherings

This decision to stop all programs and services and its corollaries about minimizing social contact places some individuals in what I know feels like an impossible position. Many have never missed a Mourner’s Kaddish for a parent. Some will certainly have to bury and sit shiva for a loved one. They will rightly want all that our tradition has to offer: a minyan in which to daven, a crowded funeral chapel to honour a loved one, and hordes of visitors to provide comfort and support. Choosing between traditional Jewish practice and the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic may feel impossible, but the Jewish response is clear. There are moments when we must, when we must, take a novel path, up to an including violating the tradition itself for our own wellbeing and that of others. This is one of those moments.

2022-12-13

Rabbi Adam Cutler

h778