Dear QJC Family,
As Sukkot approaches, I am sharing some resources below, including a document that includes a guide to davening, general halachic matters that pertain to Sukkot, and a Dvar Torah - please read to the end!
But before getting there, I want to say I am very proud of the meaningful davening that took place in our kehilah this Yamim Noraim, even as it had to be a little different this year.
I first want to thank several people/groups of people who contributed in making Yamim Noraim successful:
- Miriam Selengut and Margy Cohen put in many hours in the office to ensure that people would have seats for Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur, a place to eat on Sukkos, and that everyone would remain informed throughout the entire process. This only scrapes the surface in describing how invaluable their hard work was in order for this season to be successful.
- Mario and Lorraine Moreno are always beyond helpful and reliable, but they really stepped up to ensure that our shul would be safe and sanitary. No task was too big of a challenge, whether measuring seats several times to ensure appropriate distance, building the sukkah under unique cicrcumstandes, or opening the main shul every single day, including selichos at the crack of dawn.
- The QJC Administration spent many hours meeting on Zoom and exchanging emails as we navigated together many unknowns and tried our best to make this Yamim Noraim season meaningful and safe amid the pandemic. Again, this doesn't even begin to detail what each individual person did to contribute their ideas and time.
- Dr. Matthew Dounel has been extremely helpful over the last few months, and especialy the last few weeks, in helping us design protocol that has allowed shul to operate safely and in accordance with the latest health guidelines.
As many of you know, Eliana and I were not in shul on Yom Kippur this year. As we were getting ready to sit down to eat, it occurred to us we might have COVID-19 symptoms, albeit very mild. After some quick consultation, it became clear that we should not go to shul on Yom Kippur just in case. We were told not to. And truth be told, while it might have all been okay, I am happy I did not take the risk, as I have heard of a few too many rabbis and chazzanim who tested positive after Rosh Hashannah.
Baruch Hashem, we tested negative. Whatever symptoms we had this week were apparently not COVID-19.
But I hope this illustrates a few points:
- As cases increase in Queens, we should be supremely cautious. If the person who happens to be the rabbi and the ba'al tefillah for three different tefillos of Yom Kippur can be told to stay home at the 11th hour, we can all do that part if it becomes necessary. If you have symptoms that could be COVID related, please stay home and get tested! For everyone's safety!
- It was certainly humbling for me that I am not indispensible. While many people make many important contributions in whatever roles they serve, we must all realize that the world does not revolve around us and can continue even if we cannot show up. While we should take our responsibilities in life seriously (including as it relates to Avodas Hashem), and we should allow ourselves to be counted on when needed, nobody is too important in moments like these. Of course, I still appreciated people's comments that our presence was missed. We also missed being in shul.
- My written Rosh Hashannah drasha talked about the uncertainty that has unfolded during this period, and how Unetaneh Tokef is an important reminder that we do not always know exactly how life will unfold. I recounted several times, especially in March and April, when I found myself surprised by how things that seemed "set in stone" changed with the blink of the eye. Ironically, I did not have this episode in mind! If you had asked me at 4:00 pm if I was coming to shul, of course I was! But this lesson helped me accept, when the time came, that adjustments had to be made, and uncertainty is still to be embraced.
- I spoke after Shabbos Shuva about davening at home versus davening at shul. This, too, carried an irony. While it was strange to daven in a living room instead of in a shul b'tzibbur on Yom Kippur, it was also meaningful for me to experience how we really truly can be ovdei Hashem anywhere we are, even on Yom Kippur. Instead of spending hours sitting on a stage where everyone watches me daven, it was just me and Hakadosh Baruch Hu. With the craziness of the period leading up to Yamim Noraim, I found I had a chance to breathe, daven slowly, and experience my own connection with Hashem. With that said, of course the community was on my mind while I davened, and all were in my tefillos. I certainly hope that next year, I will be with you all together.
- I want to give an additional thanks to Zev Schramm and our guest Achim Berger who stepped up at the very last minute to lead the tefillos that I was supposed to lead, to the point where nobody would have known they were asked at the very last minute.
Now for items related to Sukkos:
- Please see here for a guide to davening, the mitzvos of Sukkos, and a Dvar Torah.
- Here are some additional materials from the Orthodox Union that can be printed or read online during Chol Hamoed for additional learning during Sukkot.
- Here is the YU Torah-to-Go for Sukkos this year, with special features commemorating the passing of Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm z"l.
- Finally, below is a flyer for a Hoshanah Rabbah program Yeshiva University has put together. I am happy that once again, Queens Jewish Center is a partner.
Wishing everyone a good erev Shabbos and yuntif,
Judah Kerbel
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