The Voice | June-July 2020

ourselves - and literally hold onto - during the pandemic,” Rabbi Saroken said. “When we get to Ahava Rabbah during Soul Boosts, I have people hug themselves. In a time when people are missing human touch, to feel someone’s arms wrapped around you - even if they’re your own - is a powerful manifestation of God’s love.” Indeed, The Soul Boosts, as well as Beth El’s other daily virtual prayer experiences, are an exercise in mindfulness, reminding the community that a day like this has never before existed and will never again. “The days, weeks, and months are blending together,” Rabbi Saroken added. “To be reminded that this day was given to us totally unique and distinct from all others, a gift from God, that for me, is breathtaking.” While prayer during social distancing may have felt funny at first, Beth El’s sacred community learned that there’s no wrong way to talk with God. “There’s a beautiful tradition in Judaism that encourages individual prayer,” Mr. Kreshtool explained. “Virtual services are the best of both worlds: you’re still a part of the communal experience, but if there are parts of the service that don’t speak to you, then perhaps you can read an English commentary in your Siddur or do some self-reflection.” “Either way, Hashem is coming right into your living room, just like Walter Cronkite used to do,” Rabbi Schwartz joked. Socially Distanced, Not Emotionally Isolated While virtual prayer gatherings brought familiar faces together, social distancing is unnatural for humans, and especially so for the Jewish people, whose tradition is rooted in the deeply fulfilling connections of community. “Sometimes, after we conclude our virtual services - be it the morning Soul Boost or the congregational minyanim -

we’ll stay on the Zoom and give each other a quick update on our lives,” Rabbi Saroken shared. “It’s the most beautiful opportunity for people to know that no matter how they’re feeling - anxious, down, fearful, hopeless, stuck - their community is there to boost each other’s spirits, and to recognize the blessings and gifts of a new day.” What began as virtual morning minyanim quickly evolved into a beautiful expression of community, including members who contracted COVID-19 or who had been hospitalized for other reasons, as well as people who had lost loved ones. Remote prayer services, then, were an opportunity for congregants to check-in on one another, and to ensure that while they were socially distanced, they would never be emotionally isolated. “The Torah never singles out an individual, referring to us instead as the Children of Israel. We are always described as a group, a collective people ,” Mr. Kreshtool noted. “The tradition explains ‘all of Israel is responsible one for another,” especially with respect to marginalized groups like the elderly, widows, or orphans.” “Virtual services have been a tremendous resource for us during a time where we desperately needed our tradition to connect and ground us. But there are just some things you can never replicate or experience the same way through a screen,” Cantor King said. “Virtual prayer services have been a particular boon to shiva minyanim , and an expanded approach to remote services will make our community more accessible to those congregants who are homebound or live a great distance from Pikesville.” Despite their invaluable role in helping the community remain connected through the shutdown, Beth El’s clergy realized that virtual prayer services have limitations. Amen: I’m in this with You, We’re in this Together “The hardest part of this for me has been not being able to sing together with others,” Cantor Blatt admitted. “When we sing and harmonize, we create layers of sound waves that build on each other - that’s something that I crave and miss.” Rabbi Saroken agreed with that sentiment, noting that certain intimate nuances can only be exchanged in the flesh. “One of my favorite things about our in-person services is watching someone return to their seat after an aliyah and seeing other congregants extend their hands in a yasher koach ,” she said. “I miss hearing people saying Amen because there’s something about the word Amen that’s very affirming. It lifts up not only the prayer leader

10 The Voice of Beth El Congregation