Jewish Dopers, how to plan to observe the High Holidays this year?

At least not while we still have Woody Allen.

News from Israel is that everybody is ordered to stay home more or less, including Jews naturally.

While I agree that the principle of preserving life means that no realspace gatherings should be held, I don’t think this necessitates Zoom services. We live in the Information Age. The average Jew should have no trouble finding all they need to hold a service at home and printing out that information. I have both the siddur (prayer book for the Jewish impaired) I was given when I became Bar Mitzvah, and a mahzor (special High Holy Day prayerbook) I found when we cleaned out the house of my Uncle Max (may his memory be a blessing). I don’t have a Torah or a genuine shofar. But, you can’t have everything.

All that said, I think I will participate in Beiteinu’s Zoom service on Yom Kippur. I’ll have complete assurance in the order and completeness of the service. More, I’ll know that my Yiddishe mama in Florida is watching the same service at home.

As someone one just sat a very abbreviated shiva (Wednesday noon to Friday afternoon) due to Rosh Hashana, I concur on this. At 16 people (us four mourners plus spouses/children etc) we had no outside shiva visitors and davened over Zoom. It was definitely not haymisha feeling.

Oh, that’s sweet. I like that. :slightly_smiling_face:

My Reform synagogue’s RH services were spectacular, so I guess I have to partially amend my “sucky” comment.

Both the evening and morning services were very moving. Most of it was the rabbis live from the bima in the empty sanctuary, but there were some added videos inserted and two zoom choirs that were pre-recorded. I found these zoom services oddly and counterintuitively intimate. Instead of craning your neck to see over hundreds of people, you’re looking at the rabbi’s face, big as life. And during the Torah reading, the camera is right there up close and personal in a way that you can’t be unless you’re standing next to the person doing the reading.

It’s the difference between watching the Spurs from the umpty-umpth row of the AT&T Center where they’re just little dots running around–although you do have the excitement of the live crowd–and watching on TV where you can see the sweat dripping down their faces. Each one can be a great experience in a different way.

I’ve been zooming a free meditation group/class/practice every weekday put on by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality. It’s attended by 300-400 participants. At the end the leader leads the group in kaddish, and we unmute our mics and recite together (for those whose practice is to join). I have to say that hearing the murmur of hundreds of people from all over the country joining in the moment is quite moving. Especially for someone like me who lives alone.