Temple Emanuel News

Dear Friends,

We are very excited to be able to gradually welcome everyone back to our Temple building. In order to facilitate this process, your Board of Trustees, the Reopening Task Force, and the professional team have adopted clear safety guidelines for all members and guests. In adopting these guidelines, we are again relying on the Matrix of Jewish Values written by Rabbi Black. In this moment, we focus on the value of kedusha, or uniqueness. Each congregant is unique, and many have yet to be vaccinated. Further, each program at Temple is unique. Whether large or small, indoor or outdoor, each experience carries its own transmission risk. With these values and circumstances in mind, we have adopted the following guidelines, to be in effect until at least July 1.

• Social distancing is required for all indoor and outdoor experiences at Temple.
• Participants are required to wear masks inside the Temple building at all times.
• Participants at larger outdoor events such as Friday night worship, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, and weddings are required to wear masks.
• The clergy or members of the professional team, on a case by case basis, may require participants at very small outdoor events to wear masks.
• Food will not be served at most Temple events. In some circumstances out of necessity, in programs such as those taking place in our Early Learning Center, Religious School, and informal education departments, food may be served at the discretion of program coordinators.

We understand that our policies may be different than the guidelines for outdoor dining in restaurants and other public outdoor spaces.  At Temple Emanuel, we strive to find the holiness and uniqueness in every situation and respond as best as we can. We have a special obligation to focus on the safety of all our members and guests.

Thank you for your patience, support, and understanding. This is a fluid situation. We promise that we will continue to adjust as we learn more and respond to the changes that occur daily.

We are incredibly excited to (safely) see all of you at Temple.

Rabbi Joseph Black
Steve Stark, Executive Director
Cantor Elizabeth Sacks
Danny Foster, President