26 Iyar 5780 May 20, 2020 To Our Beloved Community, We hope this letter finds you and your family safe, secure, and healthy. We appreciate your strength and fortitude during these difficult times. For the last 9 weeks we have shut down and sequestered all with the hope of flattening the curve and saving lives. B’H our community has been spared the sadness and loss that so many others have experienced. We thank the Ribbono Shel Olam for watching over us and we thank the members of this community for making the necessary sacrifices. We feel that it is time to begin reopening the community. We have consulted with doctors, nurses, and health policy experts to come up with an appropriate and measured plan. It is important to remember that we cannot reopen everything at once. We must do this gradually and with chochma (wisdom). The first stage in reopening will allow for outdoor block minyanim (details contained below) and increased interaction with in-town immediate family (guidelines to be shared shortly). If we navigate this first stage successfully, we can IYH move on to the next (to be detailed in upcoming communication). In the next few weeks, we will, together with our medical panel reassess our communal situation and outline next steps. While we outline the initial stages for reopening, we fully understand that some Rabbonim, Kehillos, and individuals may be uncomfortable with this first step and feel the need to wait longer before resuming minyanim. We respect the wishes of the individual Rabbonim and Kehillos to pursue such an approach. OUTDOOR MINYANIM: Below are the guidelines for the initial phase of reopening minyanim outside of shuls. • We will begin with Mincha/Maariv on Wednesday evening, May 20th and followed by Shacharis on Thursday morning, May 21st. All minyanim will proceed on a daily basis. • Areas with large backyards or open areas may hold backyard minyanim. • Indoor minyanim are not permitted at any time, even in the event of inclement weather. • Porch minyanim, where mingling of different families is physically impossible, are preferred. • In this phase, only 10 people may attend a minyan. • Each minyan should appoint a gabbai. – Gabbai must register his minyan online. Please visit https://jcovid.com/minyan. This site provides detailed instructions for how create the minyan. If one doesn’t have internet access please call (443) 839-0782 for help with setting up or finding a minyan. -The gabbai should actively ensure that social distancing and safety is adhered to. This can mean excluding individuals who do not conform to these safety standards. – For backyard minyanim, the gabbai must measure and place markers for an outdoor seating plan [or pre-position chairs] to ensure 6 feet of separation between all participants in all directions. • Participants should bring their own siddur, chair. These should not be borrowed or shared. • Baalei tefilah should use their own siddur. • Daven with the same group of people for every teffilah in order to minimize possible exposures. • You may not daven in different minyanim within a neighborhood. • Minyanim should move efficiently in order to minimize exposure. Consider a “hoich’eh kedusha” at Mincha and attendees davening psukei d’zimra at home and joining the Shacharis minyan at Yishtabach. • It is preferable to have at least one […]

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