Blog

Dear Rockdale Temple family,

As you are all aware, the realities of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic are changing every day. We wrote to you in the fall about our deep commitment to pikuach nefesh, the principle that saving a human life supersedes all other religious considerations. Now as then, the safety and well-being of our community is our highest priority.

While physical distancing is required at this time, we are committed to being present for each other. Please complete this survey to help us match congregants’ needs and with others’ talents and gifts! We know that our sacred community is ready to support and strengthen one another.

Following recommendations from the CDC and Ohio Board of Health, and working in line with additional orders with regards to gatherings, we are putting in place measures to protect one another. Our sister synagogues and organizations in Cincinnati are following a model very similar to our own.

• Friday night services will be held online only. They will be pre-recorded and you can access them via our video archive at this link: https://venue.streamspot.com/2238af9e.
• Saturday Morning Sichat Torah (Torah study) will be held at 9:30am and Shabbat Services at 10:30 via Zoom meeting at this address: https://zoom.us/j/931219181, or you can call in 1.929.205.6099, meeting code: 931219181#
• All large programs scheduled to occur before May 1, including Shabbat dinners, our annual Passover Second Seder, and the Women’s Seder are cancelled. We will continue to update our community when programs resume or as they are rescheduled.
• Religious School is now on an extended Spring Break but looks to be on hold for the foreseeable future. We are committed to maintaining our school community and offering learning opportunities! Rabbi Kahan will communicate with families as we create virtual classes, resources, and times to pray, sing, and be together.
• Our Tuesday afternoon Rak Limud: Talmud Lessons Every Jew Should Learn will continue exclusively via Zoom. To participate please RSVP to Rabbi Coran scoran@rockdaletemple.org. We hope to provide additional opportunities to learn and be together virtually.
• Our facility is in “remote office” mode. Rockdale Temple will be closed to all visitors and most staff will be working remotely to prevent the spread of the virus. If you call our office, please leave a voicemail. We will be checking voice mails and returning calls throughout the day (9:00am – 5:00pm). We will use the time to deep-clean all offices and do maintenance and upkeep throughout the building.
• Pastoral visits, such as our rabbis visiting members in the hospital, people in assisted living facilities, and nursing homes must now be done via FaceTime, phone calls, and texts. Please let us know if you or anyone else needs pastoral care.
• We want to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our community, be they emotional, physical, or other. We recognize that in these uncertain times, lives and fortunes can change very quickly. Please don’t hesitate to contact Jewish Family Service if you are food insecure or worried about rent or mortgage payments.

We recognize that this is a rapidly changing situation. Please keep an eye on our website for the latest updates and let us know if you require phone-only communications.

Thank you all for supporting us with your commitment, love, and patience as we try our best to support you in turn. Thank you all for helping us live our principle of pikuach nefesh, even when it is inconvenient to do so. We believe that we must do all we can to flatten the curve and limit transmission of the virus. We pray that this time will pass quickly allowing us to be together again soon.

Please be in touch with our rabbis and/or lay and professional leadership if you have any questions.

L’shalom,
Rabbi Sissy Coran, Rabbi Meredith Kahan, Jim Heldman, and Karen Martin