After a lengthy and protracted lockdown in Australia with no tefilla b’tzibur permitted, which included the Yamim Noraim, shuls are finally officially permitted to reopen – albeit with strict restrictions in place.
All mispallelim must have received both vaccine shots, are required to wear masks and socially distance during tefillos, and no singing is allowed!
A number of shuls in Sydney have reopened including Chabad’s Sydney’s Shul, headed by Rav Chaim Levy.
Rabbi Levy told B’Chadrei Chareidim that the feeling is like leaving a bomb shelter after an extended period of time.
“We emerged from darkness to light. It was very difficult not to hold tefillos during the Yamim Noraim – kapparos, tekias shofar, Yizkor – we didn’t have the most important things in Yiddishkeit.”
“In fact, we haven’t had a regular life for almost two years – definitely not regular tefillos,” Rabbi Levy lamented. “Young children didn’t really experience the feeling of the Yamim Tovim. We hope that the situation will now revert back to pre-coronavirus days.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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6 Responses
Why can’t they sing?
I hope the matzav continues to improve but should it go the other direction they should lockdown immediately.
So, does Australia have a better Covid record than the rest of the world, for all its restrictions?
Shuls are finally officially permitted to reopen — only in New South Wales! In Victoria not only does the lockdown continue, but there is a curfew from 9PM to 5AM.
During the week FIVE people are allowed to gather to broadcast religious services, but they must be broadcasting, so it doesn’t work on Shabbos, and five is not a minyan. Fortunately they are allowed to have two broadcasts in the same building, one in the main shul and one in the ladies’ shul, so a lucky 10 men can in fact make a minyan, and those watching from home can at least daven at the same time as the minyan, which the shulchan aruch says is better than nothing.
Because of the curfew midnight selichos was impossible, so they did it on Sunday morning.
basmelech1:
australia has very few infections and deaths compared to other places around the world
Basmelech1, ye they have a better record. Cumulatively, USA has 2100 deaths per million, UK 2000, Germany 1100, Israel 900, Canada 650… Australia 56 – 10 to 50 times less… Other remote stand-alone nations are even better: Singapore 27, NZ 6,
There are 90K Jews in Australia. So, if youall be able to have selichos like others, it might be worth about 100 lives in the community. You decide whether Hashem is upset that he did not get the collective selichos.