Minyan in the time of Covid

getting stuff delivered from the little grocery on my street. Not cheap particularly, but the stuff was with me within ten minutes with no delivery charge. Nowadays, I do go out, with great caution and a piratelike mask and gloves when appropriate, and a small container of hand sanitiser. Yes, I am paranoid. I have not seen some of my friends for the duration, and the last time I hosted people for a meal was the Purim seuda.

Israel was, at one stage, one of the top three countries for coping with “the virus”. That has now changed, not for the better. This could be partly due to the “know-it-alls” who insist that the whole thing is a conspiracy. Not sure why or what, but so be it. They say one has to be a trifle crazy to live in Israel, and certainly crazy to live in Jerusalem. The greatest compliment you can give someone in this city is to say they are normal. I live not so far the Prime Minister’s official residence and have just shut the windows in order not to hear the racket from the demonstrators. Probably the same people who accuse Netanyahu of not handling the virus crisis well. Yes, you go and join a large crowd of people, probably many without masks on properly, and complain about the spread of the virus. Perhaps they feel that the virus is discerning and will not attack upright left-wingers. The whole thing can be summed up in one compact phrase, which you may have heard before. What the future holds depends on two things: How dense the population is, and how dense the population is.

Rosalind Landy During this changed time, when Covid has made us follow new rules of non-assembly, there has been a regular not-quite Minyan in Gilbert Road. Barry reads the Torah and I listen and correct where necessary. Our numbers had a 50% increase when another Gilbert Roadian came to be part of our non-Minyan, all following government guidelines, distancing of 2 metres and in the open air. When it got to Shavuot with stichomythic Psalms, Mr.Down-the Road asked to hear the leining and

to join in the responsive poetry, all in the garden, no masks required but gloves provided for visitors.

This had a high degree of success and was followed by a fine Kiddush with good whisky and tasty nibbles. Kiddush time encouraged some chat and we came to the subject of Challot and how to bake them; a very apt Covid topic. Me, I had not made Challot for years. When the children were small, we did a lot of kitchen stuff on rainy afternoons. This included bread making. Now, with lockdown and distancing we thought of becoming bakers again.

Barry did the research for yeast (unobtainable at first, so I used beer.) Then it was a question of getting white flour. Eventually it was tracked down and arrived in what looked like a painter’s large mixing pot. Over the past eight weeks my challot have improved. At first they were rather dense and stodgy. Then they became lighter, more risen and altogether better but without much taste. Finally, after discussing the modus operandi with our mini-Minyan attender, who also makes bread, I have added more honey and more salt, both of which I had been too light with. Now the challot are looking great, smelling wonderful and are almost as tasty as they ought to be.

The latest stage is that the extra Gilbert Roadian is attending the revamped Shul arrangement but the Kiddush and Shmooze are still on offer at our alternative Minyan.

Please note: if you are thinking of coming, please book in.