The promise and the challenge of the new year

As I write this in late November, we have endured over eight months of the overwhelmingly deleterious effects of the global pandemic, borne by many of us, mostly in abject isolation. This has taken a huge toll on us, both individually and societally, in terms of tragic deaths, devastating illness, both short- and long-term; severe economic dislocation, both short- and long-term; and exacerbation of already glaring inequities and inequalities, all requiring diversion of resources necessary to address a host of other pressing and vexing concerns. We will all be relieved to see 2020 give way to 2021.

The new year brings hope of the promise of safe and effective vaccines to inoculate us and achieve herd protection from the ravages of the coronavirus. We will strongly encourage our members, families and friends to get the vaccine, most of which require two doses. We will be able to gather in person sooner — both for services and for other events — if everyone follows the CDC guidelines to get the vaccine and wears a mask, physically distances and avoids large crowds, until herd protection is achieved.

One of the positive changes wrought by this most unusual year of 2020 has been the emergence of virtual platforms such as Zoom, Google Hangout and other platforms to keep us connected during our extended time of mostly sheltering in place. At NJC, we had never utilized livestreaming of our Shabbat services until early April of this year. It has been a learning experience, to be sure, but has provided a vital lifeline to our members for most of this year.

When we do begin gathering again for Shabbat services sometime in 2021, we hope to livestream our services on Zoom and YouTube Live to accommodate our members who are unable to attend in person.

It is a matter of some conjecture as to how many will return to in-person Shabbat services, given some of the advantages of tuning in from the comfort of one’s home. Look for our Shabbat services on Zoom/YouTube Live on Friday evenings at 7 pm. We have Saturday Shabbat Torah service on Jan. 9, Feb. 13 and March 6.

As we anticipate a better year in 2021, we know that we will look forward to our stellar adult education sessions led by Rabbi Howard Herman on Zoom/ YouTube Live. On Monday, Jan. 25, the topic will be Modern Israel at a Glance; on Monday, Feb. 22, Great Schisms in Jewish History will be featured; and on Monday, March 22, the focus is the Torah portion of the week. We will also continue with our NJC Connects events in 2021, by which we provide additional educational and social support for our members.

As we all know, humor has played an outsized role in the lives of the Jewish people. We have employed it to help shepherd us through difficult and trying times. NJC has a terrific comedic respite for you coming up on Thursday, Feb. 4, at 7 pm. Co-sponsored by the Federation, NJC will present Rabbi Bob Alper via Zoom. This free program is open to the public. It promises to be memorable, with details to follow in the ad that appears on page 10A of this issue of the Federation Star. NJC is also sponsoring the Jewish Book Festival (JBF) event on Wednesday, Feb. 3, when author Raffi Berg will present “Red Sea Spies,” the true story of the secret evacuation of thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel, set in motion by the Mossad.

May 2021 be a better year!

Steve McCloskey President