In this new era of virtual reunions, my rabbinical school classmates recently started a Whatsapp group. Ten weeks ago, we started with personal news, some joyous and some sorrowful. Conversation was lighthearted, rabbis in the field enjoying some rare moments of social connection. Little did we know, little did all of us know, how quickly the conversation would turn.
As Covid-19 hit worldwide, the rabbi Whatsapp discussion drastically shifted. “Whose Shabbat service is going online? How do we help mourners navigate Kaddish? What about funerals?” School rabbis began to wonder about online learning, zoom tefillot, and virtual community building. Camp rabbis were stuck, left to posit whether summer memories would manifest at all. And as the weeks drag by, the questions grow with uncertainty, anxiety, and frustration. It is no longer whether the Jewish community, worldwide will suffer from the economic ramifications of this pandemic. Rather, the question becomes, how much?
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