Holding Hands With a Lonely King on Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah, 2020. The crowd sits restlessly, shifting in their seats. The thick New York air of late summer drips down necks and under armpits, keeping everyone in a limbo state between uncomfortable temperature and uncomfortable movement. Outside, under the white canopy of a synagogue tent, a hazan leads a swelling song: "Uv'chen Yishtabach Shimcha L'ad Malkeinu / And thus may Your Name be praised forever, our King"