Congregation Or Shalom (Conservative)
835 Darby Paoli Road, Berwyn
Zoom but must register: orshalom.com/holy-
days-services-detail/ Temple Sholom in Broomall (Reform)
55 Church Lane, Broomall
Virtual: temple-sholom.org/webcast/
Synagogue leaders at several of these places spoke
of a balance this High Holiday season. They want to
uphold the role of a shul as “a place where any Jew
should walk in and pray,” as Rabbi Binyomin Davis
of Aish Chaim put it. But they also understand the
need to protect their members.

Davis’ congregation faced an intruder situation
at an outdoor Yom Kippur service on the Main
Line last fall. Luckily, Aish Chaim’s security team
stopped the woman before she could enter. But it
underscored the point.

The Bala Cynwyd congregation will be back
indoors this year as COVID becomes less of a threat.

While the indoor space should offer additional pro-
tection, it is no excuse to ease up, according to Davis.

He is bringing on the same security team, Protexia,
to monitor this year’s proceedings. This policy is no
different from what Aish Chaim does every week at
Shabbat services, too.

“It’s always a possibility, and it is a concern,” the
rabbi said. “We aren’t frisking people yet and making
them go through a security barrier. I hope it doesn’t
come to that.”
Congregation Shivtei Yeshuron Ezras Israel is tak-
ing a similar approach. As attendees walk into ser-
vices, they will see an armed guard in plain clothes
and a greeter from the synagogue. The greeter, likely
a congregant or a member of the synagogue’s board,
will ask nonmembers questions as they walk in and
then speak to them for a few minutes.

The goal, according to shul President Richard
Sisman, is to get a feel for whether “they are legiti-
mate or not.”
“The High Holidays are more likely to attract peo-
ple we aren’t familiar with,” he added.

An in-person event is going to need more security
than a virtual one. So at Temple Sholom in Broomall,
leaders are balancing openness with safety by open-
ing up their digital space.

Only a livestream will be available to nonmem-
bers. It will be secure, according to temple Executive
Director Jeff Green, because people will not be able
to engage during the service. A livestream is not a
Zoom, Green explained. Attendees cannot just jump
in and write what they want on the screen.

“In the virtual space that we’re in, the worst that’s
going to happen is someone’s going to post some-
thing obnoxious on our Facebook page, and then
we’ll just take it down,” the executive director said.

At the same time, Jews who want a service will be
able to find one. With the livestream, no one will be
limited by geography or a health condition or any
other factor, Green said. JE
MAY THE NEW YEAR
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FOR YOU AND
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