Home

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please click here to sign up for Minyan. Note that if you are not signed up, you may not attend services.

In the event of any rain, we will not be able to hold davening in the backyard.  Similarly, if there is thunder or lightening within 30 minutes of the designated start time, we will also cancel davening.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Plans to Re-Open Netivot Shalom
 
The State of Maryland and Baltimore County have granted permission for houses of worship to re-open under limited conditions.  The Board has carefully considered those requirements in the context of information from the Orthodox Union and in consultation with medical experts.  Our intention is to re-open the shul for its essential functions:
·         To reestablish our shul community
·         To facilitate tefilah be-tzibur 
·         To allow recitation of kaddish with a minyan
·         To allow leyning of the Torah
It will likely be some time before we can resume all of our usual communal activities.  We, therefore, propose the following plan, subject to change as the risks of ARS-CoV-2 infection change in the greater Baltimore area:
 
We will re-open for outdoor davening only.  There will be a mechitza; men and women are welcome to attend. At all services, we will follow these guidelines:
 
1.       We will require pre-registration so that we will not exceed the number of people that can be safely accommodated in the back yard
 
2.       Everyone must wear a mask at all times
 
3.       Everyone must maintain physical distancing of 8 feet.  (Family quarantine units can and should sit next to each other.)
 
4.       No one is allowed to attend if they or a close contact have had any of the following symptoms:
·         Fever or chills
·         Cough
·         Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
·         Fatigue
·         Muscle or body aches
·         Headache
·         New loss of taste or smell
·         Sore throat
·         Congestion or runny nose
·         Nausea or vomiting
·         Diarrhea
 
5.       People over the age of 60 or who have chronic health problems should consult with their doctor before attending.
 
 
6.       Anyone recovering from COVID-19 infection must  be cleared by their doctor to resume being out in public
 
7.       Any youth in attendance must remain with a parent at all times.  There will be no children’s group activities.
 
8.       Each person must bring their own siddur and chumash.
 
9.       Each person must bring their own chair
 
10.   The building will not be open even for use of the restroom.  (One person will be allowed entry to bring the Sefer Torah out and to return it to the Aaron Kodesh.)
 
11.   No food or drink will be allowed
 
12.   Since we are meeting outside, shul will be cancelled for rain
 
13.   Davening will not be scheduled unless we have commitments from at least 10 men.
 
14.   Davening will be kept as brief as possible to allow only those parts of the Tefillah that require a minyan.
a.       Singing will not be permissible, as this is a high-risk activity. All davening will be silent with the exception of the shaliach tzibbur
b.      The only person to receive an Aliyah will be the person leyning
c.       For Shabbat morning,  davening will start at שוכן עד
d.      For weekdays, davening will start at ישתכח
e.      There will be  no socializing before or after the davening
f.        There will be no in-person shiurim
 
While we are excited to resume davening as a shul, we will continue to provide educational and social programming on Zoom and other formats that will allow everyone to participate while addressing all that our shul community provides for its members.  We welcome feedback and suggestions.
 
It is our fervent wish that Hashem will grant each us good health and grant us the collective knowledge to control this disease, so that we can resume all of our pre-COVID-19 activities in the very near future.

 

Rabbi Kaplowitz's blog