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With COVID’s resurgence ahead of the High Holidays, some synagogues are bringing pandemic guidelines back. But for most, it’s ‘business as usual.’
(JTA) — For synagogues across the country, it’s becoming a standard part of preparing for the High Holidays: Set up extra seating in the sanctuary. Make sure the shofars are in order. Take out the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur prayer books.
And figure out what, if anything, to do about COVID-19.
As Jews worldwide approach their fourth High Holiday season following the emergence of COVID, a resurgence of infections has forced the illness back into headlines and congregational planning meetings. But by now, rabbis say, they’re used to it — and several told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that rising case rates are not upending their plans for Rosh Hashanah, which begins Friday night and promises crowded synagogues nationwide.
“We’re trying to keep ourselves healthy, but it’s business as usual,” said Mara Nathan, the senior rabbi at Temple Beth-El, a Reform synagogue in San Antonio, Texas. Daniel Weiner, rabbi of Temple De Hirsch Sinai in Seattle, said of his Reform congregation, “We’re just trying to move on with our lives.”
The latest concerns about COVID have been driven by a new variant, known by the name Pirola, which has caused an uptick in cases and hospitalizations across the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that the variant “may be more capable of causing infection” among people who have had COVID or been vaccinated, though the risk of serious illness remains low. On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new booster shot that will soon be available.
But for many communities, the recent wave of cases is merely a sign that COVID-19 has become endemic and will transition into a seasonal illness like the flu, which has its anticipated but manageable spikes.
As it did last year, Temple De Hirsch Sinai will offer an online streaming option for those who wish to stay home, but otherwise will not be instituting any COVID guidelines. Weiner said he has encouraged his community to use common sense and respect in deciding whether to attend services in person.
And at Kehillat Etz Chayim, a Modern Orthodox congregation in suburban Detroit, masks will be available and the community has been told to test if they are not feeling well. Rabbi Asher Lopatin, who leads the synagogue, said this year’s COVID surge “surprised us a little bit,” and that if it had hit Michigan sooner there may have been more precautions in place.
“I think if we had a few more weeks of it, we’d be stricter than last year,” he said.
At the Chicago Loop Synagogue in that city’s downtown, president Lee Zoldan said the building’s architecture lends itself to the “podding” and social distancing that were recommended during the pandemic’s most severe stages. The synagogue features a 535-seat, three-story-tall sanctuary, and the synagogue has a longstanding custom of having attendees sit in small groups by family.
Zoldan said that the synagogue is considering limiting the number of people allowed on the bimah, the stage from which services are led. She added that masks and hand sanitizer will also be available for optional use.
“We really feel pretty safe,” Zoldan told JTA, adding that she has not heard much anxiety from community members about COVID.
Some synagogues, such as Congregation Beth Sholom, a Conservative synagogue in Teaneck, New Jersey, and Congregation Beit Tikvah, a Reconstructionist synagogue in Baltimore, are providing mask-only sections for congregants. Beth Sholom regularly has masked sections at its services, and offered an outdoor service during High Holidays last year.
IKAR, Los Angeles’ progressive nondenominational congregation, will be conducting services both inside and outside this year as well, weather permitting. IKAR’s outdoor service will have a mask-only section.
One community that continues to abide by stricter health guidelines is Shir Hamaalot, a volunteer-led congregation in Brooklyn that describes itself as “traditional-egalitarian.” At its Rosh Hashanah service on Friday, Shir Hamaalot is requiring masks. Any service leader who is unmasked will have to test negative that day.
Russ Agdern, a member of the community’s organizing team, told JTA that the congregation has been one of the few that has maintained masking and other pandemic precautions since it reintroduced in-person services. Shir Hamaalot’s Rosh Hashanah registration form references “the dearth of in-person COVID-cautious High Holidays options in NYC” as a reason for its decision to maintain the protocols.
“We have community members that are high risk for COVID, immunocompromised, have long COVID, or have family members or loved ones who fit those descriptions,” he said. Using the Yiddish word for praying, he added, “Being an inclusive community that provides folks a safe place to daven is important to us.”
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The post With COVID’s resurgence ahead of the High Holidays, some synagogues are bringing pandemic guidelines back. But for most, it’s ‘business as usual.’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.