Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 10, 2021

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND Standing at the front of the synagogue, Rabbi Daro Feiguin taps his foot and sways back and forth to a musical prelude to the upcoming service as Kol Shalom congregants find their seats. In a remarkable logistical feat, he sings in concert with a group of musical performers, who are joining the Bainbridge Island congregationsgathering live online from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

As Kol Shalom gatheredto celebrate Rosh Hashanah on Monday, the start of the Jewish New Year, the moment wassweet, though Feiguin acknowledgesthe limitations that the pandemic has placed on the assembly. The congregation dreamt of being together as a unified body, he said. But aresurgence of COVID-19 activity, fueled by thedelta variant, forced flexibility and creativity again.

Attendance at the service was capped at 18 congregants, and those present were required to wear masks and have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Many watched the service online by Zoom, their imagesshown in miniature at the front of the synagogue on a TV screen.

For the first time since the start of the pandemic, though, members of the congregation wereinside the Kol Shalom building attending a worship service together again.

Our grandparents and our ancestors overcame more difficult challenges, so we will overcome as well, Feiguin said, addressing the group on Monday night.

Last year, as he helmed the congregations Rosh Hashanah service, he listened as his voice echoed off the synagogues walls: There will be just 18 people, but still its something, he said ahead of Mondays service. I remember last year, I was completely alone.

Erin Cyger, a member of the congregation with her family, said that while last year's online services for the High Holy Days were better than one could have expected, it would be nice to join together again in person.

Its the chorus and voices altogether that make it feel like youre part of something, she said.Were all experiencing it together.

Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year and opens Judaisms 10High Holy Days, a time of reflection and repentance. That period concludes with Yom Kippur, known as the Day of Atonement and considered to be the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.

I would call them the deep holy days, the deepest holy days, Feiguin said. We reset, we try to renew, we try to get rid of all the weight we are accumulating the whole year. We try to forgive, we try to ask for forgiveness, so its a healing process.

Feiguin, originally of Argentina and most recently posted in Costa Rica, came to the congregation with his wife, Yudi, in November 2019, not long before the world turned upside down.

We had time to set out a little bit, know some people, buy some furniture for the house, he said. And then, boom, everything changed.

Everything changed, so, so (did) I, he said.

Like many others, he learned the ins and outs of Zoom and the stresses and hiccups that accompany it, while shepherding his new congregation from a distance.

Online worship became familiar: Bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies were broadcast online, as was Torah study, Hebrew lessons for children, adult education and the synagogues book group. Special musical services connected the congregation to Argentinian musicians whod play over Zoom as they did on Monday. Members recorded videos of themselves singing prayers in their homes to be stitched together for use during services. Even in-person, outdoor services the congregation held this summer had an online option.

Erin and Mike Cygers son Jake turned 13 in July last year, and family celebrated his bar mitzvah together in a small gathering at the synagogue as cameras carried the moment to others watching from their homes. Family and friends around the world who might not have been able to travel to be at the ceremony in person were able to watch online, a small silver lining, Mike said.

Part of that turmoil that all of us felt during that time was the fact that when you talk about significant religiousevents, its about the ritual and the customs that have been with your people and the religion for thousands of years and suddenly you couldnt do them on one of the most significant events in your familys timeline, he said. We felt like we were losing something as a result of the pandemic.

Said Erin: I guess it was like with all people in different activities that you went through a process of grieving what you wouldnt get to have and then figuring out how to make it work, to still make something meaningful and to mark that particular occasion.

The congregations online services have attracted viewers from around the country and world, including from Argentina, Costa Rica, parts of Europe, Singapore and Australia, and have reached those living in nursing homes too, Feiguin said. About 18 months after the pandemic began, he now describes himself as almost an expert on the technical side of the services.

Patty Fielding, a longtime member of Kol Shalom and a member of its board of directors, credited Feiguin with keeping the congregation together: He has just been unflagging in his hope. Hes not Pollyanna, but his hope and determination that as Jews over thousands of years, Judaism has had to make lots and lots of changes and that this is a change that we are going to make and go through together, and its going to make us stronger.

Nathan Pilling is a reporter coveringBainbridge Island, North Kitsap and Washington State Ferriesfor the Kitsap Sun. He can be reached at 360-792-5242, nathan.pilling@kitsapsun.com or on Twitter at @KSNatePilling.

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Read more from the original source:

For the first time in 18 months, Congregation Kol Shalom returns to its synagogue - Kitsap Sun

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