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Our Virtual Shul

Our Virtual Shul

These pages will contain content we can use during the Coronavirus. While the shul will be open in a limited way for in-person minyanim, there will be still video shiurim and pre-Shabbos Ruach, both with phone-in access for audio, and the shiurim will be recorded for those not in our time zone.

Shabbos Registration and Protocol for Indoor Davening

Dear Kehila Hakedosha,

B'rov shevach v'hodaah la'Hashem, we have reopened our shul for indoor daveing. And while we cannot even begin to express, or even fathom, our profound feelings of overflowing joy at this time, we must understand that things are not yet back to normal and the opening of the shul is in a limited capacity; as detailed below.

Before attending shul, everyone must read this message in full, so that there is no confusion, and so that we can all remain safe and happy while in our treasured makom tefilah.

1. At present, the shul is open only to men on weekdays and women on Shabbos. Men and women over age 60 should consult with their physician to see if it is safe for them to attend shul indoors. 

2. Everyone must continue to wear a mask and abide by social distancing at all times of davening. Your mask must fully cover your mouth and nose. 

3. If you are ill, or are showing any coronavirus symptoms, you may not enter the shul under any circumstances. If you have been in the presence of someone with Coronavirus, please do not come to shul until you check with your physician when it is safe to be among other people.

4. At the presenet time, no registration is required for minyanim.

5. Instruction on aliyos will be announced at each tefilah. All olim must adhere to the instructions given in shul. Pesicha, hagbaa, and gelila will all be done by the baal korei only.

6. The shul capacity with social distance seating is 55 people (this includes the ezras nashim). We are only using the main floor large bais medrash at this time.

7. The shul has been set up according to social distance requirements with chairs placed in front of shtenders marked with blue tape. Mispallim may only sit in those pre-marked seats. Do NOT move any furniture and do NOT set up any new chairs anywhere in the shul.

8. There are a few areas in the shul with chairs that have been set up in non-distanced fashion. Those areas are strictly for family members living in the same house. If you are not in need of family seating, please refrain from sitting in those areas. If you are in need of family seating and all family seating areas are already occupied, please ask Binny Margolese, Rabbi Moshe Margolese, or Reb Shlomo Goldberger to find an area where you can sit with family members next to you.

9. Please do not wander around as you daven (no matter how powerfully the spirit moves you ☺). Pick a seat and remain in that specific space until davening concludes. Wandering around precludes the ability to social distance properly and may make other mispallim feel uncomfortable or unsafe.

10. There are Clorox wipes in the shul lobby and on the back windowsill in the ezras nashim. It is each person's responsibility to wipe down their personal area after each tefilah (chair and shtender area).

11. All mispallim should bring their own siddur and chumash. If you should forget and are in need of an item belonging to the shul, please use caution and do not sift through the shelves. Identify the item you need and do your best to touch only that item. When you are finished, you must wipe down the exterior surface of the item with a Clorox wipe before returning it to its place. 

12. Do NOT use a shul tallis without explicit permission from Binny Margolese, Rabbi Moshe Margolese, or Reb Shlomo Goldberger

13. Please prepare yourself as best as you can before coming to shul so that you are not in need of the shul's restroom. In case of urgent need, you must use the shul's Clorox wipes to wipe off all surfaces of the bathroom and the door handles with which you came into contact.

14. The shul water fountains may not be used and there will be no use of the coffee machines or serving of food.

15. If at any point during davening you are concerned with the decorum of another mispallel, do NOT approach them directly. We must continue to exhibit shalom and shalva in our shul. Rather, if you have a concern, you may bring it to the attention of Binny Margolese, Rabbi Moshe Margolese, or Reb Shlomo Goldberger to handle accordingly.

16. Due to our limited capacity, and in appreciation of the fact that not everyone is comfortable returning indoors at this time, we continue to encourage backyard minyanim in order to allow everyone the opportunity to daven with a minyan. 

We thank you in advance for your sensitivity to these protocols and your commitment to keeping our shul a safe and pleasant place for all who enter its holy space.

Using Zoom for Shiurim

How to Use Zoom to Join our Virtual Shiurim  (aka "Meetings")

NOTE: In using Zoom after you have set it up, it is a good idea to log on a few minutes early to make sure your technology is working correctly.

If you don't have Zoom on your PC, tablet, or smart phone, it will automatically download when you start or join your first meeting. If you are subscribed for shul e-mails, you will receive an announcement of meetings. If you are not subscribed, you can do that by clicking here --

  • When you receive an email about a Zoom meeting, click on the link to join the “Zoom” classroom. If you not have the application, you will be prompted to download it on your computer or other device.
    • NOTE: Our Zoom link is the same for all our minyanim and shiurim.  https://zoom.us/j/6902386529
    • The meetings required a Password, which will be emailed to our subscribers
    • When the meeting opens, make sure to click on “join with computer audio”
    • You may need to wait until the leader starts the meeting. When he starts, you will automatically be joined in.
  • If you are using a mobile device, make sure to download the Zoom app from the App store.

If you can’t log on, or you don't wish to use the computer, you can still join the meeting by telephone (audio only), please dial the phone number given on the email of the meeting invitation. For New York, it's 929-436-2866. You'll be prompted to enter the Meeting ID: 690-238-6529

Other things to know:

  • Depending on the particular meeting, all participants might be muted by the  leader at the beginning of class to avoid hearing background noise. The leader has the capacity to un-mute participants to answer questions.
  • A tool bar will appear when you move your mouse to the bottom or top of the screen. You can click on the chat button if you’d like to ask a question or post a comment in the chat box.

Words from Rabbi Goldberger on Our Circumstances

 

Dear Kehilla HaKedosha,    Rosh Chodesh Tamuz 5780  June 21, 2020   B"H

I hope everyone is in good health beH.  Baruch Hashem, our shul is now open for minyan during the week for both Shacharis and Mincha Maariv inside the main shul.  Shacharis is at 7:00 AM (at the end of the summer we will decide if we will go back to 6:30) and Mincha Maariv is at 8:15.  You do not need to register to come during the week.  The shul has been set up and configured to allow for social distancing and there are masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and sanitized wipes available in the main lobby.  Please bring your own masks and siddurim.  You can learn in shul any time, as long as you abide by the social distancing standards and wear a mask and wipe down your area with sanitized wipes when you leave.  

Thank you to shul president Binny Margolese, and to Shlomo Goldberger and Moshe Margolese who put in time and effort on Sunday to set up the shul.

Due to a larger number of people, our Shabbos minyanim will require registration in order to attend.  This is to allow for social distancing in shul.  You will be receiving an email about that in the next day or so.  A few very important things:

1)  There will be separate registration for Friday Night and Shabbos Day davening.  Shabbos afternoon mincha and Motzai Shabbos maariv do not need registration.  For now, we can only accomodate shul members.

2)  Unfortunately, we will not be able to accomodate our full membership initially as there is not enough room with the social distancing to accomplish that.  

3) Initially, registration is for men and boys over Bar Mitzvah.  I know how important it is for the wonderful women of our shul to attend, how meaningful your dedication to the shul is, and how much fulfillment you have by coming to shul.  For now, we have to start with the men as they are obligated to attend.  

4)  In order to be in shul, one must always wear a mask, abide by social distancing - six feet apart, and wash your hands with soap or use the available hand sanitizer.  We have sanitized wipes at shul which will be pre cut for Shabbos.  If you have to use the bathroom, make sure to take one and wipe everything down in the bathroom that you touched when you are done, including the door handles.

State of Mind:
Hashem has given us the privelege to go back into our shuls after three months.  We all must stop and think before we come into shul, and while we are in shul, about the great kavod the Bais HaKnesses deserves.  It would be unthinkable to simply walk back in like nothing ever happened.  Having deep gratitude in our hearts and minds and an awareness of kedushas Bais HaKnesses are of primary significance always and especially now.  

Baruch Hashem, the decorum in our shul is generally good but now is the time to improve.  We have a window of opportunty as we reenter our shuls to better ourselves and our conduct in shul.  Let's not let it get away from us.  Let's try our best to seize the moment and make something really good out of it.

1)  Please be mindful not to talk unnecessarily in shul.  It disturbs the davening and it disturbs the people sitting around you.  Most talking in shul is not necessary.  We all are aware of this but we often ignore it or justify it.  This is an opportunity for us to make a tikkun, to rectify and improve on our own behavior.  It applies to everyone.

2) Modulate your singing voice.  Singing in shul is uplifting and for me personally, one of the most uplifting experiences of davening.  Singing too loudly and far above other voices or not in tempo with the kehilla disrupts the powerful achdus of singing in shul.  Singing together, and modulating our voices accordingly is one of the most important aspects of attaining the heights which are possible when davening b'tzibur.  The chazzan (shaliach tzibur) is always meant to lead the davening.  One should not sing louder, faster, or slower than him.  He leads the way.  We try to reach high places in davening but it's not arbitrary.  It's based on all of us setting the tone together and from there we can soar b'ezras Hashem.

3) Please do not have any cell phone or smart phone on in shul.  It is not uncommon to see people checking their phone at different intervals during weekday davening.  Unless it's an emergency, it can wait.  We don't need to check our messages during davening, which means until davening is completely over.  If it's an emergency, please leave the sanctuary and talk outside of the shul.  Please turn off all reminders and notifications.  We mustn't kid ourselves, it disturbs the davening and it makes the shul like an ordinary place.

4) The warmth, spirit, and welcoming atmosphere of our shul is part of the fabric of Tiferes Yisroel.  A smile and derech eretz go a long way in helping people feel good in shul.  Let's keep that up and take it up a notch or two.  Hopefully soon we'll get to take our masks off and actually see each other's smile.  For now, it's mostly in the eyes.

Shiurim will be beginning soon.  This Shabbos afternoon, I will be resuming the Shabbos afternoon shiur for men and women.  It will take place in the main shul and we will spread out according to the shul's configuaration across the whole shul.  I will teach from the amud in front of the Aron Kodesh where I speak Shabbos morning.  Everyone must wear a mask.  The women can sit in the ezras nashim and the men in the men's area of the shul.  If you have a "Derech Hashem", please bring it, at this point we wil not be able to provide photocopies.  If you don't have a sefer don't worry, everything is explained as we go along in the shiur.

The shiur will be from 6:15 - 7:15 PM.  Mincha is at 7:30 PM.

Pre Shabbos Ruach will continue on Fridays.  For now it will take place from 6:15 - 6:40 PM on ZOOM.

The Zoom minyan has now concluded.  Thanks to everyone, both from in town and out of town (there were several -- Orlando, Far Rockaway, Bridegport, Toronto, Vermont!) who participated.  It was a nice way to keep things going, to connect, and to virtually welcome new people into our shul.  There are some zoom shiurim that are continuuing, emails will be sent out to inform you of the days and times.

May Hashem Yisborach bless us with good health and watch over us always.  May we learn the lessons of this difficult and most unusual period of time which is not yet over.  A Jew is a Jew wherever he is.

Bivracha v'shalom,
Rabbi Menachem Goldberger

Fri, April 26 2024 18 Nisan 5784