Temple Family,

It gives us great pleasure to note that, to our knowledge, there has not had been any direct spread of COVID-19 within the walls of Temple Emanu-El.  In addition, we thankfully continue to witness three things:

1. The rates of people testing positive for COVID, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations due to COVID continue to steadily decline every week around our community.
2. The process to safely “open the doors wider” at our temple to those that have been vaccinated has gone smoothly thus far. We appear to have worked out the relevant logistics that are critical to ensure safety to those in attendance, along with the process of signing up and having seat assignments.
3. Our temple mitigation strategies (screening on entry, requiring masking, remaining spread out, dismissal procedures, sanitizer throughout the synagogue) are going well.

We are excited and pleased to announce that the Temple Board of Directors, in conjunction with recommendations from the COVID task force, have voted to loosen COVID-related restrictions by adjusting our color-risk tier group.  Specifically, we will move from COVID risk tier ORANGE to COVID risk tier YELLOW commencing on Friday, April 30, 2021. You can find the full plan HERE.

The major changes that come with a transition to the yellow tier include:

1. Services: In addition to those who have pressing needs to come to services (i.e., life events), now, both vaccinated and unvaccinated members and their families are welcome for services. IMPORTANTLY:

• We will continue to enforce mitigation strategies which we are now all too familiar with (temperature checks, masks, 3-foot social distancing, and handwashing).
• Ushers will help seat family ‘pods’ in the sanctuary with ample spacing, and we will have sequential dismissal to avoid over-crowding.

2. Meetings: Small group gatherings at the temple are now possible
3. mitigation strategies (masking, spacing, screening, etc.) that will continue.
4. when organizing meetings, make sure there is ample room for spacing between participants.

We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will make recommendations to expand (or contract) these opportunities based on what is happening in the community and the needs of the members of Temple Emanu-El.

Click here to sign up to attend services in person.

Click here to sign up to usher in a Shabbat service.

Or contact Judy Edwards, assistant to the clergy, for questions or assistance to make a special request to attend at jedwards@ourtemple.org or at (205)933-8037, ext. 230.

Click here to read more about our COVID Task Force recommendations, and a huge thanks to our Task Force Members:

• David Askenazi
• Al Cohn
• Julie Wolfson
• Adam Kessler
• Robert Berman
• Rabbi Adam Wright