Home

Dear Friends,
 
We are writing to update all of you, the members of our Keilah, about our ongoing process in regards to gathering in the age of COVID-19. As you know, we have been holding an ongoing discussion with members of the synagogue in the medical field. Their knowledge of medicine is indispensable and their passion for the well-being of our members is inspiring. A few weeks back we opened for in-person worship with their guidance. We did so because the reality on the ground as to the numbers were favorable and also because we had come up with a path forward they believed was as cautious as we could be. All of our decisions have been in line with the Talmudic dictum that “p’kuach nefesh docheh et hakol,” saving a life supersedes all else.

As a people, the Jewish people place the sanctity and preservation of life as the highest of all obligations with few exceptions. The decision to open for in-person services was made with a commitment to an ongoing monitoring of the situation and continued conversation and re-evaluation of the facts on the ground. It is in that spirit that we met this week with our medical professionals and members of our leadership to discuss the present rate of the spread of the virus. Out of an abundance of caution, we have decided that we are going to suspend our in-person, indoor services in their current format. In place of our regular Shabbat morning worship we will be offering an alternative prayer experience, an “Oneg Shabbat,” on Shabbat mornings at 8:46 a.m. in our parking lot. In keeping with the current understanding of the virus and how it spreads, being outside greatly decreases the transmission rates, so we are moving outside.

Here is more information about this alternative Shabbat experience:
1) It will be about 60-90 minutes long.
2) It will be canceled each week if it is raining.
3) People should dress appropriately for the weather so shorts and/or outdoor attire is expected.
4) Social distancing and masks are still being required to assure greater safety.
5) There will be a combination of text study and prayer together with interactive modalities for all to enjoy this new experience.
6) We will be observing meldados and at the end there will be a Kaddish if we have a minyan.
7) Advanced  RSVP is still required, so we can have the correct number of properly spaced chairs. There is still a 25-person limit on the number of people in attendance, so please make sure to register well in advance.

We will continue to monitor the situation and when our panel and our leadership believe it is appropriate to resume in-person indoor services, we will do so.
 
B’shalom,
Rabbi Josh Hearshen and Semon Akbashev, President

FYI, the full list of phases of reopening can be found here and includes its own benchmarks and timelines. It’s important to note that safely reopening the Keilah depends on the cooperation of everyone, and as we continue forward, we will continue to loosen or tighten our policies as science dictates.

Support Congregation Or VeShalom when you shop, whether it's back-to-school or other essentials! And remember to place the word "smile" before you type in the website.

Click the link here or on the logo to ensure you are signed up to support OVS.

You shop. Amazon donates!

Thank you to those who have answered the call to donate to the OVS Security Fund. If you have not already, please click here to make your pledge. With your help, we will continue to improve our building to ensure the safety of our community.

When Luis  Portero, an attorney licensed to practice in Spain and served as counsel for the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain during the parliamentary process of approval of the Law on granting the Spanish citizenship to Sephardim, presented at OVS last spring, he discussed the process of getting the law enacted, of which he was a major contributor, and presented on the steps involved in applying  for Spanish Citizenship through this program. A copy of his presentation, including a detailed walkthrough of the process, can be found here.

Or VeShalom is proud to be a guide for you through this process. Note that the program ends on October 1, 2019, so get started today. To find out more and begin the process, click here.

As an outcome of the 2017 annual meeting, the OVS board launched a formal initiative to better understand the needs of our Keilah, the results of which were presented at the 2018 annual meeting on Sunday, December 9th, OVS members can see results of the report by logging in to their account on this site and then clicking on this link.