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Live stream-only Services this Shabbat

03/13/2020 11:48:10 AM

Mar13

Rabbi Ranon Teller

Shalom all,

This Shabbat please stay home and pray, sing, and learn with us via live stream only. Tonight and tomorrow, we will be live streaming our services with 10 designees on the bima, without the congregation. We are also temporarily suspending all synagogue programming.

On Friday night at 6:15 PM, click here to pray with me, Cantor Levine, Hazzan-in-Residence David Krohn, Barbara Loeser, Nava Teller and six more wonderful people for a joyful, inspiring, meaningful FNLSHS service (Friday Night Live stream Stay at Home Service). On Shabbat morning at 9:30 AM, click here to join us online for our live stream of Shabbat morning services.

To access the live stream, click this link:

https://player.cloud.wowza.com/hosted/bcbl0cpl/player.html

Dr. Peter Pisters, president of MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Dr. David Callender, president of Memorial Hermann, requested that all Houston houses of worship suspend their services this weekend. Their request is based on their medical initiative to maintain social distance in order to “flatten the surge”, so that our healthcare system has the best chance possible to help those in need without getting overwhelmed. According to these leaders in the medical community, a social distancing initiative could potentially save lives by extended the timing of the contagion spread. Our rabbis teach that saving one life is like saving the entire world. In Judaism, we rely on the medical community to inform our decisions about health, life, and death. This weekend, stay home and stream our prayer service live.

We are resilient. We are creative. We are God’s children. Sometimes we get slammed by nature.

The Rabbi’s teach, “The world turns on its own” or “Olam noheg k’minhago”. Nature and biology have rules of their own, without compassion for the vulnerable, without sensitivity for individual life. That’s where we come in. We are God’s agents in this world. God is the team owner and we are God’s players. We are charged to act out God’s will – to perfect the world under God’s Vision. We must do whatever we can to protect the vulnerable and preserve life.

Join us online this Shabbat. We look forward to feeling your online presence and connecting with you. Congregants and families who have used the live stream have reported that they almost feel like they are there. Try it.

Stay informed

Here are some links for up-to-date information:

A Prayer in the Midst of Uncertainty

Harachaman, Compassionate One, You are "rofeh chol basar umafli la’asot," healer of bodies, who does wondrous deeds.

The wondrous bodies that You have made for us now feel more fragile. The openings by which we perceive Your world now feel more vulnerable.

We are anxious and frightened by the uncertainty of what is to come. We love the lives we lead, and we fear what disruption may come. We love our friends, families, and neighbors, our children and our elders, and we fear what illness may come.

We pray for healing, of body and of spirit, speedy and complete, for all those who are ill from the coronavirus, both far from us and close to home.

Strengthen the hands of our caregivers. Give of Your healing powers to our medical personnel and mental health professionals. Give of Your wisdom to our decision makers and public health officials.

Strengthen our hearts to confront this challenge. Give us of Your discipline, that we may not yield to panic and dread, but may protect ourselves with appropriate precaution and calm determination. Give us of Your compassion, that we may not yield to prejudice or bigotry, but may reach out to our neighbors with kindness and solidarity.

We are grateful for our bodies and the life You have given us. We are grateful for our communities and congregations who see us and support us. We are grateful for those who are working to protect us. We are grateful for Your love and Your sheltering presence. We know we are not alone.

Blessings,

Rabbi Teller and Rhoda Goldberg

Sat, October 5 2024 3 Tishrei 5785