Synagogues in the United States require worshipers to sign a waiver in which they will not sue if they start the virus at the end of the prayer • Soon with us too?

• Synagogue during Corona // Photo: Yossi Zeliger

The directors of the Potomac Synagogue in Potomac, Maryland, made it clear to the worshipers how the prayers would look from now on.

At the top of the home page of the Orthodox Synagogue's website you can now find a useful video in which the two rabbis describe the guidelines adopted by the synagogue to allow small groups of community members to gather for joint prayer in the parking lot, while maintaining social distance and reducing the risk of coronation.

The site then directs the worshipers to the form in which they are asked to register to occupy one of the fifty places available for prayer. Participants can choose between a standing position, closer to the center of things, and a remote place of worship (but some would say safer), where they can participate in prayer while sitting in their car. And there is also a convenient tracking tool that shows in real time how many free places are left for prayer.

Finally, there are also safety guidelines that participants should read. Everyone is required to wear masks, declare that they do not suffer from corona symptoms, and bring the tallit and arrangement with them.

And one more thing, before you can go to the synagogue: worshipers are asked to sign a waiver that absolves the synagogue of any responsibility in case they become infected with the corona virus during prayer.

"Harini hereby releases from any liability and liability the Beit Shalom, its rabbis, its employees, its directors and other officers, directors and other representatives, including any liability and / or liability for damages, compensation, indemnification and expenses of any kind related to or arising from the Corona virus". , Written in the waiver. "I know that my signature on this waiver includes any allegation of acts, omissions or negligence of Beit Shalom, its rabbis, employees, managers and other officers, including directors and other representatives, or any other person, whether I was infected in Corona, before, during or after I participated in one of the Beit Shalom prayer programs. "

Beit Shalom's waiver was drafted by a member of the committee that oversees the reopening of the synagogue, but this is not an isolated case. Many other Orthodox synagogues that have begun to reopen their gates also require worshipers to sign a similar waiver.

At the Young Israel Synagogue in West Hartford, Connecticut, signing a waiver is a condition for placement in prayer. In the "Love of Peace - National Synagogue" in Washington, DC - the document must be signed electronically. Whereas in the "Israel Connection" in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, they have even increased their work and members of the community are asked to print a two-page waiver and sign an acronym for each paragraph. The guiding principle behind all these documents is the same - the signatories take the risk of possible infection, and absolve the synagogue of any legal responsibility.

"We realized very early on that if we wanted to return to activity, we could not be responsible for the health of all worshipers," said Ben-Hopper, co-president of the Israel Community, a synagogue in Springfield, New Jersey. "Even if we make every effort to limit The transmission of the virus - there are no guarantees, everything is in the hands of heaven. "If someone wants to preserve his right to sue us, despite the fact that we take all precautions, it is better that he does not come to the synagogue."

While synagogues affiliated with the Reform and Conservative streams allow prayers via the Internet, even on Saturdays and holidays, in Orthodox synagogues, where these measures are prohibited, pressure has been felt to reopen the chapels as early as possible.

Reform and Conservative synagogues that have chosen to return to face-to-face activity, meanwhile, tend not to require their members to sign a legal waiver.

The Har Shalom Congregation, a Conservative synagogue in Maryland, holds a daily prayer service in the parking lot: congregation members keep their distance and are required to wear masks throughout the prayer, and a clear plastic partition is placed around the stage. The nearby Or Kodesh Synagogue now holds Shabbat prayers with the participation of only about a dozen worshipers, spread over a 500-seat hall. The rabbis are protected behind transparent shields, and all participants are required to wear masks.

In none of the synagogues are the worshipers obliged to take on the legal responsibility for participating in the prayer.

"We would not return to activity if we did not believe it was safe. A waiver implies that the situation is unsafe," explained Jerome Kiva, director of the Or Kodesh synagogue. "For me, we make it very clear what we are doing, and we are sure we are doing everything as safely as possible."

But it should not be inferred that the idea of ​​having the worshipers sign a waiver is unique only to Orthodox synagogues. In two Conservative synagogues currently under reopening, principals told JTA that they had also already discussed the possibility of demanding the signing of legal waivers.

Orthodox synagogues emphasize that they, too, are overly strict about safety rules, in many cases even beyond the requirements of local health authorities.

Many of the reopened synagogues waited another two weeks beyond the time the authorities allowed the synagogues to reopen. Instead of the usual instruction to maintain a social distance of two meters, some of them set stricter requirements of three to four meters. The Beit Shalom synagogue, for example, made it clear that although the regulations already allow prayers inside the building, they prefer to continue to hold prayers in the parking lot.

"The building is out of bounds," said Synagogue President Michael Koplov. "Despite the district guidelines that allow us to stay inside, with an emphasis on limiting the number of worshipers and social distance, we have decided not to take unnecessary chances."

"I can only tell you that everyone does it," said Jacob Roth, a lawyer and president of the Ohev Shalom synagogue, about the waivers. "And not just in synagogues. Even in summer camps, a waiver is signed. At events of all kinds. This is the best way."