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From Preschoolers to Nonagenarians, Members of South Orange Synagogue Participate in Virtual Services, Education and Cultural Programs
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J., May 4, 2020 – Houses of worship throughout the area have taken their services out of the sanctuary to online platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Few, however, have gone as far as Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel (TSTI), a 750-household Reform synagogue in South Orange, that has cultivated an entire virtual community to ensure congregational life and connections continue.
Thanks to the guidance and leadership of the clergy, led by Rabbi Daniel Cohen—TSTI’s tech-savvy spiritual leader—temple staff, lay leaders and volunteers moved a full menu of adult education, religious school, preschool, Hebrew High, religious services and other programs online, in about a week.
“TSTI isn’t virtual—it’s as real as ever even if, for a time, it has moved online,” said Rabbi Cohen. “We’re seeing a broader range of members—some in their 90s—logging on for services, study and conversation groups. This is particularly inspiring when you consider the radical adjustments we have all had to make in our lives and the steep learning curve with regard to new technology. The TSTI community may be physically distancing, but we are not socially distancing. In fact, we may be more connected now than ever before.”
The TSTI clergy, staff members and educators are delivering the full gamut of temple experiences via Zoom and Facebook Live. Among those are:
- Live streaming Friday evening services; Havdalah and healing service
- Saturday morning Torah study, with many people who never participated before, now logging on to learn together, virtually
- Weekday coffee and conversation with the clergy, attended by a multigenerational cohort, including seniors who have just been introduced to Zoom
- Home projects, music programs, story time and virtual show-and-tell for preschoolers
- Religious school and Hebrew High sessions, and youth group activities, including a recent cooking class and interactive game night
- Mindfulness and yoga sessions for young children, high school and college students, and adults
- New programs for teens and parents of teens
- Support groups for parents
- Adult education
- Film screenings (live streams) and discussions
- Virtual field trips – one in April was to an animal sanctuary
- Book discussions
The community also offers resources about support groups, places to donate and other pertinent information for pandemic support. Cohen has been including video messages in the temple’s weekly email announcements as well as to his Shabbat messages, providing additional visual connection as members remain in their homes.
Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel (TSTI) is a dynamic, inclusive Reform congregation that offers numerous ways for members to connect with and celebrate being part of the Jewish community and the world. Welcoming Jews by birth or by choice, interfaith, traditional and non-traditional families, and children of all abilities, TSTI provides lifelong learning and enriching programs for all members through a full complement of religious services, early childhood and religious school education, cultural programs, and activities that foster connection, engagement and community outreach in a joyful, judgment-free environment. TSTI is located at 432 Scotland Road in South Orange, drawing members from Maplewood, South Orange, West Orange, Short Hills, Millburn, Livingston and surrounding areas. For more information, visit www.tsti.org.
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About Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel
432 Scotland Road, South Orange, NJ 07079
Follow TSTI on Facebook and Instagram
Media Contact:
Caryn Starr-Gates
Caryl Communications
(201) 796-7788
Email: caryn@caryl.com