The Covid-19 outbreak at the beginning of 2020 shut the world down virtually overnight. In addition to travel and much of the economy, Jewish communal life also faced profound and unprecedented challenges, with many communities and organizations scrambling to shift online.
From the pandemic’s onset in March 2020 and throughout that summer, we gathered initial data regarding online engagement by some early adapters. Hadar’s online platform, for example, saw 2.3 million downloads in 2019-2020, with engagement skyrocketing from mid-March 2020: engagement with their Facebook page rose 367% from the previous month. Livestream views increased by 500%. Hadar also reported that website traffic grew in this period, with Torah downloads rising 102%, prayer file downloads increasing by 58%, and page views expanding by 23%.,201
Jewish LIVE, an entirely virtual “Jewish community center,” sprang up almost overnight during the pandemic (launched by the creators of the popular Judaism Unbound podcast). It began offering 25 hours of live Jewish content each week with thousands of subscribers in the United States, Israel, and around the world. In May 2020, for example, its Facebook channel garnered more than 41,000 unique views, and another 13,000 via Zoom and Vimeo, across all age groups.,202
Shalom, an organization that engages primarily with young adults through Jewish cultural and educational programming in Sydney, Australia, noted a 113% increase in participation over the second quarter of 2020 compared to the previous year (comparing live event attendance to online participation during the pandemic, there were 2053 in-person attendees in 2019 and 4373 online participants in 2020). There was a particularly notable uptick in participation from the homes of young parents.,203
As of mid-2021, many Americans began getting vaccinated and life started to return to normal (even though Delta and other variants continued to keep the world in a partial pandemic mode). And yet, nearly all those interviewed agreed that there will be a “new normal.” Even after Covid dissipates, it is difficult to imagine that the online communal activities initiated during the pandemic will totally disappear. It is likely that many communities, especially those not obliged by halachic restrictions, will devise a new hybrid reality – part physical and part virtual.
In a 4,000-word feature article published in Tablet Magazine in April 2022, as pandemic restrictions were winding down, scholars Ron Wolfson and Steven Windmueller wrote about this trend. The authors posit that the Covid period had a silver lining, in that a staggering number of people began engaging with Jewish life digitally and label the development as the “rise of the online synagogue,” a revolutionary one in American Jewish history. They attribute this to two factors: first, most synagogues, starting in March of 2020, made “extraordinary efforts” to “put all worship, programming and social activities online immediately.” Suddenly, there was a swell of rich and increasingly improving online Jewish content. Second, the number of people who became tech-literate overnight, including those who had been tech adverse or unfamiliar with digital platforms like Zoom prior to Covid, also grew dramatically. Even synagogues with pre-Covid livestream capabilities had to upgrade and invest significant resources in turning their “clergy living rooms and empty sanctuaries … into television studios.” Central Synagogue, for example, a thriving Reform congregation in Manhattan, reported a staggering 250,000 online participants in their 2021 Rosh Hashanah service, and 600,000 for their Yom Kippur services from all around the country and elsewhere in the world. Even small congregations, like Temple B’nai Israel in Florence, Alabama, home to barely 40 households, noted between 100-200 people joining every service, including from distant places.
The authors point out, however, that this is a double-edged sword, in that only larger and wealthier congregations will have had the means to invest such resources to produce rich online content, drawing those from smaller Jewish communities whose local synagogues might not be able to compete with such offerings. Such a dynamic weakens local communities. Wolfson and Windmueller wondered whether it was possible to create meaningful communal life and relationships virtually – will people see themselves as welcomed virtual members of synagogues? They believe so.
Prior to Covid, most synagogue-produced online Jewish content was directed at existing members. And only a few congregations were active in this space. However, with the Covid digital revolution, congregations began engaging with new members as well who were shifting from just being “viewers” to active “members.” Congregations like B’nai Jeshurun in New York, which always had an “out of town membership model” managed to grow its membership during the pandemic, including new members from 30 states and eight different countries. Central Synagogue launched its “neighborhood” online community with over 400 households paying significantly lower dues than standard memberships. Central Synagogue reported more donations from non-member individuals in 2021 than from members. Ikar, the emergent community in Los Angeles prepared for a decline in membership but actually saw 150 people from around the world join as online members. Park Avenue, the Conservative synagogue discussed earlier, added “the tent,” a virtual membership model with lower dues. The revolution seems to have succeeded beyond expectations. And while most rabbis interviewed, by both Wolfson and Windmueller and for this JPPI study, agree that the future will be a hybrid in-person/ virtual model, things will not revert to what they were prior to Covid.
As part of a follow-up a year into the pandemic, we asked participant communities and organizations the following questions in a series of email exchanges and telephone interviews:
1. Did you shift to full digital mode or were you conducting some in-person activities?
2. How frequently and what kind of digital activities did you conduct?
3. How many attend these digital activities? How many were attending in-person prior to Covid? Are different people engaging?
4. Have you seen increased, decreased, or similar rates of engagement with new people since Covid began?
5. Has your community been financially affected due to Covid? Are people halting their memberships or contributions due to their own financial difficulties?
6. What changes have you made or what lessons have you learned during the Covid period that will remain relevant after?
7. What thoughts can you share from this period going forward? How will this change your community? How might this change the Jewish world?
The communities and organizations that replied to our requests for additional interviews were: Hadar (independent minyan and seminary, in NY with activities in Israel, and an online international following); Lab/Shul (based in NY with an international following); Kavana Cooperative (Seattle); Sixth & I (Washington, DC); IKAR (Los Angeles); and Mishkan (Chicago).
Did these communities go fully digital or employ some sort of hybrid model?
The responding communities shifted to an all- or nearly all- virtual mode immediately upon the onset of Covid-19. Lab/Shul, one of the early pioneers of using the digital space in Jewish life, was able to shift fully online. Sixth & I similarly went into near full digital mode, according to Director of Religious Programming Kira Doar, with a small number of socially distanced outdoor events, such as Simchat Torah celebrations and occasional Shabbat services.
Kavana Cooperative, like most of the other communities, shifted most of its activities to the digital space, besides their Hebrew-language immersion pre-school, which continued to operate in person with masking and smaller class sizes. Kavana also held occasional outdoor gatherings, such as shofar blowing on Rosh Hashanah in parks across Seattle, and conducted certain life cycle ceremonies either outdoors or in a hybrid manner.
Kavana’s other programming went online, including weekly Shabbat services, after-school programs for children, educational programming for adults and families, musical events, a monthly book club, discussion groups, and more. Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum also introduced digital weekly Shabbat candle lighting and Havdalah gatherings, depending on the season, as both a ceremonial and social element to bring the community together online.
Ikar in Los Angeles also shifted its activities online, with the exception of its pre-school, according to its president, Melissa Balaban. Similarly, Mishkan shifted to nearly-full digital mode, although it did offer some in-person events, according to Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann; high holiday services were conducted online, but Mishkan organized in-person outdoor shofar blowing and Tashlich (a ritual conducted on Rosh Hashanah near bodies of water).
How frequently and what sort of online activities were conducted?
Lab/Shul immediately moved all rituals, Shabbat services, and other activities online. For example, if Lab/Shul was holding Shabbat services every other Shabbat, they began to offer a “Shabbasics” program that includes candle lighting and blessings over wine and challah, as a way to bring people together. Lab/Shul also introduced a virtual happy hour before Shabbat to allow for socializing each week, a “Sabbath queen” program once a month, and “Zen Shabbat” also once a month. Other programs, such as Shabbat morning services for families, held in tandem with the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), shifted online, and the “Fearless Fire” Havdalah ceremony, was originally held weekly, but subsequently became a monthly event.
Pre-Covid, Lab/Shul had organized a “Soul-Spa” monthly gathering. During Covid, this became a daily online event (later conducted three days a week), that included meditation, yoga, afternoon prayers and saying Kaddish – things Lau-Lavie felt people especially needed during the pandemic. The gatherings generally attract over 100 people, joining from around the world, including those who are Jewish, “Jew-ish,” and non-Jewish participants seeking connection.
Lab/Shul moved its educational programming and all lifecycle events – such as the B-Mitzvah celebrations, but also funerals, memorials, weddings, britot (circumcisions) and baby naming ceremonies online. Online educational programming, already taking place prior to Covid, expanded. Overall, Lab/Shul increased its programming four-fold during the pandemic.
Nussbaum at Kavana Cooperative noted that Shabbat services, after-school programming for children, adult educational programming, musical events, its monthly book club, and more moved online. Kavana also added an online weekly Shabbat candle-lighting or Havdalah ceremony, to serve as both ceremonial and social activities meant to bring the community together.
Sixth & I conducted weekly online programs, including live streamed religious programs such as two “Morning Intention-Setting and Prayer” sessions, as well as Shabbat services each Friday night. They also offered ongoing intensive study classes such as their “Jewish Welcome Workshop,” and one-off sessions revolving around Jewish holidays or current events. On Tu B’Shevat (New Year of the Trees), Sixth & I hosted a yoga class connecting environmentalism and Judaism. They also organized monthly cooking classes. All High Holiday services were conducted online.
Ikar presented multiple daily online activities, including morning prayer services, adult education, a book club, and social justice programs. On Shabbat, Ikar hosted Friday night and Saturday morning services and Havdalah, and special events throughout the year, especially around Jewish holidays.
Mishkan added weekly Shabbat evening prayer services, and bi-weekly Shabbat morning services, in addition to its book clubs and other affinity group gatherings. Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann noted that while participation was originally high, “Zoom fatigue” soon set in and numbers dwindled, which appeared to be commonplace across all responding communities. However, Heydemann created a daily virtual minyan of roughly 20 regular participants that had not existed prior to the pandemic.
Are virtual events seeing similar engagement rates as those held in person? Are different people engaging in online activities? How many generally engage in virtual activities?
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, CEO of Hadar, pointed out that while his community already had a strong pre-Covid online presence, the shift to only online activities enabled Hadar to engage with entirely new audiences, especially families with children. Prior to the Covid outbreak, they had mainly engaged in teacher training but could now reach audiences directly via Zoom.
During this time, Hadar’s audience grew considerably, from 21,000 to 30,000 participants, and with greater “cross-pollination” than they had expected. When given the opportunity, it turns out that Americans participated in Hebrew-language programs geared to an Israeli audience, and Israelis participated in English-language programming geared to American audiences.
Lab/Shul also grew during the pandemic. It currently comprises around 350 member households – roughly one-third of whom are “digital” members who never attend in person. Half of this digital membership joined during the pandemic, from March to September 2020 with new digital members residing in 20 different U.S. states, Canada, Israel, the UK, and Australia. Lau-Lavie noted that Lab/Shul began offering digital memberships in mid-2019. In part, this is because Lab/Shul, like Hadar and unlike the other emergent communities, had already begun reaching out to geographically disparate audiences and not relying solely on those who could physically engage with the community prior to the pandemic.
Overall, there was an initial increase in digital engagement, including over 4000 unique logins for a Shavuot “reveal-a-thon,”,204 and over 10,000 viewers for live streamed High Holiday services. However, as the pandemic wore on, and the novelty of “digital Judaism” began to fade, many began suffering from “Zoom fatigue.”
Moreover, and unlike halachic communities, Lau-Lavie noted that when the Jewish engagement is based on “I want to,” as opposed to “I have to” – in a Jewish world not based on religious obligation – community leaders must constantly think in terms of creating a value proposition to positively engage, create connections. and “feed the soul.” Jewish ritual isn’t enough to draw people in; rabbis must create and facilitate a connection to others and to Judaism itself. Therefore, all programming is designed and conducted so that participation is active rather than passive, and when these elements are met, people return.
Kavana’s participation numbers during the pandemic remained relatively high and generally consistent with pre-Covid, in-person numbers, although Nussbaum noted some difference in the participants. Many “regulars” did not connect to the online experience and did not participate as frequently as they had in person. At the same time, many who, for a variety of reasons, could not attend physically did participate virtually.
The shift to online programming lowered entrance barriers for many. People who are not comfortable driving at night, those with disabilities who “hear” better via Zoom or with closed captioning, and parents with young children have all increased their participation. At the same time, moving online allows people who do not live in close geographic proximity to participate. Community members invited faraway friends and relatives to participate in the online experience, as well as previous community members who had moved to other locales.
Nussbaum did note, however, that after-school educational programming saw the biggest drop in participation – a decrease of about 30%. She attributed this to the fact that most Seattle area schools went exclusively online, and many families felt their children were “Zoom-fatigued” and did not want to add more online programming to their schedules.
Overall, pre- and post-Covid participation rates were similar for Kavana, with Shabbat and holiday programming attracting greater numbers, and educational programming for children seeing lower numbers. Moreover, there was increased engagement of new people – from further away areas, as well as people exploring Judaism and conversion or seeking spirituality and community during challenging times. And, with the entrance barriers lowered, it is easier for people to “check out” what the community and Judaism are all about.
Regarding participation at Sixth & I in Washington, DC, anywhere from 25-150 people participated in any given online program or class, while in-person events were usually capped at 25 individuals to facilitate community-building, engagement, and participation. Moreover, while in-person participation was highest among people in their 20s and 30s inside Washington (Sixth & I’s target audience), virtual classes and programs drew individuals from outside this age group and from beyond the immediate geographic area.
Sixth & I saw a drop in online Shabbat services attendance as the months progressed. During pre-Covid times, anywhere from 150-300 people attended a pre-services “happy hour” and many would stay for dinner after services. The covid period saw, on average, 50-100 online participants. However, special events, such as the 10th anniversary Shabbat honoring Rabbi Shira Stutman, had over 800 unique devices logged in. Doar sees that many new and different people have engaged with Sixth & I programming, however she assumes many of them will not join the community physically post-pandemic, as they either live too far from DC, or are seeking a more traditional synagogue model with membership and activities for children such as Hebrew school.
Ikar saw an increase in virtual participation compared to its pre-Covid norm. Whereas in-person Shabbat services attracted between 200-400 individuals, virtual Shabbat services attracted over 2,500. Ikar’s membership also increased during the pandemic, with nearly 100 new member households from outside the Los Angeles area joining. Thus, Ikar has been fortunate not to have been adversely affected financially by the pandemic. Its pre-Covid membership comprised 760 member households, but it jumped to nearly 900 member households during the pandemic.
Mishkan’s Rabbi Heydemann added that, as expected, relatively few attended the in-person events held occasionally during the pandemic. Although 2,000 people normally attend High Holiday services, only around 200 attended during Covid.
Have the communities been financially affected? Are people halting memberships or contributions? Are the communities forced to explore alternative revenue models?
Hadar, reported a decrease in direct revenue from program fees, but also had fewer expenses related to in-person programming, which largely evened things out. And yet, twice as many people had donated money to Hadar than in the year prior to the Covid outbreak. This may have resulted from a broader outreach effort. Nine hundred individuals donated to Hadar in 2019, and nearly 2,000 did so in 2020. At the same time, funding from Jewish philanthropic organizations remained stable although some Jewish federations decreased support due to their own dip in fundraising.
Lab/Shul enjoyed an increase in membership during pandemic. In addition, the community received government loans (Paycheck Protection Program) through the U.S. Cares Act, which helped recoup lost revenue. Nevertheless, Lab/Shul’s finances were negatively affected by the pandemic, and it was forced to make some staffing adjustments to maximize efficiency and reduce operating costs. However, those who could continue to contribute did so. Lab/Shul also employed some digital creativity in fundraising. Rather than the usual annual fundraising gala, Lab/Shul’s 24-hour virtual “reveal-a-thon” was highly successful as previously noted.
Kavana Cooperative noted that the community had been impacted financially by the pandemic. While membership and contributions remained steady, programming enrollment dropped; there was, for instance, less participation in educational programming for children due to Zoom fatigue. Moreover, many in-person programs that normally generated contributions had to be canceled.
Sixth & I’s revenue model is unique among Jewish institutions, as it relies almost entirely on pay-per-event funding that eschews membership along with a base of regular donors. Its donor base continued its support, with some even stepping up their contributions. At the same time, the community offers free participation for those in financial need, and roughly a third of participants exercised this option due to the financial difficulties and unemployment of the past year. Sixth & I was also forced to lay off several staff members during this period.
Ikar was able to attract nearly 100 new member households from outside the Los Angeles area, and was not, therefore, financially strained by the pandemic. Mishkan’s Heydemann similarly noted that many new members joined from across the United States during the pandemic, so the community was not negatively affected.
What changes made or lessons learned for your community during the pandemic will remain relevant post-Covid?
Lab/Shul, unlike other communities, had a strategic plan in place to shift to a digital focus and had instituted a digital membership model for those who would never or rarely attend in person. They had invested heavily in the digital space and so were prepared for what Covid wrought.
Lau-Lavie described having taken Lab/Shul in a sort of “Jewish televangelist” direction, and although the in-person participants are expected to return, he seeks to develop a full digital presence for his community. When discussing what he means by digital operations, Lau-Lavie refers to a far more complete experience than the frontal Zoom experience most communities provide, one that engages both intellectually and emotionally. He also described the concept of “breakout schmoozing” rooms so people can have side conversations much as they would in a synagogue lobby, as well as initiating kids’ or teen rooms and experimenting with the best ways to operate in the digital sphere. Lab/Shul also invested considerable resources in high quality production values for their online experiences (many in the community have fine arts backgrounds or work in the entertainment industry), including professional camera crews and high-level graphics, to try to “break through the screen.”
As an early pioneer in digital Judaism, Lau-Lavie intends to continue exploring, and stretching the realm of possibilities for Jewish life in the digital space in the post-Covid era. While learning how to better bring learning events and rituals into the digital sphere, Lau-Lavie noted that the community’s social and racial justice work, a major focus, lagged somewhat during this period, and they will continue exploring how to bring that into the digital sphere as well. The pandemic also spurred increased collaborations, partnerships, and resource sharing, which he hopes will continue in the post-Covid reality.
Nussbaum said that the switch to virtual events has challenged Kavana’s usually successful model of high engagement among community members and lay leaders. Nussbaum and her team are struggling to find meaningful ways for community members to become as empowered and industrious in the digital sphere as in pre-Covid times. “This is something we are working on actively, as we reach the one-year mark of this pandemic mode…but the temptation in virtual mode is to default to top-down, hub-and-spoke modes in contrast to the networked, empowerment modes that we’ve worked so hard to build,” she said.
Beyond that, Nussbaum is convinced that adding virtual elements to life-cycle events, to allow the participation of those either far away or who are unable to physically attend, has been a positive addition from this period that she will try to maintain post-Covid: “I suspect I will never again officiate at a wedding, bar/bat mitzvah, funeral, etc. where there are not guests participating remotely through technology.” The use of digital technology also helped the community include people with disabilities and older individuals. She offers that the “work from home” model and the decrease in travel will also affect how Jewish organizations operate, but does not yet know how.
Doar noted that at the start of the Covid crisis, Sixth & I offered daily virtual programming and was encouraged by the high engagement numbers. However, a few months into the pandemic, the community decided to reprioritize its resources and goals. First, Sixth & I realized it did not need to conduct daily programming in an effort to “be everything to everyone.” Instead, it decided to focus on the types of activities and programs community members found most meaningful. Second, they decided to concentrate on those who actively engage with Sixth & I as their main spiritual and social community. That is, rather than becoming enamored with hundreds of participants they would likely never see, they preferred a few dozen highly engaged participants. Doar did, however, add that one of the major benefits of virtual programming has been the ease of access for those with physical disabilities or those who have transportation difficulties. Therefore, she assessed that the community would continue to offer live streaming options for larger services and events even after the resumption of in-person operations.
Balaban at Ikar assumes that the community will continue to provide virtual services and programming alongside its in-person programming. Regarding participation and engagement in virtual programming, Mishkan’s Heydemann reflected that people respond well to being personally engaged and tend to fade out when the programming is too passive and frontal in style. Thus, she expects to bring the effectiveness of Zoom break-out rooms to in-person events post-Covid. At the same time, she noticed that some enjoy being able to participate more passively from home “with a glass of wine in their PJs.” Therefore, some level of virtual engagement is expected post-pandemic. Moreover, with the growth in members who live far from the community, and the realization that many cannot physically travel to the synagogue for all events, she understands how many people enjoyed or are dependent on being able to access the community virtually.
How will the Covid period change the Jewish community and Judaism more broadly going forward?
Hadar’s Kaunfer believes that Covid will act as an accelerant for existing trends already in motion. That is, those communities that were thriving will continue to do so and those struggling will continue to struggle. However, he expects to return to in-person activities when the situation allows.
Lab/Shul’s Lau-Lavie said that big questions lie ahead. Most communities are still trying to replicate their physical activities on Zoom. Lau-Lavie wants to stretch the boundaries of the digital sphere, to stretch the boundaries of community. He, well before Covid, was one of the first to institute a virtual minyan. He wonders how technology will alter the conception of rituals and ritual space. He noted that when the printing press allowed the broad accessibility of books, our concepts of ritual and prayer changed. Similarly, the introduction of chairs (rather than fixed pews) changed the synagogue space. Now, the invention of digital screens will once again change our community life and how we approach ritual. He also has thoughts on how communities can create intimate online spaces, with people who may be thousands of miles apart.
Kavana Cooperative’s Nussbaum was optimistic about the opportunities opened up by virtual engagement. During the holidays, her community partnered with other JEN communities to develop online programming for a nation-wide audience. Now that such a paradigm exists, it is difficult to imagine not offering such a rich online experience for geographically dispersed communities.
Nussbaum also mentioned that one program in which her community engages organizes educational trips for Jewish leaders to travel to the West Bank to engage with Palestinians and learn about the Israel-Palestinian conflict from their perspective. This was transformed into a series of online discussions between American Jewish and Palestinian civic leaders during the pandemic. Other participants were able to join the online experience, and she envisions that such local-international collaborations will become a new norm in the Jewish world.
The pandemic “reinforced to all a sense of global interconnectedness” and the need for collective action. She specifically mentioned the “Big Bold Jewish Climate Fest,” which was a collaboration that included Kavana and other communities, representing a Jewish network approach to tackling climate change.
Looking forward, Doar reflected that the Covid period reinforced her understanding of Sixth & I’s unique character. It is not a traditional community but rather one that primarily comprises young professionals who do not live near their families. The extended periods of loneliness during the pandemic underscored the need to focus on community building, even if it needs to be approached virtually.
Taking a broader look at the Jewish world, Doar suggested that the pandemic forced all of us to stop and examine how we engage with our Judaism, as we all had to adjust. People had to find new ways to incorporate Judaism into their personal lives in meaningful ways and in ways they might not have previously considered. She gave the example of someone who would not have considered incorporating musical instruments into their religious services because their current synagogue had not done so. Experiencing such a service, easily accessible online, might convince some to reconsider their existing beliefs and assumptions. She imagined that the way communities and individuals engage with each other and with Judaism will most likely change as a result of the extended pandemic period.
Looking forward, Mishkan’s Heydemann suggested that the main lesson of the Covid pandemic for Jewish life was not the relative importance of in-person and virtual events, as both have their own advantages and place in Jewish life. Rather, it was about “regularity and community,” and being able to create personal connections among members and participants. Heydemann and the Mishkan team saw in the pandemic an opportunity to continue developing digital engagement and participation modalities while returning to in-person events and applying the newfound understanding of the importance of relationship building, in both the in-person and virtual worlds.
Conclusion
What can we learn from the experiences of these innovative communities two years into the pandemic? Creativity is necessary once the novelty of digital Judaism wears off. We saw a considerable amount of creativity in repackaging and branding online events – such as Lab/Shul’s “Shabbasics,” or “Soul-Spa,” or Sixth & I’s yoga and environmentalism Tu B’Shevat event or online cooking classes.
While communities throughout America rushed to move their activity online, most realized “Zoom fatigue” quickly sets in and that they couldn’t be complacent. They realized that simply hitting “copy-paste” to bring physical activities into the digital space was not enough. All those interviewed spoke of the challenge of actively engaging with online participants, often having to reimagine rituals or other activities – adding breakout rooms seemed to help. Some communities realized that having hundreds of passive participants (with their cameras off) might have seemed exciting at first, but that a few dozen active and engaged participants was often preferable, and so they stopped chasing the higher engagement numbers.
Many of these communities spoke of growth, even leaps, in online participation. This included stable participation of regular members and participants, but also newcomers who would or could not physically attend in normal times. Many spoke about lowering barriers to participation. Elderly people who might not drive in the dark, people with disabilities, people who live far away (including in other countries), and families with young children could now participate much more freely. Moreover, those who might have been embarrassed to attend a physical event found it easier to participate or observe online, including many who were not engaged with the Jewish community, and many interested in conversion. Some communities interviewed went so far as to begin offering digital memberships for those who might never physically come to the synagogue.
All those interviewed realized that most events – Shabbat and High Holiday services and especially life-cycle events – will likely have to have a virtual element going forward to allow broader participation.
Other lessons learned from the pandemic period are that not only does online programming or the ability to engage in a program online allow those far away to attend, but it also offers communities the opportunity to collaborate and share resources with one another. Educational programming, speakers, and even unique prayer services and ritual programs can be held jointly by multiple communities. In this manner, they can share resources and improve the production quality of online programs. Better production quality was mentioned as critical to maintaining engagement in online events.
Some of those interviewed said that the pandemic period also offered people a chance to reflect and adjust. People had to re-examine their own practices and how to make Judaism meaningful and relevant in their own lives. Moreover, the availability of a range of options allowed people to experiment with what they thought they liked or disliked and try out new options.
Finally, a few of those interviewed asserted that the pandemic acted as an accelerator for existing trends in the Jewish community and in Jewish life. After all, some communities were experimenting with the digital space well before the pandemic. Some were experimenting with re-imagining ritual and personal engagement and others had already been re-examining and experimenting with different membership and community engagement and outreach models. If anything, Covid, which seems to be far from over in mid-2022, appears to have strengthened those communities already innovating, and weakened those who lagged. One thing is clear, the Jewish world will have indelibly evolved as a result of this pandemic.