COVID-19 Updates

Adar 17, 5780
March 13, 2020

Dear Friends, 

As you all know, the situation we are facing globally is very fluid; guidance is changing constantly, based on new information coming in from all over. 

At noon today, the Orthodox Union sent out its lastest directives to its congregations, based on the guidance of HaRav Hershel Schachter שליט״א and HaRav Mordechai Willig שליט״א. It stated, in relevant part:

• In communities where schools have been closed by local government – whether or not there are existing confirmed cases – children must not get together in homes, parks, or other venues.  In these communities shuls should be closed as well.  Not closing the shuls will render the school closures essentially 
  meaningless in limiting communal transmission (emphasis added).  

1. Effective TONIGHT, Shabbat services at the DAT Minyan are cancelled for, at least, the next two Shabbatot (while the Denver Academy of Torah is closed).

2. We will continue having weekday Minyanim, given the small size of the crowd. However, due to the school's closure, we will not be using the MPR. Instead, starting with Shacharit on Sunday, March 15, and continuing throughout the period of time that the school building is closed, our daily Minyanim will be held in conjunction with the chapel minyan at BMH-BJ. We are incredibly grateful to Rabbi Chaitovsky and Jeff Kline for welcoming us to their minyan.

The new Minyan times will be accurately reflected on the DAT Minyan website, beginning Saturday night, so please check that after Shabbat. In case you are late checking, note that Shacharit  Sunday morning is at 8:30 am. The BMH-BJ building will be accessible through the door on Center Avenue, adjacent to the chapel. 

3. We encourage those who still have a Tallit or Tefillin in the cabinet at DAT to please collect them on Sunday between 8:30am and 9:30am as the building will not be open after that. 

4. Just because we cannot daven together... does not mean we cannot daven together! Stealing a page from the Jewish Center in NYC, join us for a dial-in Kabbalat Shabbat and sing with us! We’ll call in at 6:20pm and start promptly at 6:25pm (max participants: 30 - you snooze, you lose!). 

Please call 605-313-5110 and enter 645621# when prompted. We will hang up the phone immediately after Lecha Dodi at around 6:45 pm. Candlelighting in Denver is 6:48 pm. We formally accept Shabbat with the recitation of Psalm 92, Mizmor Shir, which we will each recite ourselves after hanging up from the call. 

It is my hope and prayer that we will create a horizontal highway of unity and song, in the hopes of strengthening our vertical highway to God, with prayers of healing and joy in the week to come.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at rabbifriedman@datminyan.org. 

May Hashem erase this scourge quickly from the world, and may those who have been stricken by it experience a Refuah Sheleimah, speedily and soon. 

Shabbat Shalom to everyone and may we all share good news in the days ahead.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Joseph Friedman