Guidelines for indoor minyanim in Crown Heights, current as of 3 Sivan
- Every shul must appoint a “COVID memunah” to ensure the following guidelines are kept
- Only 10 people total inside at a time, in line with current NYS law.
- Anyone above age 65 who has not been sick yet (or does not have antibodies) should not attend an indoor minyan at this time.
- Nobody currently ill or recently ill may attend
- People who choose to attend an indoor minyan should not “minyan hop” between different indoor minyanim; they should stick to the same group of 10 wherever feasible
- At least 6 feet distance should be maintained between all those inside
- All those inside should wear masks
- Everyone should use Purell/disinfectant on their hands upon entry and exit.
- Garbage cans should be available for dirty tissues and the like
- No refreshments (coffee, mezonos) should be served
- Time spent in shul should be purely for davening/layning. There should be no speeches, socializing, farbrenging, etc.
- Only one person should use the restroom at a time
- There should be no kissing the sefer torah, mantel, etc. The oleh l’torah can touch his tallis to the klaf and then kiss the tallis.
- The baal koreh should be the one to take the Sefer Torah from the Aron to the Bimah. The magbiah takes the Sefer Torah back to the Aron.
- A mask should be worn by the magbiah and golel. Although everyone is asked to wear a mask, this is being reiterated here for emphasis.
- Regarding someone getting an aliyah:
- A mask should be worn by the oleh letorah. Although everyone is asked to wear a mask, this is being reiterated here for emphasis. The baal koreh should wear a mask as well, to the extent feasible.
- Only someone who has already been sick or has antibodies may get an aliyah
- The oleh letorah and baal koreh should, to the extent possible, not face each other during the layning.
If you do not think your shul can adhere to the above guidelines, an indoor minyan should not be conducted.
Outdoor minyanim (with safety guidelines followed), in particular porch minyanim, are still preferable from a safety point of view, if feasible, and should be maintained wherever possible. In addition to the safety issue, this will assist with the overflow of those who won’t be covered by the indoor minyanim based on the NYS law.
If NYS law changes after the writing of these guidelines, they will be updated accordingly. Similarly, if the situation in our local community changes (we begin to see new cases, chas veshalom), these guidelines will be updated accordingly.
בברכת קבלת התורה בשמחה ובפנימיות
