Westchester temple offers socially distant Shabbat service

A local Jewish community is celebrating Shabbat in a unique way amid the coronavirus pandemic.

News 12 Staff

Aug 28, 2020, 11:46 PM

Updated 1,501 days ago

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A local Jewish community is celebrating Shabbat in a unique way amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Temple Kol Ami offered members a Shabbat service from the comfort of their cars or camping chairs Friday.
It is the first of its kind – a drive-in prayer service after months of holding virtual Shabbat sessions for the congregation of 700 people, all due to statewide COVID-19 restrictions.
Rabbi Shira says the congregation came up with several creative ways to bring people together in person to celebrate the holy day, all while maintaining social distancing.
The service included prayer, singing, lighting of the candles and the distribution of challah. For families with small children, an earlier mini service took place on the adjacent lawn.
The drive-in allowed up to 45 cars and the prayer was also streamed online.