Image by Getty Images

By Aiden Pink March 15, 2020

The rabbi of one of the biggest Orthodox synagogues in the Miami area has tested positive for coronavirus, the Miami Herald reported Sunday.

Rabbi Sholom D. Lipskar of the Shul of Bal Harbour told Bal Harbour Mayor Gabriel Groisman that he had “mild symptoms” and was self-isolating, Groisman said in a statement.

As a public service during this pandemic, the Forward is providing free, unlimited access to all coronavirus articles. If you’d like to support our independent Jewish journalism, click here to make a donation.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The synagogue, which has around 700 families as members, said on its website last week that it had not cancelled Shabbat services, as synagogues in other communities with larger outbreaks have done. In a letter to congregants, Lipskar said that the synagogue building would be disinfected on Sunday night, and that anyone who had been in contact with him in the last five days should self-isolate and inform their doctors.

Lipskar is also the chaplain of the Bal Harbour Police Department.

Many synagogues in states like New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Minnesota, Alabama and California closed their doors this Shabbat in order to quell the epidemic, which has seen an infection cluster in at least one New York Jewish community. But other synagogues, especially in states where public health officials have not yet ordered social distancing measures, remained open.

Aiden Pink is the deputy news editor of the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aidenpink

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount