Hebrew Discovery Center before the attack Image by @HebrewDiscoveryCenter

By Aiden Pink May 27, 2020

Guidelines issued by the state of California on Monday will allow up to 100 people to attend services at synagogues and other houses of worship.

Synagogue attendance will be capped at 100 people or 25% capacity, whichever is smaller. All attendees not in an immediate family unit will have to maintain distancing of six feet, and people will be strongly encouraged to wear face masks. Singing, which has been shown to spread the virus, will be discouraged but not banned.

The news will likely be welcomed by many Jews excited by the holiday of Shavuot, which starts Thursday night and is marked by all-night Torah study.

Forwarding the News

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

Terms(Required)

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

Email(Required)

“We are very thankful to the Governor for prioritizing this issue,” said Dr. Irving Lebovics, the chairman of Agudath Israel of California, in a statement. “The Jewish residents of the state of California consider these houses of worship essential and have been aching to return in a safe manner.”

In contrast to California’s plan, New York, which has the country’s biggest Jewish population, only allows a maximum of 10 people in its synagogue reopening policies.

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

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

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. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount