Fighting the mortal danger of COVID-19 might have posed an existential threat to the life of the Jewish people, were it not for the digital revolution. To fight the pandemic, Jews like everyone else have had to stay away from one another. But in God’s name Moses instructed the Israelites to assemble, to build a tabernacle in the wilderness to worship the God they had encountered. Following that precedent, as we have journeyed through the centuries of exile, oppression and periods of startling creativity, we have assembled, called our synagogues eydot, assemblies, of peace, of justice, of Israelites, of hope. There we have gathered to observe family rites: circumcisions, b’nei mitzvah, weddings, funerals; to pray; to observe the Sabbath, the festivals, the Days of Awe; to study and learn together; to laugh; to sing.  Suddenly a...

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