Introduction
How are you maintaining community during this time of social distancing?
What is a minyan?
A minyan or quorum is a group of ten Jewish adults*. The presence of a minyan is required for saying certain prayers (Barchu, Kaddish, Kedusha).
- In Orthodox denominations, only Jewish adult men are counted.
- A Jewish adult is a Jewish person who is 12 or 13, depending on gender and denomination.
While Jews disagree a lot about who is counted in a minyan, almost everyone agrees that non-Jews and children do not count in a minyan.
(ג) אֵין פּוֹרְסִין אֶת שְׁמַע, וְאֵין עוֹבְרִין לִפְנֵי הַתֵּבָה, וְאֵין נוֹשְׂאִין אֶת כַּפֵּיהֶם, וְאֵין קוֹרִין בַּתּוֹרָה, וְאֵין מַפְטִירִין בַּנָּבִיא, וְאֵין עוֹשִׂין מַעֲמָד וּמוֹשָׁב, וְאֵין אוֹמְרִים בִּרְכַּת אֲבֵלִים וְתַנְחוּמֵי אֲבֵלִים וּבִרְכַּת חֲתָנִים, וְאֵין מְזַמְּנִין בַּשֵּׁם, פָּחוֹת מֵעֲשָׂרָה. וּבַקַּרְקָעוֹת, תִּשְׁעָה וְכֹהֵן. וְאָדָם, כַּיּוֹצֵא בָּהֶן:
(3) They do not recite the Shema responsively, And they do not pass before the ark; And the [the priests] do not lift up their hands; And they do not read the Torah [publicly]; And they do not conclude with a haftarah from the prophets; And they do not make stops [at funeral] processions; And they do not say the blessing for mourners, or the comfort of mourners, or the blessing of bridegrooms; And they do not mention God’s name in the invitation [to say Birkat Hamazon]; Except in the presence of ten. [For redeeming sanctified] land nine and a priest [are sufficient], and similarly with human beings.
Mourner's Kaddish
Definition: Kaddish Yatom, the Mourner's Kaddish, is a prayer that people in mourning say during the year after a loved one dies and on the anniversary of their death. Under normal circumstances, (and many rabbis say even in this particular pandemic,) it can only be said in the presence of a minyan. Saying Kaddish is a really important part of the grieving process for many Jews.
Notice:
- Kaddish Yatom doesn't contain the name of God
- While it is a prayer in the general sense, it is not technically a blessing (Baruch atah hashem). It's really important to not say technical blessings outside of their proper context because God's name is so holy.
CJLS Guidance for Remote Minyanim in a time of COVID-19
Kaddish yatom (Mourner’s Kaddish) has a special resonance. Our movement has created several prayers that are acceptable in lieu of kaddish yatom (Mourner’s Kaddish) and those who are mourners or observing yahrzeit may find spiritual and emotional sustenance in these alternatives to kaddish yatom (Mourner’s Kaddish). Some of them may feel distress at not being able to recite kaddish yatom in the absence of a minyan, particularly for a prolonged period, and rabbis must reassure mourners that they are fulfilling their Jewish legal obligations under the circumstances and should feel no guilt whatsoever in remembering and honoring the deceased in this way. There are also other alternatives to saying kaddish yatom with a minyan when that is impossible, such as studying a text or dedicating some other mitzvah to the memory of the loved one.
Why pray with a minyan?
A person should try to pray in the synagogue with a congregation, and if they are unable (lit. "anus", coerced) to come, they should intend to pray while the congregation is praying [This applies to people living in small setttlements, unable to pray in a minyan -- they nevertheless, should pray shaharit and arbit during the time of congregational prayer -Sma"g] If they (the person) could not pray at the time when the community pray, and is praying alone, nevertheless they should pray alone in the synagogue.
"Orthodox Tel Aviv synagogue begins virtual online prayer services" article by Jeremy Sharon (March 18, 2020)
Rabbi Benny Lau, a prominent liberal religious-Zionist leader, who participated in the Wednesday morning service, sent a request to Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, a respected arbiter of Jewish law, asking which communal prayers could be said in Yachad’s virtual minyan.
Melamed said that due to doubts regarding the exact meaning of the terms “place” and “voice” in the context of communal prayer and Jewish law, a virtual gathering (via Zoom) “cannot be defined as a minyan in all aspects.”
Nevertheless, he ruled however that both the mourners kaddish - recited by those who have recently lost close family members - and the rabbis kaddish may be recited in such a minyan.
He further said that the Barchu blessing can be recited in a time of need “when there is value for all the virtual community to pray together.” Lau noted that Melamed had said that at difficult times it was perfectly permissible to pray alone and not in a minyan as is customary.
“There is a great gap between the language of religion and the language of Jewish law,” said Lau.“In the language of religion there are internal, spiritual needs that reach to the depths and root of a person’s soul,” he continued, in explanation as to why he and others who pray three times a day on a daily basis feel the ongoing need to pray in a minyan.
- According to these texts, why do you need a minyan? (spiritual, temporal, emotional, etc)
- Do these resonate with you? Why/why not?
- What reasons for a minyan are missing from these texts?
Minyan and the exact remote location of its members
One who stands behind the synagogue and in-between them is a window - even if it is several stories high [and] even if it's not 4 wide - and his face is seen by them from there, he joins with them for the 10. Gloss: [those in] roofs and upper stories are not included in the synagogue and the one who stands on them is not joined [to the 10]. [Ri ??]
- Based on these texts, do you think a minyan could happen over video chat? Why/why not?
- If you were a rabbi, how would you define space for a minyan during these times of distress? Do we need to be in the same room, building, street, time zone, zoom call?
- Who does a video chat minyan leave behind?
Closing and Question Time
1) What is one way you are going to apply what you learned today to your life this week (hint: it doesn't have to be prayer)?
2) We will use the remaining time for questions and thoughts you have.
This class was created by the Hadar Institute. Learn more about their work at https://www.hadar.org/.
