Temple Hillel, Steven Graber bounces back from the Covid-19 pandemic

When the Covid outbreak halted public gatherings it led to some odd scenes but since the pandemic has waned places of worship like Temple Hillel have adjusted. 

On May 11, the federal declaration of a public health emergency was lifted. Rabbi Steven Graber who leads the Conservative Jewish synagogue in Valley Stream recalls when the lockdown took place in March 2020. The temple immediately began conducting weekday evening and Shabbat services through Facebook.

“In the beginning, it was me in an empty building and no one was allowed in,” he said. “I would unlock the building and turn on the lights, go into the chapel, and perform the service and there was no one else there. It was a scary time.”

By April 2020, the temple moved to Zoom. Once in-person attendance was permitted, like many places, the temple instituted new rules adhering to the state protocol.

“At one point, nothing touched anything,” Graber said. “We had Plexiglas in front of the rabbis so that our breath wouldn't hit anybody. We had seating where you couldn't sit next to somebody who you didn't enter with.”

He said the precautions led to installing a better air filtration system and upgraded cleaning protocols.

“I don't know of anybody who ever got Covid from being at a service at my synagogue,” Graber said. “All of that is a result of what we learned from Covid and none of that's going to change.”

Procedures adopted during the pandemic remain and masks are still available in the temple hallways. Masks are still required when attendees are called up to the altar or as the Torah is passed around and attendees stand up to go near it. Since the height of the pandemic, Temple Hillel has kept a hybrid model. The temple has several senior members who watch services remotely. Graber said some people are not mobile enough to leave their homes and others have gotten used to watching from home.

“Some people have gotten used to a new reality where they're not as social,” he said. “People are coming back, the problem is there's less of them,” he said. “We're trying to continually and successfully adjust to the new realities. Some people are still afraid to come to community functions.”

The congregation has suffered a slight loss of membership but still attracts a nice crowd at services and functions. While some places of worship struggled financially during the pandemic Graber said the synagogue is financially solid.

“We still have our service and afterward, we have a Kiddush luncheon where everybody goes in and eats nice food together and then hangs around for an hour,” Graber said. “Everybody's quite relaxed in the building. No one's thinking about Covid.”