My ‘indoors’ Minyan

I don’t know about you, but I’ve become quite comfortable indoors,
I’ve come to enjoy the quiet, the cleaner air, and the sharper colors.
I’ve come to enjoy being woken by the myriad sounds of the birds,

And to then begin a slower paced routine at home.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve become quite comfortable indoors,
My children sleep deeply and wake when ready,
They prepare their food and eat heartily,

They are fortunate to have technologically to connect with their friends and teachers and continue learning.

They’re privileged to be a part of a fuller and more constant set of family interactions, but more amazingly they have been privy to the inner workings of neighborliness, and the true wonder of such a thing.

At this time of crisis, when we were all forced indoors, and the regular communal institutions were shut, we didn’t miss a beat.

Our neighbors, of different ages, religious persuasions, cultures and languages,  came together in a tight knit weave of tolerance, kindness and patience.

We shared our individual talents with each other, to create a magical place in which to praise G-d.

The “minyan”, the traditional group of 10 men required for communal service, was effortlessly re-created.

At 7:30 sharp each morning, some men would come downstairs to the building’s courtyard, masked, gloved and 2 meters apart. Others opened their windows or stood on their balconies and then together with the sounds of the wind, men, women and children chanted the prayers and answered Amen.

We listened to, and answered the mourners kaddish. We smiled at the sweet sounds of the young boys singing the final prayer on Shabbat morning, we sang and clapped along with the musicians playing the Hallel prayer on Yom Haatzmaut, we learned together with the Rabbi who taught us between mincha and ma’ariv, and we counted the days of the Omer.

And then, just as the prayer service began, it ended, and we all went back indoors.

I don’t know about you, but I became quite comfortable indoors.