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Chief Rabbi welcomes decision to allow collective worship after lockdown ends
People will be able to pray in a minyan again in England from the middle of next week
November 23, 2020 10:14
People will be able to pray in a minyan again in England from the middle of next week
November 23, 2020 10:14Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has welcomed the government’s decision to allow collective worship to return after the scheduled end of the lockdown in England on Wednesday week.
In a tweet on Monday morning, he said, “The news that places of worship in England will be permitted to open for congregational worship once again when this period of lockdown ends…. will be widely welcomed by people of all faiths. I am grateful to the government for their work with us on this issue.”
For the month of lockdown, places of worship were allowed to remain open only for individual prayer.
The faith task force, which includes representation from the Jewish community, took the case for communal prayer to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government at a meeting last week.
In Scotland, even in the highest tiers of social restrictions, collective worship was permitted to continue, though the number of worshippers were capped.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected today to announce more detail of measures that will follow lockdown and for the Christmas period.
Three leaders of Charedi communities also wrote to Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick at the end of last week appealing for communal prayer to be permitted in any new tier system.
“Places of worship and religious weddings are pivotal to our way of life and an essential part of any Orthodox Jewish existence,” wrote Binyomin Stern, president of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations in London, Akiva Reich, president of Manchester Machzikei Hadass, and Yosef Schleider, president of the Gateshead community.
While “individual prayer” is currently permitted, there is technically nothing to stop 10 men arriving at the same time to pray as long as they maintain social distancing. But if they were to recite prayers that can only be said in a minyan, they would be in breach of the rules.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis had joined other faith leaders in opposing the ban on collective prayer during the latest lockdown – but he took the precaution of shutting synagogues under his authority so that people would not be tempted into praying together.
Board of Deputies president Marie van der Zyl said, "Since the announcement about this lockdown in England, we have been in dialogue with the government and Public Health England about the data around places of worship, as our understanding is that where faith premises have made sure to meticulously observe social distancing regulations, there has been a minimal number of outbreaks associated with communal worship."
