It’s the cold as much as Covid that is keeping Alyth Reform members away from the Golders Green shul at the moment.

Rabbi Josh Levy said a decision was taken to revert exclusively to online services for the Christmas and New Year weekends, allowing leaders to “recalibrate and look at protocols” in the wake of the Omicron surge.

When Alyth reopened last Shabbat, attendances were capped at 50 (the limit will be increased to 125 this weekend).

Air quality monitoring in October and November had shown that “if we’ve got our windows open, there is sufficient ventilation for us to be safe”.

But the sanctuary can get quite chilly and there is an emergency stock of blankets.

With Omicron more easily transmissible than previous variants, Rabbi Levy is aware of “many more members who have had it. Whole families are getting it one after the other.

“People are once again engaging with Judaism from the safety of their homes and we are pleased to help them do that.”

As vaccine hesitancy was not an issue, it was a case of members not wanting to get ill or passing on the virus to others. However, there was “a lot less fear” over Omicron than previous Covid variants.

“We are fortunate to remain a praying community online. But this isn’t over until everyone can come back to synagogue.”

There are around 400 over-80s among Alyth’s 1,600 member households, which account for around 3,500 people in total.

From the outset of the pandemic, “we made sure that everyone had a buddy and some amazing stories have come out of that”, Rabbi Levy reported. “There has been an extraordinary flourishing of community.”

Since the building reopened in October (activities had previously been held outside), he estimates that close to half the member families have taken part in activities.

The demographic had shifted with some more senior members preferring to join online and the in-person participants “those for whom it feels less scary”.

There were 100 households online for last Friday’s service and Rabbi Levy added that Alyth’s offerings also attracted Orthodox shul members seeking “a safe space — and who are willing to use technology on Shabbat”.

Guests from America and Croatia had joined the shul’s virtual learning programmes and although those connecting from afar can become a friend of the shul for a nominal fee, “our mission is to provide a meaningful Jewish experience. That doesn’t come with a bill.”

Some 100 households have joined Alyth during the pandemic and Rabbi Levy said that one of the lessons of the past two years had been “not to take shul for granted”.

Another was the discovery “that we are more resilient than we realised”. That was particularly true of 70 Alyth bar- and batmitzvah celebrants whose services were held “away from our bimah.

“I’m utterly in awe of how they were able to adapt to this new reality. Almost all brought incredible openness to it.”

From the darkest days of Covid, when Rabbi Levy officiated at funerals where it was “just me, the deceased and someone filming”, he sensed a heightened optimism among his congregation.

“We’ve employed two new members of clergy and we’re about to start our rebuilding project.
“There’s a real desire to come together.”