Scots struggle with tougher Covid rules

He cited the example of a student he had hoped to meet for coffee — “the last thing we can still do pretty much”. But she cancelled after coming into contact with someone who had tested positive for the virus.

Although the chaplain had arranged a space for a Rosh Hashanah service in Glasgow, many students were cautious about attending following a local lockdown. He claimed that one shul had refused to allow students at its services after media coverage of the coronavirus outbreaks in student halls. “They didn’t want the risk.” Another congregation had contacted students wishing to attend services, asking them to confirm they were not living in student halls.

The chaplain had been hoping to run a Succot service but that has now been cancelled.

Aberdeen Synagogue — the UK’s most northerly shul — has finally been able to reopen for services. But due to the size of its premises, the small community could accommodate only a maximum of 11 people for hour-long Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services — and that was with the proviso that all windows and doors were kept open. Four of those attending were students from the city’s two universities.

Shul vice-president Debby Taylor said it was “really good that we had space to allow some students to join us”. However, it would not be putting up a succah this year and was not looking ahead as “the guidelines change so often that it’s easier to plan short-term”.

Another difference to the English rules is that gatherings such as services are limited to a maximum of 50 people, regardless of the size of venue. Mr Borowski explained this was “not to do with physical distancing and spreading the virus — it’s to do with tracing the virus. Because, obviously, people’s contacts grow exponentially and they therefore reckoned that tracing the contacts of 50 people is the most that they could reasonably do.

“It’s a nice example of how policy needs to be explained, not just promulgated, if you want people to comply.”

Nonetheless, Giffnock and Newlands Synagogue in Glasgow had been allowed to admit up to 100 congregants for High Holy-Day services by also utilising its hall, which local civil servants agreed counted as a separate building. Other shuls in Glasgow and Edinburgh had to keep attendance within the 50-person limit.

Sukkat Shalom, Edinburgh’s Liberal community, ran Zoom services for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and will also run them online for Succot and Simchat Torah. Glasgow Reform Synagogue has also offered services on Zoom.

In her New Year message, Nicola Sturgeon recognised the challenges the pandemic had presented for Scottish Jews.

“These sacrifices have been difficult,” she said. “However, these restrictions have helped us to make major progress [including] the reopening of places of worship. As a result, many of you will be able to gather at synagogues to celebrate.”