Stephen Wise Temple and Schools and COVID-19: Protecting Our Community

Stephen Wise Temple and Schools strives to be a kehillah kedoshah, a holy community, based on shared values and caring. As we have since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we will continue to follow the L.A. County Department of Public Health guidelines. For the most up-to-date guidance, please visit Los Angeles County’s Coronavirus Guidelines.

Below, please find the answers to questions you may have about our policies, the principles guiding them, and helpful links to understand them.

I’m coming to campus today, do I need a mask?

The short answer: We recommend masks for indoor services. Masks are welcome at outdoor services and events.

There are, however, a number of factors that play into the masking policy for each event, including the level of community transmission at that time, the number of attendees, the venue (indoors vs. outdoors), and the type of activities involved. Please check your confirmation email for details. If you have further questions, please email us at [email protected].

Services

Why are masks recommended for indoor services, but not in other settings where I sit just as closely to other people?

Individuals exhale more forcefully when singing, playing wind instruments, and speaking to a crowd. In fact, religious services generally—with worship choirs in particular—were among the earliest documented “super-spreader” events of the COVID-19 pandemic. Worship services also tend to include individuals from many different households in the same space, including a disproportionate number of individuals who are likely to be at higher risk for developing serious illness from infection with coronavirus.

Inside vs. Outside: Why are the rules different for a service in the Sanctuary versus a service on the Plaza?

Airflow was identified early in the pandemic as an important factor in the transmission of COVID-19, since droplets bearing the virus were found to spread further through ventilation.

Even in indoor spaces without active ventilation systems and good filtration, individuals in close proximity to others for extended periods of time (within six feet for longer than 15 minutes) are at increased likelihood of breathing in the virus from an infected individual, even if that person is asymptomatic.

Given that, and the fact that UV radiation from sunlight degrades the virus, outdoor settings are significantly safer than indoor ones.

The Rabbi isn’t wearing a mask. Why should I?

In certain circumstances, you may see our Wise clergy appear not to be following the guidelines we are establishing for our congregation. For example, they may be unmasked indoors on the bimah, while we ask everyone assembled for that same service to keep their masks on.

Please be assured that those who unmask in their role in leading our services are following the County guidelines for service leaders and performers, which allow them to be unmasked when they:

  • are doing so briefly, in service to the role they are carrying out, with as few leaders unmasked at a time as possible;
  • are appropriately distanced from all other leaders as well as those assembled;
  • are up-to-date with their COVID vaccinations and boosters; and
  • have received a negative COVID test within a specified window prior to the service or performance.

Layers of Protection

I’m vaccinated, why do I also need to be masked?

Since the arrival of the Delta variant, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department has advocated a “layers of protection” strategy.

This approach outlines the multiple steps that can be taken to keep people as safe as possible from COVID-19. They are:

  • ventilation
  • air filtration
  • distancing
  • masking
  • testing
  • vaccination

Each of these methods adds an additional layer of protection against COVID. In high-transmission environments and situations, and during viral surges, the more layers that are used, the lower the chance for infection and spread.

No Religious/Personal Belief Vaccine Exemption

Why doesn’t Wise accept religious exemptions for vaccination?

Not only is there no religious basis for a vaccine exemption in our tradition, but the unanimous view of all mainstream Jewish movements is that halakha (Jewish law) actually obligates us to follow public health recommendations that can save our own lives as well as the lives of others—vaccines included. For more information on each of the mainstream denominations, see:

Accordingly, Wise will not consider requests for religious or personal belief exemptions based on Jewish principles.

How are you arriving at your policy decisions?

Since the beginning of the pandemic we have been guided by a three-pronged approach in making decisions to help safeguard our community:

  •   Los Angeles County Public Health Guidelines
    • Throughout the pandemic, public health authorities have continually used the latest data to provide useful, actionable information on an ever-evolving situation to the general public and to those who operate various enterprises. The local health authority has the responsibility to set standards for its community—in our case, the County of Los Angeles. Their regulations and guidelines are written under the authority of the State of California and with information provided by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    • Over the course of the pandemic, the Department of Public Health has promulgated both requirements and recommendations. County public health requirements are obligatory; as an institution—even as a private religious institution—we do not have the leeway to decide whether we wish to follow them or not. County recommendations, on the other hand, are ones we take under advisement, balancing them with our two additional sources of guidance.
  •   Medical Task Force
    • Our medical task force has worked with Wise leadership since the beginning of the pandemic, helping us understand the evolving science and how to navigate community challenges.  Our task force is populated by medical experts in immunology, infectious disease, epidemiology, public health, and pediatrics when appropriate, and each member of this task force has a relationship to our Wise community. We cannot overstate how incredibly grateful we are to these dedicated experts who have helped us continually negotiate complex considerations as we craft our policies and practices in response to the changing nature of the pandemic.
  •   Judaic Values
    • As Jews, we have always understood that our fate, our lives, and our health—spiritual, emotional, and physical—are bound up in one another. Many learned this concept through the familiar saying “kol Yisrael arevim zeh ba-zeh”—“all of Israel are responsible for one another.” That value has held us together throughout our history, in both good times and bad.  
    • We are also guided by the value of pikuah nefesh—the protection of life. Held sacred over all other commandments, the preservation of life, and the imperative to save a human life, overrides virtually every other commandment.
    • Our clergy are given the gift and the responsibility of being the marei d’atra—the Jewish legal authorities—of the Wise community, obligated to study, learn, and understand the Jewish legal implications of modern questions and to make communal decisions based on Jewish laws and values. While these decisions are made in a consultative fashion, the Stephen Wise Temple bylaws vest the ultimate ecclesiastical authority of the temple in our Senior Rabbi. 

How is Wise mitigating the risk of COVID spread, and what options do I have if I do not feel comfortable attending events in person?

While we currently have many in-person activities organized in accordance with public health guidance, we understand that many in our community are still concerned about in-person attendance due to COVID and its variants. For that reason, we continue to provide a robust calendar of online learning opportunities and live-streamed worship and events.

Visit Wise Online for worship, study, lectures, and much more.

For More Information …

PLEASE NOTE:
An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. COVID-19 is an extremely contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and death. For the protection of our congregants, guests, and clergy, by visiting our synagogue, you are representing to us that to the best of your knowledge you are not currently infected with COVID-19 nor is any member of your immediate household, you have not been in direct contact with any person that is infected with COVID-19 for the past 10 days, you do not have an above-normal temperature, and you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure while at our synagogue to COVID-19 or any other contagion.