We didn't survive 2,000 years of exile only to fall apart because we miss some onegs.

While most cultures in the ancient world died when they were captured or subjugated, we continued. Rather than be tied completely to a particular place We did something revolutionary: We told our story.

We had a narrative that we could take with us wherever we went and identified who we were and defined us as a people even a stateless one.

We continued to refine our story and our texts with each generation and with each subsequent displacement.

Even once the state of Israel was established many Jews still felt that their identity was tied in part to culture, to ritual, and to a history.

While our houses of worship are important to us they are not essential to our being able to be Jewish or practice Judaism.

What is essential is community. Thankfully, we have means to remain connected to one another even as we observe sacred distancing.

We will gather together again only when it is safe to do so for everyone.