Dear Member,

Governor Murphy has made a political decision to greatly reduce requirements for vaccinated people wearing a mask and/or social distancing (one week before the Memorial Day weekend).

The CBT COVID-19 Task Force met subsequent to this announcement. We have three medical practitioner members on the Task Force. It is their considered opinion, which the remainder of the Task Force agrees with, that we should continue our current COVID-19 approach for now.

Our consideration is for the health of our members. We are making a health decision, in light of the virus being an aerosolized infection, i.e., not a droplet infection. Here’s an analogy: if an unmasked person was smoking a cigarette on the bimah, how far away would you need to be before you could not smell the aerosolized cigarette smoke. The consensus is “pretty far.”

As a reminder of our current protocols:

  • All indoor services will continue to be held in our main sanctuary with the curtains to the Social Hall open (to improve air flow)
  • Everyone wears a mask the entire time they are in services, including going to and leaving; please remember we wear masks to protect everyone around us
  • Every group/pod should be socially distanced from other groups/pods
  • Contact the office to let us know when you plan to attend one of our in-person minyanim, including how many people will be attending with you
    • Shabbat morning
    • Sunday evening
    • Wednesday evening (new, starting May 26)

The Task Force will meet again in two weeks to review the then state of the pandemic. As Governor Murphy said on May 25, 2021, “More time on the clock in a pandemic is your ally.”

Please contact me with any questions about this message at .

B’Shalom,

Marty Abschutz for the CBT COVID-19 Task Force

President