Protect Your Community from Coronavirus

With cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) appearing across the globe, many communities are feeling uneasy or even fearful. Below, you will find information and resources to support you and your community during this uncertain time. This list of resources will be updated regularly. Please contact our communications specialist, Diana Denza, at ddenza@rabbinicalassembly.org if you'd like to submit a resource to the list.

Webinars: (for clergy only)

• Watch Now: Caring for our Communities and Ourselves in a Time of Coronavirus | March 11th, 2020, 2:00 PM through 3:15 PM ET
• Caring for our Communities and Ourselves in a Time of Coronavirus #2 | March 12th, 2020, 6:30 PM through 7:15 PM ET
• Online Jewish Education: Staying Connected During the Coronavirus Crisis | March 16^th, 2020, 11:30 AM through 12:30 PM ET
• Public Health Webinar for Rabbis on COVID-19 | March 17th, 2020 at 2:00 PM ET

Jewish Resources:

Please find information here from Rabbi Pamela Barmash, CJLS co-chair, Rabbi Joshua Heller, chair of the Rites and Rituals Subcommittee, and Rabbi Ashira Konigsburg, Chief Operating Officer, providing guidance for individuals and communities affected by coronavirus. Please note that this is not an official responsum of the CJLS. 
 

Livestream options for services: Does your community livestream services, study or Megillah? Feel free to add details to this communal open Google doc created by our colleague Karen Reiss Medwed. This is an opportunity to help those who cannot congregate join community. Please feel free to share widely. 

Education: Prizmah put together a helpful resource page focused on schools and resources for teachers and students

Prayers:

• Prayer for When There is No Minyan to Say Kaddish 
• A Jewish prayer for healing in the coronavirus epidemic by our colleague Guy Austrian.
• A Prayer of Hope During this Pandemic by our colleague Naomi Levy
• Our colleague, Matt Rosenberg, wrote this resource on public health, plagues, and coronavirus. 

JFNA has put together this page to help you stay informed and provide you with the resources you'll need to make important decisions in your community.

Perspectives on Infection Control in the Taharah Room: We must be conscious of infection control issues when we do taharah. Here are 20+ articles covering a 30-year timespan. They show the range of analysis, recommendations and the evolution of thinking on this topic.

For Chaplains:

• Bridging with the Sacred: Reflections of an MD Chaplain by Bruce D. Feldstein, MD 

Pastoral & Self-Care: (you must be signed in to view these resources)

• Pastoral Care articles by our colleagues Naomi Kalish and Stephen Roberts.
• RA Care Line
• Rabbinic Self Care: A Kavannah
• Helpful Links
• Caring for Your Mental Health Despite the Corona Virus (Public Resource)

Coping with Trauma for Religious Professionals:

• When Terrible Things Happen - What You May Experience (PFA)
• Trauma Resource - Model of Resiliency 

Solidarity with Chinese Americans:

• 75 national and local organizational signatories – including the Rabbinical Assembly – signed a letter in solidarity with Chinese Americans, which has been extremely well received in this country and in China. Here is a response from the United Chinese Americans, the largest grassroots Chinese civic organization.
• Jewish Public Affairs has created a rabbi sign on letter, allowing rabbis from around the world to add their signatures by March 5, 2020. Rabbis can then share the issued letter among their congregations, post it on social media, and share it with Chinese churches and organizations in their areas.
• As coronavirus fears surface, protect yourself from misinformation with this information from the Anti-Defamation League. 

General Resources:

• The CDC offers in-depth information on how coronavirus spreads, its symptoms, prevention and treatment, testing, and situation summaries.
• If you run a business or have a congregation, please view CDC’s interim guide, which may help prevent exposures to acute respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, in non-healthcare settings. The guidance also provides planning considerations if there are more widespread, community outbreaks of COVID-19. Also consider looking at this resource from SHRM, which offers information for employers as well as an action guide. 
• This resource from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will help you prepare for a pandemic both before it happens and during a crisis. 
• Here is a list of U.S. state health departments and links to local health departments in each state.