High Holidays art by Maria Cramer.
Accessibility
We are committed to making High Holiday Services Programming accessible and inclusive for all who wish to attend. This includes people who are neurodivergent, D/deaf, hard of hearing, blind or low vision, or who have learning or other kinds of disabilities not listed.
Please read below for more details about how we’re planning to meet certain needs. If you have any access needs that aren’t met by what’s detailed here, please email access@newsynagogueproject.org so that we can work to meet them.
CART captioning will be provided for all online High Holiday events.
ASL interpretation will be provided for all main services on Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur, including Kol Nidre, Ne’ilah, and the Tashlich ritual.
ASL is available upon request for all other High Holidays events, such as children’s services. You will be able to request ASL for those events below. Please submit ASL requests for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur events (apart from the main services) by September 12, if possible.
For in-person services, we will use bound, printed machzors or prayer books, as well as a printed supplement. All non-English text will be fully transliterated and translated. Page magnifiers will be available, as well as digital versions of the texts.
For Zoom services, a complete machzor/prayer book will be linked in the chat, along with a pdf supplement.
If you need an alternative way of accessing text or prayers, email access@newsynagogueproject.org.
All indoor services will be held in a building that is fully wheelchair accessible. Outdoor events will be hosted at sites that have wheelchair-accessible restrooms, and are a short distance from paved parking areas.
No walking or standing is required for indoor services. Outdoor events may require walking short distances, and seating may be limited.
Gender-inclusive restrooms are available at all indoor services.
For in-person services, we will ask all attendees to avoid using products with strong scents as much as possible.
If you have additional needs or requests around scent sensitivity, please let us know on the registration form or email access@newsynagogueproject.org.
COVID Safety
We want programming to be available to as many congregants as possible, while maintaining our commitment to pikuach nefesh, safeguarding life, as a central value: “We hold that to save one member of our community is to save and preserve the entire community of NSP and beyond.” In pursuit of keeping each other as safe as possible, attendees to NSP in-person programming must adhere to the following safety guidelines:
- All attendees of NSP in-person events must be fully vaccinated. Fully vaccinated means the most recent annual dose of the COVID vaccine. Children under 6 months old are exempted from the vaccine requirement, and children under 5 years old are exempted from the booster requirement. If you have any questions regarding this policy, vaccine eligibility, or should you require a medical exemption, please contact Rabbi Yosef: rabbi@newsynagogueproject.org
- Masking is required for indoor meetings and the use of indoor spaces (e.g. bathrooms) at outdoor events. Attendees over 2 years old must wear a mask. High-quality masks are strongly recommended, such as N95 or KN95 masks without a vent. Extra high-quality masks will be provided at NSP events. Unacceptable face coverings include gaiters, bandanas, or similar. Masks must cover the nose and mouth entirely and be on for the duration of the event (with exceptions for food and drink, if outdoors).
- Children often have a difficult time being masked and will take off masks indoors to eat snacks. We want everyone to be aware that kids may not be masked, and know that parents are doing their best. Service leaders and speakers may unmask while leading if they receive a negative Covid test and maintain more than 6ft of distance.
- Indoor food and meals are mask-optional when clearly advertised and demarcated. Whenever weather and space considerations allow, potlucks and meals will be held outdoors. When meals are held indoors, we will have supplies prepared for a group to eat together outside.
- Rapid testing is required for all indoor meetings for attendees over 2 years old. Attendees are asked to take a rapid test shortly before attending indoor meetings and to only attend if their test result is negative. NSP will provide rapid tests at the event for attendees who have not tested.
- Masking at outdoor NSP events is not required and is optional for all participants.
- Members may not attend if they currently have any common symptoms of Covid-19, including cough, sneezing, fever, chills, or nausea. Members may not attend if they are waiting on the result of a Covid-19 PCR test due to possible or confirmed exposure to Covid-19 or have been exposed to someone with Covid-19 in the last 5 days.
- For those who wish to be socially distanced, we will have a social distancing section of the balcony in the sanctuary for all main services. Please keep at least 6 feet distance from others when in that space.