(email sent 3/15/2020)

Dear treasured RSNS and Gan Shalom families,

Out of a desire to prioritize pikuach nefesh - the preservation of life - we are following the guidance of government and health officials, who urge social distancing, even among healthy, asymptomatic individuals, as a way to “flatten the curve,” and hopefully slow the spread of Covid-19 and also reduce the burden on our country's crucial pandemic response system.

This means that all in-building programming at RSNS will be cancelled through Sunday, March 29. (Please note, there will be online options available for items with a ** The specifics for online engagement for each program will be communicated directly to participants.)

Here is a list of what is cancelled in the building for the next two weeks:

-All Gan Shalom classes
-All Synagogue School classes (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, B'yachad)**
-Kadima class**
-Design committee 
-Board meeting**
-RSNS Poker Night (will be rescheduled)
-Bible Seminar**
-Yoga
-Gan Shalom Shabbat Dinner
-Friday Night Services**
-B’nei Mitzvah**
-Or Hadash
-Concert: A Bird Over Jerusalem (will be rescheduled)
-Parenting workshop**
-Girls Rosh Hodesh & Bro's Hodesh**
-Tuneful Tuesdays
-Adopt-a-Survivor**
-Ritual Advisory Committee 
-Congregational Dinner
-Shabbat Seminar**
-Looking ahead, we are also cancelling the Gan Shalom Parents’ Night Out, and the Women’s Seder

For the Concert, Gan Shalom Shabbat Dinner, Women’s Seder, and Parents’ Night Out, payments already made for these events will be applied to balances on your account. If there is no open balance, the credit will remain on your account and applied to future charges. If you have any specific questions about these credits, you can direct them to  info@rsns.org. 

We realize for a community that values belonging as much as we do, this necessary step represents an intense challenge for all of us. So, we leave you with this image: Many of you are probably familiar with the thin wire that is strung around many large Jewish communities in order for those who are strictly Shabbat observant to be able to treat their entire community as a “private domain,” so that they can carry items without violating the laws of Shabbat. This wire is called an eruv, the same word found in the famous quote from the Talmud: Kol Yisrael arevim zeh ba zeh - All of the Jewish people are bound together, each to the other. Our intention, during this period of physical separation, is for all of us to feel surrounded by the love and support we feel for one another, and for our Jewish lives, which are still bound together by caring and common purpose, even at a distance.

Please know you can reach out to our president, clergy, and nursery school director at any time, with any questions or concerns, or just to say hi!

With much love,
Rhya (ganshalom@rsns.org, 516-680-6928)
Eric (cantoreric@RSNS.org, 917-312-6725)
Lee (rabbiLee@rsns.org, 516-302-5221)
Jodie (rabbijodie@rsns.org, 516-314-7101)
Jon (jonathan.paisner@gmail.com, 516-835-6093)