Powerful lessons Utah faith leaders have learned from their fathers
06/18/2020 07:06:48 PM
The best advice Rabbi Samuel L. Spector, of Congregation Kol Ami, ever received from his father came after a pretty girl broke his 17-year-old heart for the first time.
“One day she decided kind of out of the blue, ‘Oh, I don’t like this guy any more, I’m done with him,’” the rabbi said. “I was devastated.”
Feeling his son’s pain, Rabbi Spector’s father, Gary Spector, a successful pediatrician in Seattle, told his son that far too many of his male patients get dumped by a girlfriend, become depressed and lose their direction in life. Then came the lesson.
“If you do something like that,” his father said, “all you are doing is showing that person that she was right not to be with you because you threw your life away for her. The best way to respond to someone who has hurt you in life is to go on, be happy and be successful. Make something of yourself.”
That advice has always stayed with Rabbi Spector.
“Every time I’ve had to face adversity, a setback or somebody didn’t give me a chance, I’ve always pushed myself to overcome, to make something of myself, to be a happy and successful person,” he said. “Instead of people looking back and saying something like, ‘I’m glad I didn’t hire him,’ I want people to look back on me and say, ‘Wow, that guy really turned out to do some amazing things. Maybe I was too quick to judge.’”
Cathedral of the Madeleine is among the first churches in Utah to reopen amid COVID-19
05/13/2020 12:00:36 PM
Jewish, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist and Latter-day Saint congregations among those who are still waiting
Rabbi Samuel L. Spector of Congregation Kol Ami said his congregation is fortunate to have several epidemiologists and other health care experts who are willing to be part of a task force. They will council together and make a “responsible and informed choice” to return when the time is right.
“Our top priority is the health and safety of our congregants. That said, we are in no rush to reopen until we know that it is safe,” Rabbi Spector said. “I think we want to see what happens with the reopening of the state and if we see an increase in cases before we make any decisions.”
Utah churches can assemble again—and some will do so—but social distancing will be a must
05/07/2020 05:00:40 PM
The state has updated its guidelines for Utah’s churches and places of worship as COVID-19 restrictions begin to ease — if family groups physically distance themselves during services.
“Churches can resume operation,” Maj. Gen. Jeff Burton, the temporary head of the Utah Department of Health (UDOH), said in Wednesday’s regular media briefing. “However, the one nonnegotiable stipulation is the 6-foot social distancing required by the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention].”
Rabbi Samuel Spector said Salt Lake City’s Congregation Kol Ami is assembling a task force of epidemiologists and experts as consultants.
“We will reopen once we’re sure it’s safe for our congregants to be together,” he said. “Opening up right now before the situation is contained is a gamble. We want to wait and see how it pans out for others before we put our community members at risk. We look forward to reopening once we are sure it’s safe.”
Utah's houses of worship to get new guidance on when services can resume
05/05/2020 05:23:08 PM
Rabbi Sam Spector at Congregation Kol Ami said it was "to be determined" when their synagogue might re-open.
"Our most important holidays that bring about 1,000 people together are in September. On one hand, we would love for everybody to be together for that. On the other, putting 1,000 people in a room right now is a very scary idea," he told FOX 13.
Rabbi Spector said his congregation was fortunate to have some epidemiologists and health officials who have agreed to be a part of a task force on how they will re-open, when the time is right. In the meantime, they have been live streaming services for members to watch online.
"Traditionally in Judaism, we don’t use electricity on the Sabbath," he said. "We see that this is an extraordinary circumstance and Jewish law says the preservation of life overrides everything else, but we still want to keep people connected."
He said the online services draws hundreds of people logging on, which is something positive. A number of faith groups have launched online worship services. The Catholic Diocese broadcasts a live feed of mass from the empty Cathedral of the Madeleine on its YouTube channel; the Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake has been posting audio of its services as prayer services have been suspended; evangelical churches are utilizing Facebook Live and Zoom chats.
04/11/2020 09:00:52 PM
Utah’s Jewish community is the middle of Passover, the eight-day celebration of ancient freedom from slavery.
For a second night Seder Supper, two synagogues—Congregation Kol Ami in Salt Lake and Temple Har Shalom near Park City—joined for live-streaming on Zoom Thursday evening, and drew hundreds of people.
Rabbi Sam Spector says: "Whenever there has been something that has perhaps tried to change the course of Jewish ritual and Jewish observance, such as when the temple was burned down, we had to get creative, and we had to get innovative."
Spector added that the most important tenet of Jewish law is the protection of human life.
Wed, May 7 2025
9 Iyyar 5785
