Kol Ami News

Using technology for services posed a real dilemma for Rabbi Samuel Spector of Salt Lake City’s Congregation Kol Ami.

The state’s largest synagogue is a blend of Conservative and Reform Jews, and Judaism has strict guidelines against using electronics on Shabbat. At the same time, holding prayer services with fewer than 10 people is also prohibited.

But Utah’s governor had asked people not to gather in groups of 10 or more. Was this an extraordinary enough circumstance to buck the guidelines about electronics and could those who tuned in to watch a livestream be counted among the required minyan?

After much debate within the community, Spector decided to stream the service from inside the synagogue with only himself and the cantor there in person.

“What we were doing was putting public safety first,” he says, “while still trying to maintain our Jewish values.”

To the young rabbi’s surprise and delight, the effort “went phenomenally well,” Spector says. “Hundreds of people are tuning in to our services from all over the country.”

Some who aren’t Jewish watched it just because they were curious about the service, he says. One made a $500 donation to Kol Ami to support the cost of streaming.

It’s tough for Jews from Logan to Provo and Price to worship in Salt Lake City regularly, he says. Many of them told Spector: “I can finally pray with my community.”

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