Here at CDT, we are committed to creating a High Holydays experience that is both meaningful and safe for all members of our community, with the guiding principle of protecting the most vulnerable among us. First and foremost, we are a community that takes care of one another.
Location
All of our services will be held at Gann Academy. Our main services will be located in the dining hall, which has excellent ventilation, doors that can be opened to provide cross ventilation, and high ceilings. Childcare and our tot services will be held in classrooms, and children's services will be held in the Beit Midrash.
Accessibility
All of our High Holyday programming at Gann Academy* is wheelchair accessible, and all livestreamed services will be live captioned. Please let us know if you have any food restrictions or accessibility needs (e.g. assisted listening device, mobility assistance, etc.) on the reservation form. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Inclusion Director Jess Green at inclusion@dorsheitzedek.org.
*The Yom Kippur guided nature walk takes place on conservation land adjacent to Gann Academy and is only partially wheelchair accessible.
There is a wheelchair accessible path into the conservation land that you may continue down if you choose, but the rest of the guided walk is through the woods.
COVID Protocols
We are conscious of both the desire and spiritual need to reconnect in person, as well as the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve. We hope that following these guidelines will allow is to be together safely, as a community.
We strongly encourage those attending our services and programs to be fully vaccinated, and we are mask-optional —masks are not required, but all should feel comfortable wearing a mask at our programs. We will continue to have spare masks available on site, and there will be a mask-only section reserved in our prayer space at Gann Academy. We encourage those interested in the mask-only section to indicate if they wish to sit there on the reservation form so that we can be sure reserve enough seats, but this is not required. Please note that by choosing to sit in the mask-only section, you are agreeing to remain masked for the entire service.
We ask that anyone exhibiting symptoms of a respiratory or gastrointestinal illnesses to please refrain from attending, even if testing negative for COVID, and that CDC guidelines be followed for those who have tested positive in recent days. Our complete current COVID policy can be found here.
In addition to the main room, the Beit Midrash has a capacity of 220 people and is set up with 150 chairs. This is a more relaxed space for folks of any age who may benefit from extra room to spread out or move around throughout the service. Using this space is completely optional.
We are Fragrance-Free
For the health of our community, we also ask that all those attending programs in person refrain from wearing fragrances, including perfume, hair and body sprays, and other scented products. These cause illness for some of our members, and we appreciate all of our members' and guests' efforts to keep our space fragrance-free.
Food and Allergens
Because of kashrut and COVID concerns, absolutely no food can be brought into Gann Academy from the outside. Snacks will be provided following children's services and at the Yom Kippur Breakfast. We offer a gluten free table and label food with additional allergens as needed.
Greetings
We are a diverse and inclusive community, with members who have a variety of relationships to eating, drinking, and fasting on Yom Kippur. We ask that you please keep this in mind before wishing someone an easy fast. For a guide to greeting one another, please see our "Welcoming One Another" document.
