Monday, / October 20, 2025

To Pray Alone: Days of Awe in the Age of Covid-19

At home in Jerusalem, a son observes his father in prayer.
By

On a normal year, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, also known as the Days of Awe, send streams of people into synagogue—including those who typically stay away—for formal services, seeking atonement and blessings for a new year of life. Can the Chasidic approach to prayer help us prepare for the prospect of davening (praying) without a shul during the High Holidays?

Marc Zell was used to traveling, just not like this. The American-Israeli is an international lawyer, and it was his work in political consulting that brought him to Myanmar in March of this year.

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