J. (SAN FRANCISCO) -- In Marin County, Marc Dollinger was all set to host the fifth outdoor service of the High Holiday season on Monday in his San Rafael backyard. The professor of Jewish Studies at San Francisco State University, with his wife, Marci, had used the space to host The Kitchen’s Rosh Hashanah eve service, both days of Rosh Hashanah, and Kol Nidre.
But when Dollinger, one of the co-founders of the indie congregation in San Francisco, stepped outside on Yom Kippur morning, he knew he’d have to change plans.
“As people were driving here, I walked outside and smelled smoke,” he said in a phone call Tuesday. Smoke had wafted into the county from nearby wildfires, creating unhealthy air conditions.
So Dollinger improvised in a season that has required more improvisation than any before. He invited the leaders and hosts of the service — including Kitchen Rabbis Noa Kushner and Jessica Kate Meyer — into his living room, where the Yom Kippur service went on, broadcast to more than 400 households via livestream.