Wait to resume services, then proceed carefully, Orthodox Jews are told

(JTA) — When Rabbi Moshe Hauer last week told Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top health advisor, that synagogues wouldn’t let congregants sit within 8 feet of each other once services resume, he wasn’t just making a joke about Jews’ tendency toward closeness.

He was also previewing a set of formal guidelines that the organization he helps lead, the Orthodox Union, would release just a day later.

With the Rabbinical Council of America, the Orthodox Union on Friday released a 13-point guide for gradual and controlled reopening of synagogues under their supervision. The guide comes as some state...