The 5 Towns Jewish Times December 14, 2020 Responding to the challenges that many smaller Orthodox Jewish shuls are experiencing in engaging and growing their communities during the pandemic, the Orthodox Union’s Pepa and Rabbi Joseph Karasick Department of Synagogue & Community Services recently convened rabbinic and lay leadership from more than 21 smaller Orthodox communities to virtually discuss and collaborate on strategies to help them unite and ignite their synagogues throughout turbulent times where communal physical gatherings in their buildings have been on pause for close to nine months. A major challenge many communities are concerned about is how to bring their small backyard minyanim back into the brick-and-mortar sanctuary, as many are worried that participants have grown increasingly comfortable in these small settings.