It’s the dog days of August, when the days are still long and hot. Many of us are on vacation or preparing to go away. It is still a time for barbecues, the beach, traveling, and relaxing by a pool. That is what summer is for.

For most people, the High Holidays, beginning this year at sundown on September 11, still seem far away. Few of us have begun any personal preparation for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. What is there to prepare for in early August?

I personally hate the thought of summer ending. To me, summer is one long, extended holiday. However, as the Security and Safety Coordinator for my synagogue, August has become a little less relaxed. While most people are still thinking about vacations, I am beginning to think about our High Holiday security posture.

Since October 7, 2023, the collective security awareness of the Jewish people has only intensified. The terrorist attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester, England, on Yom Kippur in 2025 is a reminder that these threats are not confined to any one country.

Protecting a synagogue during an ordinary Shabbat can already be challenging. The High Holidays add an entirely different level of complexity. Attendance may double or triple. Large numbers of people arrive and leave at the same time. Parking lots, sidewalks, lobbies, hallways, and playgrounds become congested. Synagogues may hold several services in different rooms or at different times, with children’s programs running alongside adult services, overflow spaces pressed into use for worship, and large groups gathering outdoors for Tashlich. For a few days each year, the building essentially operates as a different building. Synagogues also welcome people who may not have walked through their doors since the previous Yom Kippur. Congregants bring relatives, friends, college students, caregivers, and guests from out of town. Many may be unfamiliar to the synagogue’s guards, greeters, or volunteer security team members. Others may arrive without registering or forget their tickets. It happens every year.

These predictable challenges cannot be addressed effectively in the week before the holidays. There is simply too much to coordinate and too much at stake. No synagogue can plan for every possible contingency, but it can identify the most important security issues in advance and make sure the people responsible for them are working from the same plan. So where should that planning begin?

Leadership Comes First

Before schedules are finalized or assignments are made, synagogue leadership should decide who will oversee the plan, who has authority to make decisions if conditions change, and who will coordinate with police, guards, staff, ushers, and volunteer security team members. Simply having all those people present does not make them a team. Guards may not know the full-service schedule, volunteers may not understand the guards’ responsibilities, and police officers stationed outside may be unaware of programs taking place elsewhere in the building.

Hold a pre-holiday briefing with everyone who has a role. Begin by........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)