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Worship in the Cloud 63
was given. According to at least one knowledgeable lawyer, we are in an unclear area of the law here, and so there is no definitive answer, yet). But, unless and until its legality is firmly established, it would seem to be incumbent on our congregations, and our clergy, to ensure compliance with the law, especially during our most sacred acts.
Again, this paper is not a responsum. It is not my intent to rule on whether or not a congregation is allowed to live stream their services. However, the above discussion makes it clear that it is, at the very least, reasonable for a congregation to choose to do so. Once they decide to livestream their services, what exactly are they streaming? Can we say that what is going out over the Internet, and what is being received by those on the other end, constitutes true prayer?
One close analog in the traditional literature can be found in a Talmudic discussion"about hearing the echo of a shofar. The sages rule that a person who hears only the echo of the shofar sound, but not the sound directly from the shofar itself, has not fulfilled their obligation to hear the shofar. In other words, there is a difference between direct sound and what we might call“secondary sound.”That would imply that the sounds which are heard over an Internet connection are not the same as the sounds which are heard while sitting in synagogue, even if they sound the same to the listener.
The halakhah reflects this understanding when ruling about participating in a service from a distance. The Shulhan Arukh®