68 Jason Rosenberg
Internet as overcoming the issue of distance, when it comes to prayer.
When discussing the possibility of including a person not physically presentin a zimmun ,the Talmud raises one other issue: Abaya says that a person can so be counted only if they called and he answered.” Even in this“lesser ritual,” two-way communication is essential. Once again, a halakhic point raises a relevant insight for us.
Being a part of a community is a reciprocal act. Being able to watch and listen in on a community is not the same as being a part of that community.
It is possible to have two-way communication via the Internet, but not the norm. Very often, that communication is of a very limited sort- sending simple messages in a chat window alongside the“video-feed,” for example. True multi-user video- conferencing is still uncommon, although it is getting easier to access in the past few years. But, even if that is possible, that is not what is done with livestreaming No one, whom I know has suggested putting virtual-.participants on a screen, so that everyone in the congregation can see and hear them! For now, and for the foreseeable future, participating in a livestreamed service is a unidirectional activity; you receive the service, but you donot give back. It would seem to be somewhat nonsensical to believe that someone can be a full part of a community, or a minyan, when they are only able to participate in such a limited way.