A practical guide to sharing your simchah on screens near and far

It’s one of the only good things to have come out of the coronavirus pandemic.

Living out of town with several small children, I end up missing too many family simchahs, and I so appreciated being able to participate remotely, with the aid of technology, during lockdown. From the comfort of my own dining room table, I attended a cousin’s bar mitzvah in Lakewood, and even two simchahs that took place in Eretz Yisrael. Mazel tov!

As virtual participation is becoming more common, here’s to hoping that even with the end of COVID-19, bimheirah v’yameinu amein, these long-distance options for those who cannot attend in person become mainstream.

But which platform should you use? There’s Zoom, GoToMeeting, and RingMe for collaborative sharing. There’s livestream.com, YouTube, Vimeo, and others for streaming. If you are making a simchah and have thought about virtual guests, here are some pros and cons of three commonly used platforms.

Zoom

When Shulamis Frank and her chassan got married in Chicago during lockdown, they offered a Zoom option to overflow guests. They chose Zoom because it was the platform most people are familiar with, and say that while there were some disappointments, they and their guests are happy with their selection.

Because the free Zoom option only allows for 100 meeting participants,Shulamis upgraded her account for a nominal cost. At the wedding,Shulamis signed in and then handed the account to her videographer, who took over from there. Guests who joined the wedding over Zoom appreciated the front-row seat to the chuppah, courtesy of the videographer. But one of the best parts, say both Shulamis and her guests, was that during the wedding, the chassan and kallah came over to the monitor and said a personal hello to each virtual participant. That was possible, because in Zoom meeting mode, all participants are able to see the host and one another.

That was one of the perks of the Zoom bar mitzvah I attended, which took place in the family’s dining room right after Pesach. We heard the bar mitzvah boy’s speech, and were privileged to hear from both grandfathers as well. And we got to see all our cousins! (Not telling which was my kids’ favorite part.) Each family was alone in their respective houses, but turning the cameras around made it seem like we all participated in one choreographed dance.