Mill Hill Synagogue minister Rabbi Yitzchak Schochet and his wife Chani were not in shul over Simchat Torah, having tested positive for Covid.

“I’ve watched the nasty side of this virus and I’ve seen the way it’s wreaked havoc with people’s lives,” he wrote on Facebook. “So I take it in perspective when I have symptoms.” It was the first Simchat Torah in 56 years that he would not be in shul.

“My father often said to me: ‘Yitzchak, you don’t need to drink many l’chaims to generate simchah [joy]. True joy should come from within.’ Well, this year I’ll be dancing by myself and digging deep for that joy [with possibly a l’chaim or two as well].”