When Rabbi Allan C. Tuffs leads Rosh Hashana services Friday night, he hopes his message of community and worship carries far beyond the seats of Temple Beth El in Hollywood -- maybe even as far as Iraq.

Just in time for the start of the Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the 52-year old Reform synagogue will start live streaming its services from its website.

Though two Miami-Dade synagogues have been streaming audio over the Web for a few years, this marks the first time a South Florida temple will broadcast video over the Internet.

``It's very important to include as many people as possible who might otherwise not be included,'' Tuffs said. ``People in nursing homes, people who are homebound, as well as men and women in uniform serving abroad: They all deserve the chance to worship for the High Holidays.''

While Christian denominations have long used radio, television and the Internet as a pulpit to reach a wider audience, the practice is a relatively new concept among South Florida's Jewish community, where many Conservative and Orthodox Jews emphasize the importance of building a community by attending worship services.

``People always have that option,'' said Ellen Goldberg with the Jewish Federation of Miami-Dade County.

``It's not the same to experience the richness and the experience of holidays. You want to have a seat at the table. It's a communal experience. To be Jewish is to be part of a community, especially at this time of the year.''

The idea for Temple Beth El to start its own live-streaming service began when congregant Barry Kaplowitz, an Aventura-based psychologist, worried that his homebound elderly parents would miss services because of their health.

Kaplowitz donated nearly $30,000 to install the necessary equipment in the synagogue -- including a remote control-operated robotic camera, and a control room equipped with four screens to capture the different angles of the worship room.

The synagogue has advertised its online services in Stars and Stripes, a U.S. military publication distributed to soldiers overseas, in the hope of reaching out to soldiers who may have access to the Internet but not necessarily a local synagogue.

``In this really chaotic world that is lacking spirituality, we're hoping this online connection will be able to help people connect to their faith and spirituality,'' Kaplowitz said.

While Temple Beth El is the first to stream video on its site -- templebethelhollywood.org -- the idea is not entirely new.

Temple Israel has been streaming audio over its website, templeisrael.net, and radio for the past five years, and Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus in North Miami Beach also started streaming audio on its website btbrc.org last year.

``We're reaching people all over the world,'' said Rabbi Jody Cohen of Temple Israel in Miami. ``You could be a Jew living in a place where there is not a large Jewish population, or where there is not a temple, but if you have access to our online service, you are part of our temple family, you are part of a community.''

The free online services may also offer an option to Jews weathering the tough economy, who perhaps can't afford the hundreds of dollars in dues often charged to attend services.

The three synagogues are not alone in their attempt to use the World Wide Web to capture followers. Last year, two Cleveland-based rabbis startedOurjewishcommunity.org, which offers video streams of services, blogs and tweets from the rabbis and online forums.

The site has had more than 10,000 visitors since starting up last September, said Rabbi Laura Baum, one of two presiding over the site.

``Traditional models only speak to a minority of people,'' Baum said in a phone interview. ``We wanted to find a way to bring Judaism to where they are.''

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