Shabbat Shalom Everyone! 6/5/2020
Dear Kol Rinah Family,
I have been heartened throughout the last few weeks to hear from so many of you who have reached out to others, or gotten a thoughtful phone call, email, text message, or another form of communication from someone in the community or your circle of family and friends. These small gestures that keep us connected and buoy are spirits are beautiful and essential touch points in keeping us safe, healthy, and connected throughout this pandemic crisis.
Another incredible way people have consistently been getting together to recharge their mental, spiritual, and emotional health is through our minyanim over Zoom. At 7:00 am (8:00 am on Sundays) and 6:00 pm each day, people get together not only to pray, but to share a little piece of themselves and their lives with others. For me, this time together has been a lifeline in days that are often turbulent and tiring, and I know that the same has been true for many of you as well.
This past week, however, we have struggled to get a minyan, especially in the morning. We do have a few people who have put themselves out there, dropped what they were doing, and joined in the minyan when asked, and their selfless efforts are greatly appreciated. But building a community take all our help. If you can commit to signing in for minyan even once a week, or even every couple weeks, that would be a huge help.
As always, we will continue to look for new ways to connect with others and recover a sense of connection, calm, energy, and deep, spiritual presence. Whether it's a bit of learning, a minyan, or just a quick chat with Rabbi Arnow or I, or any other member of the community, we are all here together.
We also have a lot of wonderful ways to gather virtually together coming up this week!
Today at noon, Rabbi Arnow will be teaching Torah Talk, taking a deep dive into the parashah. (Links for everything are at the end of the email.)
Tonight at 6:00 pm we'll have mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat. It's a sweet way to bring in Shabbat. Candle lighting is at 8:05 pm, and Shabbat ends at 9:09 pm.
Sunday at 11:30 am, we will be hosting an incredible panel discussion on the Medicaid expansion ballot proposition that will be coming to a vote on the upcoming November ballot in Missouri. A number of medical and policy experts will be discussing how this change could affect our community and the entire state, and the dramatic effect such a measure could have to so many people in need of affordable, decent healthcare.
In addition, we have amazing learning opportunities every Sunday this month. Please take a look at the calendar below and check out some of the other amazing virtual gatherings we will be offering in June below.
This Monday, June 8 at 7:00 pm, Rabbi Arnow and Pastor Carlos Smith from the Journey will be teaching about the many ways justice is central in the teachings of both the Jewish and Christian traditions, as well as what the voices of our shared past can teach each of us today. Please register in advance by following the link here .
And now for a little Torah...
One of my favorite pieces of our Jewish tradition is the way that a blessing, a sacred formula of words, can be used to create space for holiness and meaning. You can take something as completely ordinary and commonplace as eating or something as extraordinary and majestic as the birth of a child and create space for thoughtful reflection, gratitude, and love by setting aside a moment to pause and bless these moments.
And in Parashat Naso, we find one of the oldest and most powerful blessings in our Jewish tradition. The Priestly Blessing (Birkat Kohanim) was once used by leaders to bless the assembled community during significant milestones, a purpose it still serves to this day. It is composed of a simple, three-line formula which seems to invoke God's name in order to sanctify a moment, bring holiness into an assembled communty space, and call on the Holy Blessed One to help us build a better, safer, more compassionate future:
Years ago, a teacher of mine pointed out that since, in the Hebrew, the lines of this prayer have three, five, and seven words respectively, you can line them up so that the middle words of each line connect. If you do so, you find that the words "יי פניו אליך" (Adonai Panav Eleicha, meaning "May the face of God be upon you"), connects both horizontally and vertically (see above). In that way, it resembles a compass that you would find on a map. It is a reminder that God's presence is everywhere, found wherever it is invited in, and guiding us on our journey through life. In that way, everytime we invoke God's name in our blessings, our learning, our love, and our just actions in this world, God's presence can be felt there.
Over the past week, it has felt difficult to pause. The protests that have sprung up in reaction not only to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, but also to the continued oppression of black people and communites in America and the inequality inherent in our justice system, have been filled with pain and anguish, loss and anger. And yet, to see the diversity of faces, backgrounds, ages, races, religions, and communities that have shown up to call for a system that truly treats all people equally has been inspiring.
Having been on Zoom calls with community organizers and present at protests, like the one that took place last night in Brentwood, I am inspired by all of the people who raised themselves out of their homes, out of their bubbles of safety, and put themseleves and their bodies at risk to fight for justice, for their familes, neighbors, friends, and communities, and to have their voices heard. And in the midst of that public outcry of personal and communal anguish, I saw flashes of God's presence.
I pray that God will bless each person in our land with a world that sees us all, and treasures the Divine Image that is reflected in each of us.
I pray that God's face will shine down on each of us, illuminating our way forward to a brighter future.
I pray that God will raise up our struggles for freedom and justice so that we may one day live together in fellowship and freedom, in love and peace.
Ken Yehi Ratzon, may this be God's will.
Shabbat Shalom, and see you on Zoom,
Rabbi Scott Shafrin
I have been heartened throughout the last few weeks to hear from so many of you who have reached out to others, or gotten a thoughtful phone call, email, text message, or another form of communication from someone in the community or your circle of family and friends. These small gestures that keep us connected and buoy are spirits are beautiful and essential touch points in keeping us safe, healthy, and connected throughout this pandemic crisis.
Another incredible way people have consistently been getting together to recharge their mental, spiritual, and emotional health is through our minyanim over Zoom. At 7:00 am (8:00 am on Sundays) and 6:00 pm each day, people get together not only to pray, but to share a little piece of themselves and their lives with others. For me, this time together has been a lifeline in days that are often turbulent and tiring, and I know that the same has been true for many of you as well.
This past week, however, we have struggled to get a minyan, especially in the morning. We do have a few people who have put themselves out there, dropped what they were doing, and joined in the minyan when asked, and their selfless efforts are greatly appreciated. But building a community take all our help. If you can commit to signing in for minyan even once a week, or even every couple weeks, that would be a huge help.
As always, we will continue to look for new ways to connect with others and recover a sense of connection, calm, energy, and deep, spiritual presence. Whether it's a bit of learning, a minyan, or just a quick chat with Rabbi Arnow or I, or any other member of the community, we are all here together.
We also have a lot of wonderful ways to gather virtually together coming up this week!
Today at noon, Rabbi Arnow will be teaching Torah Talk, taking a deep dive into the parashah. (Links for everything are at the end of the email.)
Tonight at 6:00 pm we'll have mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat. It's a sweet way to bring in Shabbat. Candle lighting is at 8:05 pm, and Shabbat ends at 9:09 pm.
Sunday at 11:30 am, we will be hosting an incredible panel discussion on the Medicaid expansion ballot proposition that will be coming to a vote on the upcoming November ballot in Missouri. A number of medical and policy experts will be discussing how this change could affect our community and the entire state, and the dramatic effect such a measure could have to so many people in need of affordable, decent healthcare.
In addition, we have amazing learning opportunities every Sunday this month. Please take a look at the calendar below and check out some of the other amazing virtual gatherings we will be offering in June below.
This Monday, June 8 at 7:00 pm, Rabbi Arnow and Pastor Carlos Smith from the Journey will be teaching about the many ways justice is central in the teachings of both the Jewish and Christian traditions, as well as what the voices of our shared past can teach each of us today. Please register in advance by following the link here .
And now for a little Torah...
One of my favorite pieces of our Jewish tradition is the way that a blessing, a sacred formula of words, can be used to create space for holiness and meaning. You can take something as completely ordinary and commonplace as eating or something as extraordinary and majestic as the birth of a child and create space for thoughtful reflection, gratitude, and love by setting aside a moment to pause and bless these moments.
And in Parashat Naso, we find one of the oldest and most powerful blessings in our Jewish tradition. The Priestly Blessing (Birkat Kohanim) was once used by leaders to bless the assembled community during significant milestones, a purpose it still serves to this day. It is composed of a simple, three-line formula which seems to invoke God's name in order to sanctify a moment, bring holiness into an assembled communty space, and call on the Holy Blessed One to help us build a better, safer, more compassionate future:
Years ago, a teacher of mine pointed out that since, in the Hebrew, the lines of this prayer have three, five, and seven words respectively, you can line them up so that the middle words of each line connect. If you do so, you find that the words "יי פניו אליך" (Adonai Panav Eleicha, meaning "May the face of God be upon you"), connects both horizontally and vertically (see above). In that way, it resembles a compass that you would find on a map. It is a reminder that God's presence is everywhere, found wherever it is invited in, and guiding us on our journey through life. In that way, everytime we invoke God's name in our blessings, our learning, our love, and our just actions in this world, God's presence can be felt there.
Over the past week, it has felt difficult to pause. The protests that have sprung up in reaction not only to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, but also to the continued oppression of black people and communites in America and the inequality inherent in our justice system, have been filled with pain and anguish, loss and anger. And yet, to see the diversity of faces, backgrounds, ages, races, religions, and communities that have shown up to call for a system that truly treats all people equally has been inspiring.
Having been on Zoom calls with community organizers and present at protests, like the one that took place last night in Brentwood, I am inspired by all of the people who raised themselves out of their homes, out of their bubbles of safety, and put themseleves and their bodies at risk to fight for justice, for their familes, neighbors, friends, and communities, and to have their voices heard. And in the midst of that public outcry of personal and communal anguish, I saw flashes of God's presence.
I pray that God will bless each person in our land with a world that sees us all, and treasures the Divine Image that is reflected in each of us.
I pray that God's face will shine down on each of us, illuminating our way forward to a brighter future.
I pray that God will raise up our struggles for freedom and justice so that we may one day live together in fellowship and freedom, in love and peace.
Ken Yehi Ratzon, may this be God's will.
Shabbat Shalom, and see you on Zoom,
Rabbi Scott Shafrin
Tue, May 6 2025
8 Iyyar 5785
MISSION: Create a welcoming community that embraces Torah, meaningful worship, lifelong learning, music, Israel, and tikkun olam, guided by the tenets of Conservative Judaism.
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Mornings- M, T, W, F 7am & Sun 8am.
Evenings- Sun-Th 6pm.
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Thursday mornings 7am are in-person only.
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Monday – Thursday 9am to 5pm
Friday 9am – 3pm
Phone: 314-727-1747
Friday 9am – 3pm
Phone: 314-727-1747
Tue, May 6 2025 8 Iyyar 5785