Shabbat Shalom from Rabbi Arnow 6/26/2020
Dear Kol Rinah Family,
We are all living through this time of uncertainty, used to social distancing on the one hand, wondering when things will ever return to the old normal on the other. We're thinking about race, and politics, and justice, health, finances, the economy, the environment--there's a lot on our minds.
I want to remind everyone that there are many resources available for anyone struggling, with loneliness, with mental health, with finances, and with much more. If you or someone you know could use some support at this time, please let Rabbi Shafrin or me know so we can use some of our resources, and find the best ways to support and help.
Two other important things to mention.
First, this is a pikuach nefesh (saving a life) opportunity from our member Alan Rosenberg:
We are all living through this time of uncertainty, used to social distancing on the one hand, wondering when things will ever return to the old normal on the other. We're thinking about race, and politics, and justice, health, finances, the economy, the environment--there's a lot on our minds.
I want to remind everyone that there are many resources available for anyone struggling, with loneliness, with mental health, with finances, and with much more. If you or someone you know could use some support at this time, please let Rabbi Shafrin or me know so we can use some of our resources, and find the best ways to support and help.
Two other important things to mention.
First, this is a pikuach nefesh (saving a life) opportunity from our member Alan Rosenberg:
A dear friend of ours, Richard (Dick) Fine, is in need of a kidney ASAP! Unfortunately, so far no one in his family is eligible to be a donor for him. So if you’ve ever considered being a donor, this would be a great time to start the process. Without a donor, there is a 3-5 year waiting list. If someone is a match, it can be done very soon. If a donor is not a match for him, they are likely to be a match for someone else & that person may have a donor who would be a match for Dick. If you’re considering being a donor, please call the Transplant Center at The Center for Advanced Medicine (314) 362-5365 and mention that you want to donate a kidney for Richard Fine. Thank you.
Second, we are so excited that our new building is getting so close to opening, going through inspections and punch lists and the like. I know we all can't wait for it to be finished, and to be able to come see it. It is still not yet open to the public though, so please do not go to visit without making arrangements with Barbara Shamir (directors@kolrinahstl.org) first. This is both for your own safety, as it is still a work zone, and also so as not to disrupt the work and the workers who are there. Thanks so much for your help with this.
Tonight, we'll have mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat with Karen Kern, Rabbi Shafrin and me at 6pm. (All the links for Zoom services and learning are at the bottom of this email.)
Shabbat starts at 8:11pm and ends Saturday night at 9:17pm.
Minyan continues every morning and evening except Saturday, and we'd love your help, especially in the morning, to help make minyan, from the comfort of your own home.
Sunday at 4:30pm, Phyllis Hyken will be teaching on music from the Holocaust, and we're hard at work on a new set of learning for Sundays in July.
And now for a little Torah...
Miracles can be hard work. Or at least noticing them in their fullness can be hard.
To convince the Israelites that God really does want the Levites to have a special role in Israelite society and worship, God tells Moses to take a staff from each tribe, put it in the tent of meeting, and then in the morning, one staff has sprouted, flowered and grown ripened almonds. Which staff? Aaron's, from the tribe of Levi, of course.
But what exactly was the miracle here? Just that almonds grew very quickly? Or that a dry piece of wood sprouted? One commentator, Abarbanel, describes four different miracles that happen here, including these two, but also that the buds/sprouts, flowers and fruit (the almonds) were all on the tree at the same time, which ordinarily wouldn't happen--the flowers would usually fall off before the fruit emerges.
Noticing these kinds details in a process, and that something unusual is happening takes some familiarity with the normal pattern, and close observation to note the miraculous deviation from the norm.
If we break down so many of the ordinary things we do in a given day, like getting dressed, when we have a disability, that simple act of dressing may become so many parts--each button on a shirt becomes a separate thing to do. And our appreciation of the entire process grows, and to be able to do it without attention becomes miraculous. (Thanks to Leora Spitzer for this observation in Torah Talk earlier today!)
Where are the places in your life and in our world right now that, as you look closely, you're noticing patterns that are atypical, and really good--maybe even miraculous? And what are the things that feel so hard now that being able to do them without intense focus would seem miraculous?
Shabbat shalom and see you on Zoom,
Rabbi Noah Arnow
Second, we are so excited that our new building is getting so close to opening, going through inspections and punch lists and the like. I know we all can't wait for it to be finished, and to be able to come see it. It is still not yet open to the public though, so please do not go to visit without making arrangements with Barbara Shamir (directors@kolrinahstl.org) first. This is both for your own safety, as it is still a work zone, and also so as not to disrupt the work and the workers who are there. Thanks so much for your help with this.
Tonight, we'll have mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat with Karen Kern, Rabbi Shafrin and me at 6pm. (All the links for Zoom services and learning are at the bottom of this email.)
Shabbat starts at 8:11pm and ends Saturday night at 9:17pm.
Minyan continues every morning and evening except Saturday, and we'd love your help, especially in the morning, to help make minyan, from the comfort of your own home.
Sunday at 4:30pm, Phyllis Hyken will be teaching on music from the Holocaust, and we're hard at work on a new set of learning for Sundays in July.
And now for a little Torah...
Miracles can be hard work. Or at least noticing them in their fullness can be hard.
To convince the Israelites that God really does want the Levites to have a special role in Israelite society and worship, God tells Moses to take a staff from each tribe, put it in the tent of meeting, and then in the morning, one staff has sprouted, flowered and grown ripened almonds. Which staff? Aaron's, from the tribe of Levi, of course.
But what exactly was the miracle here? Just that almonds grew very quickly? Or that a dry piece of wood sprouted? One commentator, Abarbanel, describes four different miracles that happen here, including these two, but also that the buds/sprouts, flowers and fruit (the almonds) were all on the tree at the same time, which ordinarily wouldn't happen--the flowers would usually fall off before the fruit emerges.
Noticing these kinds details in a process, and that something unusual is happening takes some familiarity with the normal pattern, and close observation to note the miraculous deviation from the norm.
If we break down so many of the ordinary things we do in a given day, like getting dressed, when we have a disability, that simple act of dressing may become so many parts--each button on a shirt becomes a separate thing to do. And our appreciation of the entire process grows, and to be able to do it without attention becomes miraculous. (Thanks to Leora Spitzer for this observation in Torah Talk earlier today!)
Where are the places in your life and in our world right now that, as you look closely, you're noticing patterns that are atypical, and really good--maybe even miraculous? And what are the things that feel so hard now that being able to do them without intense focus would seem miraculous?
Shabbat shalom and see you on Zoom,
Rabbi Noah Arnow
Tue, May 6 2025
8 Iyyar 5785
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