Shabbat Shalom from Rabbi Arnow 7/17/2020
Dear Kol Rinah Family,
Some of us are getting out, getting away. And some of us are going stir crazy at home. Some of us have everything and everyone we need at home, and some of us haven't had physical contact, a hug or even a handshake, with another human being, in more than four months. Some of us are very ready to start having synagogue services and events in person (with social distancing and masks as appropriate), and others are not feeling safe and ready, even with whatever precautions we could reasonably take. Some of us really like having services, learning, meetings and other events on Zoom. And others don't have the technology or comfort to use Zoom, just don't like it, or are on Zoom all day long for work and don't want to spend another moment on Zoom.
This is all to say, there are so many different ways this experience and time is hard, and we need to be and so often are sensitive and open to the different experiences people are having.
I invite you to share with me what's feeling hard for you right now, what kinds of in-person things would feel comfortable to you now or soon (if any), what kinds of online experiences are working, how they could be better, and what else could we be doing. I can't promise that we can do any of this, but your thoughtfulness, creativity, and help can only make things better and help us weather this difficult time.
I miss seeing you all in person, whether for a conversation, a quick wave, a short check-in, or a passing smile. If you'd like to talk and catch up, just respond to this email and let me know.
It may not be right away though. Rabbi Shafrin has been taking a "staycation" this week, and I'll be "staycationing" next week, trying to recharge and be a little more present for my family for a few days.
Today at noon, I'll be teaching Torah Talk, where we'll be looking at some material on the Israelites taking vengeance on the Midianites, thinking about how biblical revenge is "done right." (All the Zoom links are at the bottom of this email.)
At 6pm, we'll have mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat. Candle lighting is at 8:05pm, and Shabbat ends at 9:09pm.
Sunday morning at 10am there's Havdalah, and at 11:30am, Burton Boxerman will be teaching in our Zoom and Learn series about the St. Louis Jewish community's response to the rise of Hitler.
One note: we are cancelling our absentee ballot notarization event this Sunday afternoon, but...
Request your absentee ballot by Monday, July 20 at www.MOVote.org if you want to vote absentee for the August 4 primary election, which has Medicaid Expansion on the ballot.
You will NOT be required to get your ballot notarized if you select Reason #2 (confined due to illness/caretaker) or Reason #7 (65+ or another at-risk category for COVID-19). If neither of those reasons applies to you and you are Jewish, you may select the religious reason, according to Missouri rabbinic leaders. The religious reason WILL require you to get your ballot notarized. Notaries are not allowed to charge to notarize ballots, so you can get your ballot notarized at your bank for free. If you need help finding a notary, please let me know.
Minyan continues, and it's been so nice to have a range of people joining us for minyan, whether just to say hi and pray, or for a yahrzeit, whether from near or far.
A special minyan milestone for my family and me was Wednesday evening when my son Caleb led mincha, as he just turned 13 on the Jewish calendar and counted in a minyan for the first time. Needless to say, Tammy and I were very proud.
And now for a little Torah...
Imagine someone sad to you, "Do this thing, and when you finish it, you're going to die" (not as a result of the thing, but when you finish it, your time will be up). Would you hurry to do the thing, or would you be a little pokey about it? What if it's God who says it to you?
This is the situation Moses finds himself in. God tells him, "Avenge the Israelite people on the Midianites; then you shall be gathered to your kin" (Numbers 31:2). Nonetheless, he hurries to fulfill this mitzvah, says Rashi--that's how selfless and pious Moses is.
But that's not the only view of why Moses immediately begins to do what God commands, even though it seems it will hasten his death. Perhaps Moses is hoping that God will change God's mind and annul God's promise that Moses will not enter the land of Israel. Why would this even occur to Moses (or the commentator who suggests this possibility, Rabbi Avraham Saba, who was exiled from Spain in 1492, in his Toldot Yitzchak)?
Well, the immediately preceding section of Torah (Numbers 30) is all about the making and annulling of vows. So Moses had vows on the brain, and there is a "well-known" principal of biblical interpretation called in Hebrew semichut parshiyot, which basically means that we (can) interpret one section of Torah based on what it's immediately adjacent to and juxtaposed with. And what happens to Moses? He seems to live a while longer--at least for his entire long speech of Deuteronomy, although he doesn't get to enter the land of Israel.
The reality is that none of know how much more time we have on this earth. Are there things that you need to finish, or at least start? Are there promises you need to make good on, or promises that you need to say don't need to be kept--whether your own, or someone else's?
May we, like Moses, have a deep sense of purpose in what we do (per Rashi), and maintain hope even when things seem bleak, that we have more life to live, more love to give, as Moses also did (per Toldot Yitzchak).
Shabbat shalom and see you on Zoom,
Rabbi Noah Arnow
Some of us are getting out, getting away. And some of us are going stir crazy at home. Some of us have everything and everyone we need at home, and some of us haven't had physical contact, a hug or even a handshake, with another human being, in more than four months. Some of us are very ready to start having synagogue services and events in person (with social distancing and masks as appropriate), and others are not feeling safe and ready, even with whatever precautions we could reasonably take. Some of us really like having services, learning, meetings and other events on Zoom. And others don't have the technology or comfort to use Zoom, just don't like it, or are on Zoom all day long for work and don't want to spend another moment on Zoom.
This is all to say, there are so many different ways this experience and time is hard, and we need to be and so often are sensitive and open to the different experiences people are having.
I invite you to share with me what's feeling hard for you right now, what kinds of in-person things would feel comfortable to you now or soon (if any), what kinds of online experiences are working, how they could be better, and what else could we be doing. I can't promise that we can do any of this, but your thoughtfulness, creativity, and help can only make things better and help us weather this difficult time.
I miss seeing you all in person, whether for a conversation, a quick wave, a short check-in, or a passing smile. If you'd like to talk and catch up, just respond to this email and let me know.
It may not be right away though. Rabbi Shafrin has been taking a "staycation" this week, and I'll be "staycationing" next week, trying to recharge and be a little more present for my family for a few days.
Today at noon, I'll be teaching Torah Talk, where we'll be looking at some material on the Israelites taking vengeance on the Midianites, thinking about how biblical revenge is "done right." (All the Zoom links are at the bottom of this email.)
At 6pm, we'll have mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat. Candle lighting is at 8:05pm, and Shabbat ends at 9:09pm.
Sunday morning at 10am there's Havdalah, and at 11:30am, Burton Boxerman will be teaching in our Zoom and Learn series about the St. Louis Jewish community's response to the rise of Hitler.
One note: we are cancelling our absentee ballot notarization event this Sunday afternoon, but...
Request your absentee ballot by Monday, July 20 at www.MOVote.org if you want to vote absentee for the August 4 primary election, which has Medicaid Expansion on the ballot.
You will NOT be required to get your ballot notarized if you select Reason #2 (confined due to illness/caretaker) or Reason #7 (65+ or another at-risk category for COVID-19). If neither of those reasons applies to you and you are Jewish, you may select the religious reason, according to Missouri rabbinic leaders. The religious reason WILL require you to get your ballot notarized. Notaries are not allowed to charge to notarize ballots, so you can get your ballot notarized at your bank for free. If you need help finding a notary, please let me know.
Minyan continues, and it's been so nice to have a range of people joining us for minyan, whether just to say hi and pray, or for a yahrzeit, whether from near or far.
A special minyan milestone for my family and me was Wednesday evening when my son Caleb led mincha, as he just turned 13 on the Jewish calendar and counted in a minyan for the first time. Needless to say, Tammy and I were very proud.
And now for a little Torah...
Imagine someone sad to you, "Do this thing, and when you finish it, you're going to die" (not as a result of the thing, but when you finish it, your time will be up). Would you hurry to do the thing, or would you be a little pokey about it? What if it's God who says it to you?
This is the situation Moses finds himself in. God tells him, "Avenge the Israelite people on the Midianites; then you shall be gathered to your kin" (Numbers 31:2). Nonetheless, he hurries to fulfill this mitzvah, says Rashi--that's how selfless and pious Moses is.
But that's not the only view of why Moses immediately begins to do what God commands, even though it seems it will hasten his death. Perhaps Moses is hoping that God will change God's mind and annul God's promise that Moses will not enter the land of Israel. Why would this even occur to Moses (or the commentator who suggests this possibility, Rabbi Avraham Saba, who was exiled from Spain in 1492, in his Toldot Yitzchak)?
Well, the immediately preceding section of Torah (Numbers 30) is all about the making and annulling of vows. So Moses had vows on the brain, and there is a "well-known" principal of biblical interpretation called in Hebrew semichut parshiyot, which basically means that we (can) interpret one section of Torah based on what it's immediately adjacent to and juxtaposed with. And what happens to Moses? He seems to live a while longer--at least for his entire long speech of Deuteronomy, although he doesn't get to enter the land of Israel.
The reality is that none of know how much more time we have on this earth. Are there things that you need to finish, or at least start? Are there promises you need to make good on, or promises that you need to say don't need to be kept--whether your own, or someone else's?
May we, like Moses, have a deep sense of purpose in what we do (per Rashi), and maintain hope even when things seem bleak, that we have more life to live, more love to give, as Moses also did (per Toldot Yitzchak).
Shabbat shalom and see you on Zoom,
Rabbi Noah Arnow
Thu, April 25 2024
17 Nisan 5784
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Thu, April 25 2024 17 Nisan 5784