Shabbat Shalom from Rabbi Shafrin 9/4/2020
Dear Kol Rinah Family,
Looking into the future has always been both tempting and fraught with peril. Throughout our canon of literature and popular culture, we have numerous stories of heroes and villians alike trying to look into to future, to travel there, to make their visions of the future into reality. And whether it's a Greek hero trying to outrun Fate or Marty McFly attempting to save his own family, forcing our way into the future never seems to turn out well.
On a deep and powerful level, we all know that the future is never entirely certain. We never know what twists and turns lay ahead. We never know what chapters are yet to be written in our own stories. So the real question is not what the future holds for us, but how we each look ahead to face it.
In this week's parasha, Ki Tavo, Moses offers us up his own vision of a future where peace and prosperity are made real, where the wanderers can settle and build real lives together:
“When you enter the land the LORD has given you as a heritage and settle in it. You shall take some of every first fruit of the soil which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God will choose to Establish the Holy Name.”
Moses’ vision conjures up the simple image of a farmer, long settled in the land with a family, a heritage and a posterity sharing their fruits as a symbol of thanks to God for their well being. This image is the direct antithesis of a people who has been wandering landless, homeless, and at times hopeless, through the wilderness for a generation. For people who have only known uncertainty, how could Moses have the audacity to offer up such an alluring vision of a people settled and content?
It was his hope. Moses knew he would not be in the land to guide them toward his vision of a bright and shining future, and yet he nevertheless believed it would come to pass. His faith was not only in God's promise but in the people he had loved and cared for over the course of decades. He chose to believe in hope, and that hope allowed him to see a better world, a world renewed and his people living the lives he had always wanted for them.
None of us know for certain what is around the corner. But we can be like Moses and choose to believe in and work for a better tomorrow. No matter the trials we face, or the darkness of any given moment, it is up to each of us to hold onto the light of hope and to trust in ourselves, our loved ones, our community, and our fellow human beings to help us make that future real.
We have so many wonderful ways to connect and celebrate this week! I am so pleased to wish a hearty mazal tov to Caleb Arnow, who will be called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah this coming Saturday, September 5, at 9:30 am! I also want to say mazal tov to his parents, Rabbi Noah and Tammy Arnow, his sisters Hallel and Avra, and his grandparents Susan and Max Brown, David and Madeleine Arnow, and Marshall Reiss, as well as their entire extended family. We will be streaming the service via Zoom, and the Arnow family has invited anyone who would like to daven along with the service:
https://player2.streamspot.com/?playerId=3506a4c8
All of the links for minyanim can be found below. Minyan continues this week at the usual times.
Today at noon, I will be continueing our learning using selections from the incredible writings of Rabbeniu Yonah (Rabbi Jonah ben Avraham, a 13th Century Spanish rabbi and moral philosopher) and looking at ways we can reflect on ourselves and our lives in order to put our best foot forward in the year to come.
Tonight at 6:00 pm, we'll gather on Zoom for mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat. Rabbi Arnow, Karen Kern, and I will be leading a soulful Shabbat . Candle lighting this evening will be at 7:08 pm. Havdallah will be at 8:09 pm on Saturday.
Sunday morning, at 10:00 am, there will be Havdalah led by our own Melissa Bellows. At 11:30am, I will lead the a learning session focused on the ways in which the special texts we add into our liturgy throughout the High Holiday season illuminate a clear path for us to change our own perspectives and continue our deep soul searching and the hard work of teshuvah, of returning to our best selves.
We also are adding music and inspiration into our souls this week! This coming Monday, at 7:30 PM, Karen Kern will be teaching her latest session to "Elul"mintate your hearts and minds with her incredible musical experiences.
In addition, we will be learning with Hazzan Joanna Dulkin this Wednesday at 12:00 PM. She will be sharing deeply soulful and meditative music with us in order to bring us deeper into this High Holiday season, to help us feel the end of this year and to begin the next in powerful new ways. Both links are below.
Shabbat shalom and see you on Zoom,
Rabbi Scott Shafrin
Looking into the future has always been both tempting and fraught with peril. Throughout our canon of literature and popular culture, we have numerous stories of heroes and villians alike trying to look into to future, to travel there, to make their visions of the future into reality. And whether it's a Greek hero trying to outrun Fate or Marty McFly attempting to save his own family, forcing our way into the future never seems to turn out well.
On a deep and powerful level, we all know that the future is never entirely certain. We never know what twists and turns lay ahead. We never know what chapters are yet to be written in our own stories. So the real question is not what the future holds for us, but how we each look ahead to face it.
In this week's parasha, Ki Tavo, Moses offers us up his own vision of a future where peace and prosperity are made real, where the wanderers can settle and build real lives together:
“When you enter the land the LORD has given you as a heritage and settle in it. You shall take some of every first fruit of the soil which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God will choose to Establish the Holy Name.”
Moses’ vision conjures up the simple image of a farmer, long settled in the land with a family, a heritage and a posterity sharing their fruits as a symbol of thanks to God for their well being. This image is the direct antithesis of a people who has been wandering landless, homeless, and at times hopeless, through the wilderness for a generation. For people who have only known uncertainty, how could Moses have the audacity to offer up such an alluring vision of a people settled and content?
It was his hope. Moses knew he would not be in the land to guide them toward his vision of a bright and shining future, and yet he nevertheless believed it would come to pass. His faith was not only in God's promise but in the people he had loved and cared for over the course of decades. He chose to believe in hope, and that hope allowed him to see a better world, a world renewed and his people living the lives he had always wanted for them.
None of us know for certain what is around the corner. But we can be like Moses and choose to believe in and work for a better tomorrow. No matter the trials we face, or the darkness of any given moment, it is up to each of us to hold onto the light of hope and to trust in ourselves, our loved ones, our community, and our fellow human beings to help us make that future real.
We have so many wonderful ways to connect and celebrate this week! I am so pleased to wish a hearty mazal tov to Caleb Arnow, who will be called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah this coming Saturday, September 5, at 9:30 am! I also want to say mazal tov to his parents, Rabbi Noah and Tammy Arnow, his sisters Hallel and Avra, and his grandparents Susan and Max Brown, David and Madeleine Arnow, and Marshall Reiss, as well as their entire extended family. We will be streaming the service via Zoom, and the Arnow family has invited anyone who would like to daven along with the service:
https://player2.streamspot.com/?playerId=3506a4c8
All of the links for minyanim can be found below. Minyan continues this week at the usual times.
Today at noon, I will be continueing our learning using selections from the incredible writings of Rabbeniu Yonah (Rabbi Jonah ben Avraham, a 13th Century Spanish rabbi and moral philosopher) and looking at ways we can reflect on ourselves and our lives in order to put our best foot forward in the year to come.
Tonight at 6:00 pm, we'll gather on Zoom for mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat. Rabbi Arnow, Karen Kern, and I will be leading a soulful Shabbat . Candle lighting this evening will be at 7:08 pm. Havdallah will be at 8:09 pm on Saturday.
Sunday morning, at 10:00 am, there will be Havdalah led by our own Melissa Bellows. At 11:30am, I will lead the a learning session focused on the ways in which the special texts we add into our liturgy throughout the High Holiday season illuminate a clear path for us to change our own perspectives and continue our deep soul searching and the hard work of teshuvah, of returning to our best selves.
We also are adding music and inspiration into our souls this week! This coming Monday, at 7:30 PM, Karen Kern will be teaching her latest session to "Elul"mintate your hearts and minds with her incredible musical experiences.
In addition, we will be learning with Hazzan Joanna Dulkin this Wednesday at 12:00 PM. She will be sharing deeply soulful and meditative music with us in order to bring us deeper into this High Holiday season, to help us feel the end of this year and to begin the next in powerful new ways. Both links are below.
Shabbat shalom and see you on Zoom,
Rabbi Scott Shafrin
Thu, April 18 2024
10 Nisan 5784
MISSION: Create a welcoming community that embraces Torah, meaningful worship, lifelong learning, music, Israel, and tikkun olam, guided by the tenets of Conservative Judaism.
Calendar & Services
Weekday minyans on Zoom:
Mornings- M, T, W, F 7am & Sun 8am.
Evenings- Sun-Th 6pm.
Log in to view the Zoom Links page.
Thursday mornings 7am are in-person only.
Shabbat services in-person, streaming.
To stream kolrinahstl.org/kr-streaming
Office Hours
Monday – Thursday 9am to 5pm
Friday 9am – 3pm
Phone: 314-727-1747
Friday 9am – 3pm
Phone: 314-727-1747
Find it at Kol Rinah
Shavua Tov
Contribute to a Shabbat Kiddush
Celebrate life-cycle events or honor a loved one. A Shabbat Kiddush is a beautiful way of sharing a moment with the community!
Want to sponsor a specific Kiddush? Contact Barbara Shamir,
Event Request
FAQ's
Thu, April 18 2024 10 Nisan 5784