Shabbat Shalom from Rabbi Shafrin 3/5/2021
Dear Kol Rinah Families,
During this time of year in our Jewish calendar, we have several special Shabbatot which have their own names. Each is connected with a special maftir, and additional reading of Torah from outside of the weekly Torah portion, which both gives the Shabbat its name and also gives a command to us, the listeners and receivers of Torah in our own place and time.
Shabbat Shekalim asks us to rise up and be counted as a member of the Jewish people, as a person of conscience and tenacious pursuer of justice, while simultaneously drawing our eyes toward those in need.
Shabbat Zachor asks us to remember the tragedies of our past so as to inform us of both the dangers that hatred, prejudice, and violence hold, but also to imbue us with the strength we have used in every age to overcome them.
This week is Shabbat Parah, a retelling of the story of the building and idol worship of a golden calf in Parashat Ki Tisa, midway through the Book of Exodus. It is a story of fear, of the dangers of group-think, and of doing what we know is needed of us even when that means resisting the ever-present temptation to do what is safe, easy, comfortable, or convenient.
But the sections of Torah we read also connect us to another type of sacred animal: the red heifer, a cow with a coat made of pure red hair, which was used to purify the altar in the Mishkan (Tabernacle) as well as in the Temple in Jerusalem. Two cows, two mirror images of spiritual connection. The golden calf represents the worship of things, the making sacred of that which is merely a tool, the worship of ourselves, our needs, and our own interests. The red heifer, however, represents our joining together to create something new, to invest our lives with the sacredness of purpose which only comes from serving others, building relationships, giving help and care, and pursuing a world in which the needs of others are elevated to the same level as our own concerns.
The red heifer takes that which is imperfect, mundane, flawed, and makes it fit for spiritual worship and community connection. It reminds us that we can be perfect in our own imperfection. It is not the task of the spiritual life to fix what is broken in ourselves, but rather to gather up those broken shards and, with them, build something holy and wonderful.
--
ALL ZOOM LINKS FOR THE EVENTS BELOW CAN BE FOUND AT THE END OF THIS EMAIL.
This Shabbat's Parashah is Ki Tisa
Torah Reading: Exodus 31:18-33:11
Maftir: Numbers 19:1-22
Haftarah: Ezekiel 36:16-38
On a personal note, I wanted to thank all of you who were able to join us last Shabbat for our first Kol Chadash service. The feedback you have provided has been both encouraging and incredibly helpful. Rabbi Arnow, Karen Kern, and I, as well as the entire Kol Rinah leadership, have been so heartened by all of you who took the time to engage in this new experience and to share with us some of your thoughts, feelings, impressions, and suggestions. With your help, I believe we can make this Kol Chadash service a truly moving experience for our entire community.
If you were not able to join us, but still would like to view the service and provide us feedback, you can find it on Kol Rinah's YouTube page or by clicking the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd8uWxKH5W0
As a community, Kol Rinah, our clergy, and our entire leadership are committed to the health and safety of our members. We are constantly evaluating how we can build meaningful, relational experiences while proactively working to ensure the health and safety of all people who participate in any of our events, services, classes, and communal experiences.
To learn more about our current safety protocols, masking/social distancing guideline, vaccine information, and official Kol Rinah logo masks, please follow the link below:
https://www.kolrinahstl.org/covid-safety
This afternoon at 4:30 pm we'll have mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat using the link below. Please make sure to check the start time for Kabbalat Shabbat services each week; as Shabbat continues to start later, we will be moving the time back by half an hour every few weeks.
Candle lighting is at 5:40 pm, and Shabbat ends at 6:44 pm on Saturday night.
Saturday morning we'll be streaming services from the Sanctuary beginning at 9:30 am. Please see the link below for the streaming information: https://player2.streamspot.com/?playerId=3506a4c8
I apologize for the technical difficulty in accessing Torah Talk today. There was a problem with our logins that prevented us from starting the meeting over Zoom. I will be using a piece of the teaching I had planned for this afternoon on the Golden Calf and Moses' reaction to it as part of our learning during Shabbat services tomorrow morning.
This Sunday at 11:30 am, we have an exciting program about American Jews & Native Americans: Myths, Encounters, & Perceptions. We already have a great deal of interest in the program and dozens of people from all around St. Louis and beyond will be tuning in to learn more about this fascinating, and often overlooked, piece of our American Jewish story. See the Zoom and Learn link below to log in for the program Sunday morning.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Scott Shafrin
ZOOM AND STREAMING LINKS
To join our Zoom Minyanim or classes, click on the desired meeting link, or call into either of the following numbers:
+1 312 626 6799
+1 646 558 8656
Then, when prompted, enter the Meeting ID of the desired minyan/class then press #. Then, when prompted, enter the password then press #.
Services (all times Central)
Evening Minyan on Zoom
Sunday-Thursday evenings at 6pm, Friday evening at 3:00pm
Morning Minyan on Zoom
Monday-Friday mornings at 7am; Sunday mornings and national holidays at 8am (not including Jewish holidays)
Learning Opportunities
Torah Talk with Rabbi Arnow or Rabbi Shafrin
Every Friday at 12pm
Join us for study and discussion of the week's Torah portion.
Zoom & Learn Series:
American Jews & Native Americans: Myths, Encounters, & Perceptions
Sundays at 11:30am,
Shabbat morning
Saturdays, 9:30am
Click the link below, then click the triangular "play" buttom:
https://player2.streamspot.com/?playerId=3506a4c8
Until shortly before 9:30am, there will a filler screen, but livestreamed video and sound will both start around 9:30am.
You can also set your computer or device in advance so that this link will continue streaming continuously and you will not have to press any buttons on Shabbat. To make sure that your device will not shut itself down or do into sleep mode, follow the directions below to disable sleep mode:
For PC:
To disable automatic Sleep:
1. Open up Power Options in the Control Panel. In Windows 10 you can get there from right clicking on the start menu and going to Power Options
2. Click "change plan settings" next to your current power plan
3. Change "Put the computer to sleep" to never
4. Click "Save Changes"
For Apple Products:
1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click "Energy Saver."
2. Do either of the following:
a. Set the amount of time your computer or display should wait before going to sleep: Drag the “Computer sleep” and “Display sleep” sliders, or the “Turn display off after” slider.
b. Keep your Mac from going to sleep automatically: Select “Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off.”
During this time of year in our Jewish calendar, we have several special Shabbatot which have their own names. Each is connected with a special maftir, and additional reading of Torah from outside of the weekly Torah portion, which both gives the Shabbat its name and also gives a command to us, the listeners and receivers of Torah in our own place and time.
Shabbat Shekalim asks us to rise up and be counted as a member of the Jewish people, as a person of conscience and tenacious pursuer of justice, while simultaneously drawing our eyes toward those in need.
Shabbat Zachor asks us to remember the tragedies of our past so as to inform us of both the dangers that hatred, prejudice, and violence hold, but also to imbue us with the strength we have used in every age to overcome them.
This week is Shabbat Parah, a retelling of the story of the building and idol worship of a golden calf in Parashat Ki Tisa, midway through the Book of Exodus. It is a story of fear, of the dangers of group-think, and of doing what we know is needed of us even when that means resisting the ever-present temptation to do what is safe, easy, comfortable, or convenient.
But the sections of Torah we read also connect us to another type of sacred animal: the red heifer, a cow with a coat made of pure red hair, which was used to purify the altar in the Mishkan (Tabernacle) as well as in the Temple in Jerusalem. Two cows, two mirror images of spiritual connection. The golden calf represents the worship of things, the making sacred of that which is merely a tool, the worship of ourselves, our needs, and our own interests. The red heifer, however, represents our joining together to create something new, to invest our lives with the sacredness of purpose which only comes from serving others, building relationships, giving help and care, and pursuing a world in which the needs of others are elevated to the same level as our own concerns.
The red heifer takes that which is imperfect, mundane, flawed, and makes it fit for spiritual worship and community connection. It reminds us that we can be perfect in our own imperfection. It is not the task of the spiritual life to fix what is broken in ourselves, but rather to gather up those broken shards and, with them, build something holy and wonderful.
--
ALL ZOOM LINKS FOR THE EVENTS BELOW CAN BE FOUND AT THE END OF THIS EMAIL.
This Shabbat's Parashah is Ki Tisa
Torah Reading: Exodus 31:18-33:11
Maftir: Numbers 19:1-22
Haftarah: Ezekiel 36:16-38
On a personal note, I wanted to thank all of you who were able to join us last Shabbat for our first Kol Chadash service. The feedback you have provided has been both encouraging and incredibly helpful. Rabbi Arnow, Karen Kern, and I, as well as the entire Kol Rinah leadership, have been so heartened by all of you who took the time to engage in this new experience and to share with us some of your thoughts, feelings, impressions, and suggestions. With your help, I believe we can make this Kol Chadash service a truly moving experience for our entire community.
If you were not able to join us, but still would like to view the service and provide us feedback, you can find it on Kol Rinah's YouTube page or by clicking the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
As a community, Kol Rinah, our clergy, and our entire leadership are committed to the health and safety of our members. We are constantly evaluating how we can build meaningful, relational experiences while proactively working to ensure the health and safety of all people who participate in any of our events, services, classes, and communal experiences.
To learn more about our current safety protocols, masking/social distancing guideline, vaccine information, and official Kol Rinah logo masks, please follow the link below:
https://www.kolrinahstl.org/
This afternoon at 4:30 pm we'll have mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat using the link below. Please make sure to check the start time for Kabbalat Shabbat services each week; as Shabbat continues to start later, we will be moving the time back by half an hour every few weeks.
Candle lighting is at 5:40 pm, and Shabbat ends at 6:44 pm on Saturday night.
Saturday morning we'll be streaming services from the Sanctuary beginning at 9:30 am. Please see the link below for the streaming information: https://player2.
I apologize for the technical difficulty in accessing Torah Talk today. There was a problem with our logins that prevented us from starting the meeting over Zoom. I will be using a piece of the teaching I had planned for this afternoon on the Golden Calf and Moses' reaction to it as part of our learning during Shabbat services tomorrow morning.
This Sunday at 11:30 am, we have an exciting program about American Jews & Native Americans: Myths, Encounters, & Perceptions. We already have a great deal of interest in the program and dozens of people from all around St. Louis and beyond will be tuning in to learn more about this fascinating, and often overlooked, piece of our American Jewish story. See the Zoom and Learn link below to log in for the program Sunday morning.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Scott Shafrin
ZOOM AND STREAMING LINKS
To join our Zoom Minyanim or classes, click on the desired meeting link, or call into either of the following numbers:
+1 312 626 6799
+1 646 558 8656
Then, when prompted, enter the Meeting ID of the desired minyan/class then press #. Then, when prompted, enter the password then press #.
Services (all times Central)
Evening Minyan on Zoom
Sunday-Thursday evenings at 6pm, Friday evening at 3:00pm
Morning Minyan on Zoom
Monday-Friday mornings at 7am; Sunday mornings and national holidays at 8am (not including Jewish holidays)
Learning Opportunities
Torah Talk with Rabbi Arnow or Rabbi Shafrin
Every Friday at 12pm
Join us for study and discussion of the week's Torah portion.
Zoom & Learn Series:
American Jews & Native Americans: Myths, Encounters, & Perceptions
Sundays at 11:30am,
Shabbat morning
Saturdays, 9:30am
Click the link below, then click the triangular "play" buttom:
https://player2.streamspot.
Until shortly before 9:30am, there will a filler screen, but livestreamed video and sound will both start around 9:30am.
You can also set your computer or device in advance so that this link will continue streaming continuously and you will not have to press any buttons on Shabbat. To make sure that your device will not shut itself down or do into sleep mode, follow the directions below to disable sleep mode:
For PC:
To disable automatic Sleep:
1. Open up Power Options in the Control Panel. In Windows 10 you can get there from right clicking on the start menu and going to Power Options
2. Click "change plan settings" next to your current power plan
3. Change "Put the computer to sleep" to never
4. Click "Save Changes"
For Apple Products:
1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click "Energy Saver."
2. Do either of the following:
a. Set the amount of time your computer or display should wait before going to sleep: Drag the “Computer sleep” and “Display sleep” sliders, or the “Turn display off after” slider.
b. Keep your Mac from going to sleep automatically: Select “Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when the display is off.”
Fri, April 19 2024
11 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
Fri, April 19 2024 11 Nisan 5784