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Shabbat Shalom and an Early Chag Sameach from Rabbi Shafrin! 3/26/2021

 
Dear Kol Rinah Families,

Every year, the onset of Pesach (Passover) fills me with a complicated mix of contradictory emotions. I fondly remember the past years of celebration even as I mourn the absence of so many people I love from the table, kept away by distance, the COVID-19 pandemic, or who have left this world. I am excited for the rituals, the foods, the songs, and the stories I get to share with my family and my community, and I am always anxious with all the preparations that need to be made and double checked before the holiday begins. 

To be honest, it is often a hard week, and even after decades of preparing to celebrate this holiday, and thousands of hours of rabbinic study, I still get nervous that I am forgetting something. Because there is a piece of Pesach that encourages us to try and make everything just so. Things must be cleaned. Shelves are lined, certain foods, normally completely fine to eat, are not allowed during these eight days, and others, most notably matzah, are essential to the celebration. Even the word seder means "order," refering to the fact that this festive meal which kicks off the Pesach holiday has a set order with fixed prayers and rituals, some of which can be found in the haggadah (the books we use to lead the seder) and others which come from our own families' traditions, but which are no less dispensible for our enjoyment of this holiday.

Sometimes, I look at Pesach and it seems overwhelming, like there are so many pieces and experiences and questions and parts of the tradition all rolled into one holiday that I can't seem to grasp on to any one of them for long. Other times, I experience the fullness of these days of renewal, the sacred struggle in each generation to make the world a better one than it had been in the last year, than it had been for the previous generation. It is at once a celebration of hope and a container for our struggles.

And for me, particular this year, as we enter our second Pesach still deep in a global pandemic, that is what this holiday offers: a way to bring all the parts of our lives into one moment. It promises themes that will be familiar, like resisting tyranny, surmounting struggles, living in search of freedoms and rights for ourselves and others. It presents to us a picture of the past, one of both hardship and heroism, of loss and liberty. It shows us a glimpse of a future yet to be, in which all that is now so far out of our reach becomes our lived reality. That's the essense of how we end the seder, crying "Next Year in Jerusalem!" In essense, what we are saying is:

"Next year, we will be able to celebrate all together, in person!"
"Next year, we will be able to travel!"
"Next year, we will be able to live as ourselves, without fear, no matter who we are!"
"Next year, we will be able to hug and support one another!"
"Next year, we will be able to experience unrestrained joy and peace!"
"Next year, we will be able to appreciate the important things in our lives!"
"Next year, we will be able to find success!"
"Next year, we will be free from worry!"
"Next year, we will live together!"

I pray that throughout this holiday, and in the time between this Pesach and the next, we will work to make those dreams and visions of a better future into our new normal.
--

ALL ZOOM LINKS FOR THE EVENTS BELOW CAN BE FOUND AT THE END OF THIS EMAIL.

This Shabbat's Parashah is Tzav and Shabbat HaGadol
Torah Reading: Leviticus 7:11-7:38
Haftarah: Malachi 3:4-24

Pesach (Passover) starts Saturday night (after Shabbat ends at 8:02). Rabbi Arnow sent out an email earlier this week with a treasure trove of wonderful resources for learning and celebrating on Pesach that I highly recommmend everyone use to enhance their Pesach celebrations and all throughout the week.

Just as a reminder, the entire schedule for Pesach services and special events can be viewed here:


https://images.shulcloud.com/7787/uploads/2021-Publicity-Sliders/2021PassoverKeyDates1REVISED3-3-21.pdf

All of the information for Pesach is also available on the Kol Rinah website and you can find it by clicking the link below:

https://www.kolrinahstl.org/passover-information.html

This afternoon at  6:00 pm we'll have mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat using the link below.  Now that we are back to 6:00pm services for Kabbalat Shabbat, they will remain at that time throughout the next few months and the summer

Candle lighting is at 7:01 pm, and Shabbat ends at 8:02 pm on Saturday night, which is when Pesach officially begins.

Saturday morning for Shabbat, as well as Sunday morning, for the first day of Pesach, 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

Services for the second day of Pesach on Monday morning will be held outside the new building at 7701 Maryland Ave. starting at 9:30 am. We will not be streaming these services. Just as with our Shabbat services in the sanctuary, participants must register in advance, fill out the health waivers, and wear masks during the entirety of our socially distanced services.


Today, at noon, I'll be leading a Torah Talk session looking at Parashat Tzav and diving into a few very interesting and multifaceted texts dealing with giving thanks, both as a ritual practice in Moses' era, and also in our lives today. Please tune in using the Torah Talk Zoom link below.

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-Friday evenings at 6pm


 
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:
Tikkun St. Louis: Our Effort to Reform Gerrymandering & Create Fair Elections
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.”


 
Thu, March 28 2024 18 Adar II 5784