Rabbis' Weekly Message

Dear Kol Rinah Family,

As we approach Shabbat together, I am so grateful to take a breath, pause for a moment, and reflect on this past week in our lives. I love approaching the Thanksgiving holiday, a time to be with people we care about, eat delicious treats, and simply express our gratitude for the many ways we are blessed in the world. For me, it has always been a time full of joy, connected to both memories of cherished moments as well as a time to treat ourselves and our loved ones to a special meal made with love and care.

At the same time, counting our blessings can also put in stark relief those parts of our lives and our world which are painful, frightening, or just not as they should be. Recently, there have been several very public incidents of anti-semitic comments, social media posts, jokes, and ideas floated by prominent individuals. I know that these incidents are hurtful and can make us feel unsafe or on edge. I appreciate the response of individuals and organizations who called out these incidents as not only false but biased and harmful to both real people and to our public discourse.

How we understand, relate to, fight, and interact with these comments play a very large role in the ways Jewish people and communities have interacted with others in our society and throughout history. I believe that it behooves us to take a deep look at the anti-semitism in our world today and how we can respond to specific incidents, as well as general trends, in ways that can be productive. This Shabbat morning, I will be speaking about this moment we find ourselves in, and how our response to it can help shape our own experiences and serve a broader conversation of how we live productively together with others in our society.


Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Scott Shafrin
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Mazal tov to Jordan Stettner, who was called to the Torah last Shabbat as a bar mitzvah! Mazal tov to Jordan's parents, Jeff Stettner and Jennifer Jacobs, and to his grandparents, Randee and Myron Jacobs. It was so wonderful to have you back in town and to share this simcha together with your family and friends.

This afternoon, Rabbi Arnow will be leading Torah Talk at noon over Zoom. He will be focusing on the section of Parashat Chayei Sarah that deals with the Cave of Machpelah, where Sarah was buried, as well as why it is so special and what "Machpelah" actually means. It should be a deep dive into a fascinating and poignant piece of our shared history.

Tonight, we will have Kabbalat Shabbat in person Kol Rinah starting at 6:00 pm in our chapel.

Tomorrow, we will be meeting in the sanctuary for Shabbat morning services starting at 9:00 am (livestream link below).  The link for the Shabbat livestream can be found below. We will also have a Tot Shabbat for our youngest members this Shabbat, led by our very own Karen Kern.

We know that several of our community members have been having difficulties watching our livestream. We are aware of the problem, which is not with our equipment or our internet, but rather is a specific issue with our service provider. We are working to address these outages in the short term, as well as actively reviewing other service providers to solve the issue long term. Please be patient with us as we work to corrent the problem and ensure that everyone who wants to can view our services remotely.

Mincha/Ma'ariv for Shabbat this Saturday evening begins at 4:20 pm.

Candle Lighting Friday night is at 4:28 pm 
Shabbat Mevarchim HaChodesh
Parshah: Chayei Sarah
Torah Reading: Genesis 23:1 - 25:18
Haftarah: Kings I 1:1-31

Havdalah will be at 5:30 pm
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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 ( tinyurl.com/KR-EveningMinyan )
Sunday-Thursday evenings at 6pm

Morning Minyan on Zoom ( tinyurl.com/KR-MorningMinyan )
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at 7am; Thursday mornings are in person only at Kol Rinah starting at 7:00 am. Sunday mornings and national holidays at 8am (not including Jewish holidays)

Learning Opportunities
Torah Talk with Rabbi Arnow or Rabbi Shafrin ( tinyurl.com/KR-TorahTalk )
Every Friday at 12pm
Join us for study and discussion of the week's Torah portion.  

Kabbalat Shabbat/Shabbat morning ( tinyurl.com/KR-Streaming )
Fridays at 6:00pm, Saturdays at 9:00am, as well as the first day, seventh and eighth days of Passover
Click the link below, then click the triangular "play" buttom:

https://player2.streamspot.com/?playerId=3506a4c8

Until shortly before the service officially begins, there will a filler screen, but livestreamed video and sound will both start before the start of the service.  

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.”