Rabbis' Weekly Message

 

Dear Kol Rinah Family,

I hope you had an enjoyable and a meaningful Pesach (Passover). It was wonderful to see many of you at a seder, at services, and just around the neighborhood throughout the week. There is some joy in coming out of a long holiday period and fully re-entering the world. On the other hand, stepping out of that bubble of sacred time can also be a difficult adjustment when the real world and all its demands, challenges, and hardships come into full view.

We actually get an incredible instructive example of that very phenomenon in this week's Torah portion, Parashat Shemini. In it we read about the deaths of Nadav and Avihu, sons of Aaron and priestly leaders of B'nai Yisrael. Why they die, we don't fully know, all we read from the text is that they made an offering, it was somehow done improperly (this is very unclear), and they die immediately. Their passing is sudden and traumatic, as is the news of their deaths.

Aaron is stunned into silence.

Moses reacts by busying himself and trying to guide the people in the sudden absence of two young, promising leaders.

And B'nai Yisrael waited in fear and anxiety, wondering what to do in light of this new reality.

That is all how I felt last night, when I turned on my phone after the end of the last days of Pesach, the final Yom Tov hours, only to find that the Attorney General of Missouri, Andrew Bailey, had enacted his promised emergency rule to effectively block access to gender-affirming care for children in Missouri. 

As soon as I read this, even though in knew it was in the works, it felt like a punch to the gut. I felt stunned into silence. I felt the immediate need to do something, anything, even as I realized there was nothing to do at 10pm on a Thursday night. And I felt the fear, frustration, anxiety, and pain of knowing that something terribly life-altering had just befallen the whole community.

Myself, Rabbi Arnow, and our whole leadership team want to reach out to our community to let you know how upset we are at this action, and to reaffirm our committment to fight for the rights of transgender kids, transgender people, their families, and the care and needs of all of our community members. Rabbi Arnow and I are here if you need anything in the short- or longer-term, if you want to talk, get some coffee, vent, plan, learn, sing, or just sit with someone who cares. We know that this hits personally for so many of you, and we want to be of service in this moment in whatever ways we can. 

In the days to come, there will be actions to take. I am in no small way comforted to know that just minutes after the announcement was made, there were already groups hard at work bringing legal action against the new rule. But those are thoughts for another day. Right now, we are all called upon to deal with this awful new reality, to comfort one another, and to be there for our trans siblings, children, parents, family, friends, and neighbors. I encourage you all to reach out to people you know within our community and beyond, and show them support and care in this difficult moment.

And just as Moses and Aaron were called upon to bless the people, I bless all of our trans siblings and their families:

May The Holy Blessed One cause all people to recognize the blessings you are.
May The Master of Mercy lift you up and hold you in sacred safety.
May The Protector of our ancestors give us together the strength to shield you from harm, to build up your strength and resilience, and to help us together to create a world where all can live in peace.

 כן יהי רצון במהרה בימינו, May this soon some to pass in our time.
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On to Shabbat, which is amazingly no longer a day of Pesach! Thank you again to everyone who helped get services together, who davened, who read Torah and Haftarah, who greeted at the door and made sure we had minyanim all throughout the Pesach holiday!

We will be having Torah Talk today at noon on Zoom AND this Shabbat morning in the Community Hall at 10:15 am! Rabbi Arnow will be leading our Torah Talk Parashat Shemini and digging deep into some of the interesting morsels of Torah found in this week's Torah portion.

We will be having regular Kabbalat Shabbat services this evening in our Chapel starting at 6:00pm sharp, and would love to have your voices join with ours in sacred song!

Tomorrow morning, Shabbat services will begin at 9:00 am in the sanctuary and livestreamed (see link below).

If you would like to read Rabbi Arnow's thoughtful and insightful d'var Torah on Parashat Shemini, appearing this week in the St. Louis Jewish Light, you can read it here .



In other exciting news, we will be having a wonderful Gala event this Sunday, April 16 at 6:00 PM, honoring Michael Staenberg for all of the wonderful ways he has helped and participated in the growth of our community. We are thrilled to be able to host this event, and want to offer many thanks and congratulations to everyone on the planning committee for what is sure to me a magical and joyful night of celebration. Thank you as well to everyone who bought tickets and will be in attendance, as well as everyone who has already donated or bid on the silent auction items.

If you are unable to make the event, you can still participate in the silent auction to support the synagogue community. Log on using this link and see all of the incredible prizes to bid on.



Also, Sunday night begins the holiday of Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day. There is a tradition to honor and remember all who passed during the Holocaust by lighting a yellow yarhzeit candle on Sunday evening and allowing it to burn throughout the day. This year, we are also thinking particularly of our own Leo Wolff and Mendel Rosenberg of blessed memory. Click here to learn more about this ritual, as well as the extraordinary lives of these two beloved survivors and past members of our community.

Candle Lighting Friday night is at 7:19 pm. 

Parshah: Shemini
Torah Talk: 10:15am
Torah Reading: Leviticus 9:1 - 11:47
Haftarah:  II Samuel 6:1-7:17
Mincha/Maariv: 7:10 pm  

Havdalah will be at 8:23 pm.

Kol tuv,
Rabbi Shafrin
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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
(https://www.kolrinahstl.org/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://www.kolrinahstl.org/kr-streaming

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.”

 

Kol Rinah now has an Instagram feed 
as well as Facebook account!