Dear Kol Rinah Family,
I hope you had a lovely July 4th. At minyan yesterday, we ended the service by singing the Star-Spangled Banner. In our weekday siddurim, there are two verses of it, and we sang them both.
Here though, are all four (!) verses:
O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream,
’Tis the star-spangled banner - O long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto - “In God is our trust,”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Try singing it, all four verses--it isn't easy! (If you're curious, our siddurim have the first and fourth verses.) Francis Scott Key, its author, was a slaveowner and anti-abolitionist (as maybe you can tell from the third verse).
We (or at least I) don't often think about the words of the national anthem when I sing it or hear it. And I don't think about it's full context, the rest of the lyrics, or its author. There's something beautiful about being able to take and attend to just the parts of something that we like. And yet it's important periodically to acknowledge the full thing, with its wonder and ugliness.
This, by the way, is a very Jewish way of reading--to frequently take things out of context, but sometimes read that full context too.
May America always be deserving of our love, and may we be blessed to continue to make this, more and more every year, the land of the free and the home of the brave.
***
I'll be here for Kabbalat Shabbat at 6pm - come sing with me!
Candle lighting is at 8:11pm (it's getting earlier).
Tomorrow morning, we'll start at 9am. It'll be Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, the new month of Tammuz, so join us for Shacharit and Hallel!
I'll be leading Torah Talk at about 10:15am. We'll look at two different versions of Korach's complaints against Moses and Aaron.
Tot shabbat with Karen Kern will be at 10:45am.
Shabbat ends at 9:16pm.
For more and collected Israel information, see this page on our website, as well as the Jewish Federation of St. Louis's Israel Resources page.
Every Shabbat and festival morning, we are still reciting a prayer for the State of Israel, a prayer for Israel Defense Forces soldiers, and a prayer for hostages.
May the one who makes peace in the heavens make peace over us, and over all Israel, and over all who dwell in the world.
Shabbat shalom and see you in shul,
Rabbi Noah Arnow
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 (but not on Jewish holidays)
Morning Minyan on Zoom
Monday-Wednesday and Friday mornings at 7am; Sunday mornings and national holidays at 8am (not including Jewish holidays)
(Please note that Thursday morning minyan is now being held in-person at 7am (8am on national holidays) and is not on Zoom)
Friday nights and Shabbat mornings
Fridays, 6pm in the chapel (no streaming)
Saturdays, 9:00am (9:30am when we are doing our musical Kol Chadash service)
Click the link below, for the stream, as well as for additional instructions:
https://www.kolrinahstl.org/kr-streaming
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Phone: 314-727-1747