Dear Kol Rinah Family,
As I write this, sitting next to me is 5th (and final) year JTS rabbinical student Ariel Ya'akov Dunat (they/them). They are a JTS Student Ambassador, spending Shabbat at Kol Rinah. Ariel will be speaking during services on Saturday morning (on the blessings and curses), teaching after kiddush (at about 12:30pm) on trans halakha, and then teaching again after mincha Saturday evening on "Why we read Torah."
Please join me in welcoming Ariel to Kol Rinah, and come and learn with them over the course of Shabbat!
I found myself this week noticing a verse in this week's Torah portion, Ki Tavo, I'd never paid attention to before (this happens to me all the time): "God will set you, in fame and renown and glory, high above all the nations that God has made; and that you shall be, as God promised, a holy people to the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 26:19).
There's a strong strand of Jewish humor that features Jewish superiority, noting how Jews are smart(er), clever(er). The jokes can be funny, but there's something that makes me uncomfortable about them too.
This verse--that God will set us "high above all the nations," feeds into this narrative of Jewish superiority. There are all different ways to be "high above." We can imagine ourselves as smarter, or stronger, or longer-enduring, but I don't find that kind of superiority attractive--it's not a way that I want to aspire to be in the world.
Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno, a sixteenth-century Italian commentator on the Torah, says that "high above all the nations" refers to our role as teachers and guides of humankind. This shifts the purpose of whatever superiority, or, I'd prefer to say, strengths and abilities, we may have from being about glorifying ourselves (or God) to being for the purpose of serving, helping, teaching, and elevating human beings individually and humanity as a whole. The goal is not self-aggrandizement but sharing whatever wisdom that we have so that everyone can benefit from it.
What is a piece of Jewish wisdom that you think is worth sharing with people outside our Jewish community?
***
I'll be here tonight for Kabbalat Shabbat at 6pm. We've been close (or not close) to having a minyan the last few Friday nights, and I know a number of people are away this Shabbat.
If you can make it tonight, please come!!!
Candle lighting is at 6:52pm.
Tomorrow morning, we'll start at 9am. I'll be leading Torah Talk at 10:10am, where we'll look at one section of curses in this week's parasha. Our JTS Student Ambassador Ariel Dunat will be speaking.
Following kiddush, Ariel will be teaching on trans halakha.
Mincha will be at 5:40pm. After mincha, we'll eat a little, and then Ariel will be teaching on why we read Torah. We'll conclude with ma'ariv and havdalah. Shabbat ends at 7:48pm.
All of our High Holiday information is now online here. If you know people who are not members who are planning to come to services, please have them fill out the guest registration form, so that we can welcome them smoothly and have nametags for them!
Please note that the deadline to order lulavim and etrogim is today, Friday, September 20. The deadline to sign up for babysitting is also today!
Sunday evening 9/22 at 6:30pm, Moishe House and Kol Rinah jointly will be sponsoring a Ritual Literacy Class on the High Holidays that I'll be leading (in person at Kol Rinah). We'll walk through what to do and expect at a Rosh Hashanah dinner, at synagogue on Rosh Hashanah, customs for between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, meals before and after Yom Kippur, what to do if you have to eat on Yom Kippur and cannot fast, and more. Bring your questions!
We also need lots of help in all ways on the holidays. If you would like to participate or help in any way, you can always just email me and I'll forward your interest to the appropriate folks.
There's much coming up over the coming weeks. Verein is having their second of two sessions on Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi on Sunday afternoon 9/22 at 4pm on Zoom. I'll also be teaching about Reb Zalman on Teshuva at 7:30pm on Wednesday, 9/25 in person.
Saturday night September 28 will be Selichot, the service that welcomes and kicks off the High Holiday season. We'll start with havdalah at 8pm. I'll be teaching for a little while after that, and then we'll start Selichot at 9pm. I always love this service--it features some of the most intense singing of the entire year. Come join us to begin the process of turning and returning.
Sunday morning, September 29 at 9:15am, Prof. Shira Billet of JTS will be with us to teach on What is the Machzor Thinking?" or Liturgy as Philosophy: The Siddur and the High Holiday Machzor in Jewish Thought.
This class is sponsored by the Hereld Institute for Jewish Studies of JTS and the Leo and Sara Wolf Adult Education Fund of Kol Rinah. Details here.
Sunday, September 29 will be Sababa, a festival of Jewish arts and culture, taking place this year on the Millstone Campus of the J and Jewish Federation. Many organizations, including Kol Rinah, will have tables there, and we could really use some volunteers to help. Sign up here to volunteer, and thank you!
The St. Louis Jewish Community coming together for an a commemoration of October 7 on October 7, 2024 at 7pm. Registration and more info are here.
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, who have now been in captivity 336 days.
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,
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