Dear Kol Rinah Family,
Please read to the bottom for important info!
Hope feels in short supply this High Holiday season. Whether we're looking at America, at the American Jewish community, at Israel, or at the world, it's not with a lot of eager anticipation, but rather, it feels, with dread.
I want to take a moment to frame these holidays as opportunities for strengthening our hope.
It's important to define hope precisely. "Hope reflects our embrace of the possibility of a particular, deeply desired future, and hope fuels our actions to help bring it about," writes David Arnow (yes, my dad) in his 2022 book Choosing Hope: The Heritage of Judaism.
Rosh Hashanah is a new start, at least for us. Our ability to start fresh, spiritually, or even just metaphorically, can give us the energy, the fuel, to help bring about the future we hope for. And if we can manage to change, whether to become someone a bit new, or to return to a better version of our selves, then maybe other people and groups can do the same. Maybe we can inspire them, or be more energetic and/or effective in bringing about the future we hope for.
I cannot promise that our prayers this Rosh Hashanah will be heard and answered, but I do believe that the act of sincere, sustained prayer (i.e. long services!) can give us the opportunity to actually get in touch with our deepest hopes, to clarify them, and to reflect on what we can do in the world, and in our lives, to bring our hopes closer to being realized. That's not the work of five minutes' thought--but rather the work of some hours of reflection. You'll have time--use it!
We can accomplish relatively little working on our own, completely independently. But people--even just a few--working together can accomplish so much more than those people each working on their own could do. If part of the hopelessness you've been feeling of late is a kind of loneliness, being here in person and seeing the sanctuary, the community hall, the hallways, the bathrooms, the classrooms, the chapel, the courtyard, the parking lots, overflow with people, with Jews, with congregants, with visitors, with college students, with kids, with familiar faces, with smiling faces, with new faces--that's a lot of people all coming together for a common purpose. They say the best part of conferences is what happens in the hallway. Who could you meet in the hallway, or on the sidewalk, who could become a friend, or a co-conspirator in holy mischief, or a business partner, or a collaborator in bringing about the future you dream of?
And where's God in all of this? Maybe a better question is "When is God in all of this?" I think God will be there when we're thinking of the ways we want to become better people, and thinking of the things we'll need to do to make that happen. Also, I think God will be reminding us of the other things that we'd rather forget about how we need to be a bit better, as well as reminding us all the good things we've done that we've forgotten.
God will be there next to us when we're praying and planning for the future we hope for, hearing our fears, and inspiring us with some good ideas.
And God will be smiling as two of God's favorite people--you and someone else you don't know, sit down next to each other in a crowded prayer space, and smile at each other, and leave as new friends.
This is all to say, God is hoping with us, and hoping for us.
Here are a few reminders for you throughout Rosh Hashanah:
1. If you are coming in person, please bring your nametag, and wear it. (We'll have extras, and we have the lanyards!)
2. Complete service schedules are available here. As I type this, I can hear Rabbi Brad Horwitz, Gavriel Savit-Woods, Will Soll and Jeremy Shanas practicing for Tuesday morning, for Shirat HaNefesh (Song of the Soul)--the service begining at 10am in the Staenberg Family Community Hall. It's going to be musically awesome, interactive, shorter than the sanctuary service, and generally terrific. I'll be speaking in both services.
3. Parking is complicated! Please check details here, and allow extra time to park.
4. At 10:15am on Tuesday (first day of Rosh Hashanah), Prof. Nancy Berg will be teaching in the Guller Chapel on:
Discussing Silence
Is silence just the absence of words? Together—and with the help of selected short texts—we will talk about silence: its meanings, nature, and qualities.
At 10:15am on Wednesday (second day of Rosh Hashanah), Prof. Fannie Bialek will be teaching on:
Hearing and Listening: Enacting Teshuvah in Relationships
Teshuvah (repentance) is an act, among other things, of communication. We recite the liturgy of confession and repentance, hoping to be heard. But how do we hear confessions—our own and those of others? What should we listen for, and how can we challenge ourselves to listen better? What do the attempts and failures of communication in the High Holiday Torah readings teach us for our own efforts?
This discussion will investigate the models of speaking, hearing, and listening we encounter in this season’s Torah readings, to consider examples—positive and negative—of how we can enact teshuvah well in our own words and by listening to the words of others.
5. In addition to all the kids and family services, there will be a teen gathering on Tuesday (first day of Rosh Hashanah) on the third floor at 10:45am.
6. If you are volunteering or working at Kol Rinah on the holidays, be kind, be patient, be gentle, be appreciative. And if you see someone volunteering or working here, or if you see anyone here at all, be kind, be patient, be gentle, be appreciative!
7. Livestreams of all indoor services will be available from our website.
8. Please do not wear perfume or cologne, as some people are allergic, and get migraines!
9. Always feel free to bring an appropriate book to read at shul!
10. Thursday is Tzom Gedalia, the fast of Gedalia. It's always the day after Rosh Hashanah. The fast starts at 5:29am and ends at 7:20pm. We'll have services at 7am in the sanctuary (in person only) Thursday morning, and at 6pm on Zoom.
Wishing you and all of us a Shana Tova uMetukah--a good and sweet year.
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