I hope you had a wonderful and meaningful Thanksgiving. We’ll have a quiet Shabbat here at Kol Rinah. Candle lighting is at 4:22pm. We’ll have Kabbalat Shabbat in the chapel at 6pm with Karen Kern and me, perhaps with a little guitar and percussion. Join us!
Tomorrow morning shul is at 9am as usual. I’ll be leading Torah Talk at 10:10am where we’ll be looking at a strange story about rabbis, a demon, and a pig-herder-turned-Roman king. In my sermon, I’ll be speaking about some connections between Judaism, Jews, and Thanksgiving and Native Americans.
Mincha will be at 3:25pm, and Shabbat ends at 5:23pm.
Sunday evening, our members Stan and Jean Margul and Wendy Love Anderson and Jeremy Buhler will be honored at the Jewish Student Union gala. Mazal tov to all of them, and it’s always wonderful to see members of our congregation honored for their involvement in the community!
Minyan was strong Thursday morning, but Thursday evening and Friday morning, we did not make minyan. During this holiday season, when people are traveling, please try to make it to minyan.
Next Shabbat we’ll celebrate the bat mitzvah of Yael Sabin.
And now for a little Torah…
The character of Esau in the Torah is a man who is physical, emotional, and honest. Not bad attributes! But the rabbinic tradition really rewrites the character of Esau, turning him into the worst possible person, from while in the womb throughout his life.
Do we choose to see people as they are, or as we have been conditioned to see them? All that we hear about a person, or a group that we think they are a part of, influences the way we see them. And yet, we can choose to look and to really see a person for who they are.
But first, we have to be aware of the ways we’ve been conditioned to see, and that can be harder.
What are some ways people don’t see you for who really are? Noticing the ways we are misunderstood can help us unpack how we misunderstand others.
Shabbat shalom, and see you in shul!
Rabbi Noah Arnow
Kol Rinah 829 N Hanley St. Louis, MO 63130 314.727.1747 kolrinahstl.org
MISSION: Create a welcoming community that embraces Torah, meaningful worship, lifelong learning, music, Israel, and tikkun olam, guided by the tenets of Conservative Judaism.
Phone: 314-727-1747