Dear Kol Rinah Family,
Here's my d'var Torah on Parashat Tzav that was published in the St. Louis Jewish Light this week.
Thanks to our shinshinit, Or Garti, for speaking last Shabbat beautifully and vulnerably about her time in Israel earlier this month.
Purim at Kol Rinah was really lovely. We had a great crowd of mostly adults, with a little spiel Saturday night, and Sunday morning the sanctuary was packed, with great megillah reading, spiel, kids and costumes. There were great crafts and a beautiful, ample seudah (meal).
Over the week before, we had a lovely pre-Purim party, and mishloach manot were delivered to almost the entire congregation. (If you didn't get yours, we apologize--there may have been a few delivery snafus--we still have extras, if you'd like!)
All of these parts of our Purim celebrations took an unbelievable amount of preparation, thougth, and effort from so many people. I can't list or name them all, but if you enjoyed parts of Purim this year, think about how you could help next year. And if there's someone you'd like to thank, it's not too late.
One of my favorite parts of Purim every year is giving out matanot l'evyonim, gifts of money to the poor. We collect money at shul the evening and morning of Purim (as well as before), and I take all the money, and drive and walk around St. Louis and give money to whoever I encounter who's in need--I give more than I'd usually give if I just encountered them on my own any other day. But I never find enough people to give to, so I make a donation that day to the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry of JFS in excess of the money that was donated for matanot l'evyonim but that wasn't able to distribute.
I had more to give out this year than I remember having in previous years. Thank you, everyone.
We'll gather for an a cappella Kabbalat Shabbat and Ma'ariv at 6pm tonight.
Candle lighting is at 7:05pm.
Tomorrow morning, we'll begin at 9am. It's Enchanting Shabbat, where congregants will do the bulk of the Torah reading. It's also Shabbat Parah, the third of the four special Shabbatot leading up to Passover.
I'll be speaking tomorrow, and touching on Trans Day of Visibility.
Shabbat ends at 8:03pm.
We've had a bit of trouble the last week or two making minyan in the mornings on Zoom--if you're able to join us at 8am on Sundays, or 7am Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday (Thursday is in person), your presence will really be appreciated.
After Purim comes Passover. All the Passover info is here, and we are having a congregational second seder this year, again. Sign up by April 9!
Next Sunday (April 7), we have two great educational programs happening.
At about 9:15am in the sanctuary, our member Rabbi Micah Buck-Yael will speak about being an ally to LGBTQ+ folks, specifically focusing on supporting trans kids and their families.
At 4pm on Zoom, Ralph Graff will be teaching the first of four sessions on biblical criticism. This session will focus on the "restoration period," when the Israelites returned from captivity in Babylonia and rebuilt the Temple. Ralph has done a tremendous amount of learning and research for this--it's quite amazing!
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 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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