Newsletters

Worship Events
of the Week

Erev Shabbat Service
We gather together at 6:45 p.m. this Friday, February 2, at All Souls for Shabbat prayer, music and Oneg Shabbat, Shabbat joy. It is always wonderful when we can be in community and share life together.

Study With the Rabbi
Join us, either in-person or by Zoom, for study and great discussion at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, February 3. In-person will be at the home of Fay and Rabbi Doug and requires an RSVP to  rabbidoug@kolamikc.org. For the Zoom link, click here.

Bring Your Paper Bags
When coming to All Souls, bring the gently used paper grocery bags you’ve been saving. We donate them to Migrant Farmworkers Assistance Fund for food distribution to farmworkers and their families. Thank you!

Yahrzeit This Week
February 5
Morris Begun – father of Wynne Begun

We Wish
Mi Shebeirach
A complete healing of mind, body and spirit:

Robert Clinton
Kenneth Dantzler
Bill Drummond
Rev. Lloyd Fields
Amanda Goldstein
Harriet Greenwald
Michelle Hills
Karla Jacobs 
Katie Nottingham
Larry Parker
Dr. Carol Pohl
Harolyn Richberg
Michah ben Sarah
Edi Shifrin
Rachel Silk

If you would like a name to continue to be listed or if you have a
new name to include, please send an email to  healing@kolamikc.org. 

Rabbi's Week in Review



To say that 2024 is an important year for our country is an understatement. I feel that there has never been a more crucial time for the future of the United States in my lifetime.

Recently, two things have reminded me of the urgency of the moment. One was the announcement of a campaign to seek an amendment to the Missouri Constitution, ensconcing abortion as a right. Over the next few months, there will be efforts to put this to ...  Click here to read the rest of Rabbi Doug's blog post.

This Week's Torah Portion
Parashat Yitro (Shemot/Exodus 18:1-20:22)



This week we receive the first recitation of the Aseret Dibrot, the Ten Commandments. This is the second of two times in chanting our Written Torah in which the congregation stands. Last week’s Torah portion, with the chanting of the Song at the Sea, is the other time the congregation rises. 

One perspective is that the two times in which we stand signify bookends in our relationship with G-d. Last week we stood in gratitude to G-d for having been freed from bondage, in gratitude for what G-d did for us. With the recitation of the Ten Commandments this week, receiving the 613 Mitzvot/Commandments, and entering into Covenant with G-d at Mt. Sinai, we have the opportunity to give back in the relationship, to not just be takers in the relationship.

I have often referenced one of my teachers, Rabbi Dr. Moshe Berger, relating that, of our many needs, our greatest need is the need to be needed. It is true in our relationship with G-d, and it is true in our interpersonal relationships.

Weekly Feature

Jewish Comics Keep Us Laughing
By Ellen Karp

Depressed? Anxious? Of course! It’s January — and an election year! So have you heard the one about… 

Humor — the ancient Jewish antidote to tsuris and calamities, both everyday and existential — is the grist that has nurtured generations of Jewish purveyors of jokes. What would American comedy and today’s streaming services be without Jewish comedians? The list is long and lavish. Wikipedia lists 200 names under the category “Jewish American comedians.”  

The Jewish Joke: A Short History – with Punchlines, by Devorah Baum, is not just a joke book. It offers much insight into Jewish life in both the old and new worlds. It regaled our Kol Ami Book Group when we read it a couple of years back. For a more comprehensive study of American Jewish humor, see Jennifer Caplan’s analysis in Religion Compass/Volume 16, Issue 11-12, November-December 2022. Click here.

So this winter, whatever your sense of hope, foreboding, optimism or ennui, check out your favorite Jewish comic’s latest routine. Here are two I discovered, one from a Gen X performer, Gary Gulman, and one from 23-year-old Gen Z newcomer Leo Reich. You can stream their comedy specials on MAX or watch excerpts of their routines on YouTube.   
 
DISCLAIMER: Everyone’s sense of humor is unique to them. Don’t blame the messenger! 
Gary Gulman: "Born on Third Base" — click here.
Leo Reich: "Who Literally Cares?!" — click here.