Newsletters

Worship Event 
of the Week

Shabbat Study, Service and Seudah
Saturday morning, February 17, we gather at the home of Fay and Rabbi Doug for study at 9:30 a.m., prayer at around 10:30 a.m., followed by a Seudah (a festive Shabbat brunch). Zoom is also an option.

If attending in person, you must RSVP to rabbidoug@kolamikc.org.

​​​​​​​For the Zoom link, click here.

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Kol Ami News

Music Position 
Open at Kol Ami
Kol Ami is looking for a part-time music director. Please learn more about this opportunity by clicking here.

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Yahrzeit
This Week
February 17
Emily Ariel Bamberger – daughter of David and Elizabeth Bamberger, sister of Elissa Bamberger

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

Karen Chisholm
Robert Clinton
Kenneth Dantzler
Harriet Greenwald
Michelle Hills
Karla Jacobs 
Katie Nottingham
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



I write this as I bask in the glow of the Chiefs' Super Bowl win. As a lifelong Kansas Citian and having the opportunity as a kid to go to Chiefs’ games in the old Municipal Stadium, at 22nd and Brooklyn, it takes me back to experiences shared over Chiefs, Royals and KU (mostly basketball) with family and friends.

There is much to critique about professional sports, particularly in the case of the Chiefs — the physical dangers of the games to players, and the ... Click here to read the rest of Rabbi Doug's blog post.

This Week's Torah Portion
Parashat Terumah (Shemot/Exodus 25:1-27:19)​​​​​​​



We read this week about the building of the Mishkan, the Holy Tabernacle. This sacred space was to accompany B’nai Yisrael, the Children of Israel, as they wandered in the wilderness. We endeavor to create sacred space, not so much by what we build but rather by how we as people create the space.

Weekly Feature

Jews and Chocolate — a Sweet Connection
By Wynne Begun
 
When I think about February, my taste buds begin to tingle. Somewhere subconsciously, I associate this month with chocolate. Maybe there is more of a connection between me and chocolate than just my weakness for sugar. Maybe there is a genetic connection, due to the history of Jews and the production of chocolate. That is my excuse, anyway.

Chocolate was first produced in Central and South America. But the first account of a European encountering chocolate was Christopher Columbus on his fourth voyage (though he didn’t know what to do with the mysterious bean). 

As Jews were expelled from a variety of locations, they embraced commerce, and chocolate became a trading opportunity. As the Jewish diaspora expanded in the aftermath of the Inquisition, Jewish expertise in chocolate manufacturing also spread (to France, England, Colonial America …).

Fast-forward to the American Revolution — the dumping of all that tea into the harbor and the need for a new drink. Thus began the popularity of hot chocolate, which was supplied by Jewish immigrants. Most Ashkenazi Jews (75 percent) cannot process lactose. Today, hot chocolate is made with milk but not so in the 18th century!

More information about Jews and chocolate can be found in the following books and at the Nosher (click here).

• On the Chocolate Trail: A Delicious Adventure Connecting Jews, Religions, History, Travel, Rituals and Recipes to the Magic of Cacao, by Rabbi Deborah R. Prinz

• Babka, Boulou & Blintzes: Jewish Chocolate Recipes from Around the World, compiled by Michael Leventhal