Newsletters

Worship Events
of the Week

Shabbat Blessings and Bring Your Own Picnic
We are on the patio at All Souls (or inside in case of rain) at 6 p.m. this Friday, May 31, for Shabbat blessings and a bring-your-own Shabbat picnic. It will be a great opportunity to make Shabbos together and appreciate our time together in community.

(When you come to All Souls, you may also bring your gently used paper grocery sacks. We donate them to Migrant Farmworkers Assistance Fund, for food distribution to farmworkers and their families. Thank you!)

Shabbat-Morning Study
We are at the home of Fay and Rabbi Doug and on Zoom for study and great discussion, at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, June 1. To attend in person, please RSVP to rabbidoug@kolamikc.org. For Zoom participation, click here. 

Upcoming
Kol Ami Event

A Splash Pad Family Gathering 
Looking for a fun and casual way to gather with other Jewish families with children? We are getting together from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 22, at the Gillham Park Sprayground (41st and Gillham Road) for snacks, music and splashing around. There’s also a playground, so pack a change of clothes. All are welcome! Questions? Email engagement@

kolamikc.org.

Kol Ami News

Bring Joy (Oneg) to a Friday Shabbat Service
We invite volunteers to bring simple vegetarian treats for an Oneg Shabbat on the first Friday-night service of the month. (Kol Ami provides challah and grape juice.) Please respond to  worship@kolamikc.org to get on the Oneg Shabbat calendar.
— Kol Ami Worship Committee

Yahrzeit
This Week

June 1
Jack Stern - father of Stan Stern

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

Rabbi Doug Alpert
Karen Chisholm
Robert Clinton
Kenneth Dantzler
Renée Dietchman
Harriet Greenwald
Karla Jacobs
Jean Shifrin
Melvin Michael Slater
Robert Allen Slater

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



A couple of snippets for this week’s blog. Last week, KCMO City Councilman Nathan Willett put forth a resolution ostensibly to fight antisemitism. Thankfully, it was defeated by the City Council. 

Recently, there has been a spate of politicians doing performative politics in their disingenuous concern about antisemitism. Willett, like Elise Stefanik and Michael Johnson et al., are now all about antisemitism. Yet their silence ... Click here to read the rest of Rabbi Doug's blog post.

This Week's Torah Portion
Parashat Bechukotai
(Vayikra/Leviticus 26:3-27:34)



As we come to the end of the Book of Vayikra/Leviticus, we read of blessings bestowed upon us for doing good in the world and curses when we fail to do so. Amongst the curses is to exile us from the land. The gift of HaAretz, the land of Israel, is not unconditional. We must act with compassion and establish a just society in order to fulfill our obligations in our covenant with G-d.

Weekly Feature

Batter Up — Jewish Baseball Players
Are No Anomaly
By Stan Stern


It’s baseball season, and the Royals are having their best record in years. I enjoy watching the on-field talent of the players, but sometimes I’d also like to know more about them. 
 
Are any of them Jewish? The Baseball Talmud ranks Jewish baseball players Sandy Koufax and Hank Greenberg as the two greatest Jewish baseball players of all time. You can add pitcher Ken Holtzman to that list as well.
 
But what about now? Are Jews still playing Major League Baseball?
 
According to the Jewish Telegraph Agency’s sports report, in 2023 “a record 18 Jews appeared in at least one big-league game. That was one more than the previous record of 17 in 2022.”
 
Probably the two top players are Max Fried, the Atlanta Braves’ starting pitcher, and Alex Bregman, the Houston Astros’ third baseman. Fried, like a lot of us, “grew up idolizing Koufax,” according to JTA. Bregman could be a future Hall of Famer and drew a Star of David on his cap during an MLB playoff game last year.
 
Among others are Dean Kremer, a pitcher for Baltimore whose parents are Israeli; Zack Gelof, a second baseman who recently appeared at Kauffman Stadium playing for Oakland; and Kevin Pillar, an outfielder with the Los Angeles Angels.
 
A few more of those 18 include Garrett Stubbs, Philadelphia Phillies catcher; Jake Bird, Colorado Rockies pitcher; Richard Bleier, a pitcher (and free agent as of this writing); Zack Weiss, Minnesota Twins pitcher; and Scott Effross, New York Yankees pitcher.

Several Jewish players also are in the minors, with varying chances of making it to the big leagues.