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Worship Event 
of the Week

Shabbat Blessings
We make Shabbos together at 6:45 p.m. this Friday, June 21, on Zoom with Shabbat blessings and a little Torah. This is a great opportunity to get greater familiarity with the blessings and to connect with our Kol Ami family while  having Shabbat dinner at home. Click here for the Zoom link.

Kol Ami News


Fay Balk baked her famous pan de siete cielos — "bread of the seven heavens" challah — for erev Shavuot last week. (Photo by Rod Perlmutter)

This Week's
Torah Portion

Parashat Beha’alotcha
(Bamidbar/Numbers 8:1-12:16)
We read about the appointment of 70 elders to ease Moses’ burden of leading B’nai Yisrael, the Children of Israel. Two of the appointed, Eldad and Medad, act in the spirit of prophecy, coming into criticism from Joshua for challenging Moses’ leadership. It is Moses himself who comes to their defense. “Would that all G-d’s people were prophets.” In this narrative, we see the need for balance in leadership — to know when to pull back, as Moses does by sharing leadership with the 70 elders, and when to take initiative, as Eldad and Medad do by acting courageously and not waiting for others to act.

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

Rabbi Doug Alpert
Robert Clinton
Kenneth Dantzler
Renée Dietchman
Harriet Greenwald
Karla Jacobs
Rabbi Sally Priesand
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



Fay and I finished the most recent season of “Bridgerton,” one of Shonda Rhimes’ many acclaimed television creations. The setting for the series is early 19th-century London, a time and place of greater racial equality, due at least in part to the marriage of then King George II to Queen Charlotte, of Black Portuguese descent. That it facilitates many of the characters being both Black and of nobility is a welcome piece of the ... Click here to read the rest of Rabbi Doug's blog post.

Kol Ami Event This Week

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Weekly Feature

Member Spotlight:
​​​​​​​Janet Mark and Frank Lipsman
By Ellen Karp


Karp: What originally drew you to Kol Ami? 
Mark/Lipsman: We moved to the Plaza area and were ready to make a change. Having known Rabbi Doug for many years, Kol Ami (and its location) seemed natural. We are impressed with Rabbi Doug’s commitment to social justice and the wonderful music at services. 

Frank, you've served as leader of many Jewish community foundations/institutions. What contribution can Kol Ami make to the well-being of the Greater KC area?
Kol Ami offers value through its location in an area that underserves the KC Jewish community. I am proud that Kol Ami offers a welcoming home for all forms of Jewish observance, but also that Rabbi Doug’s leadership in community-justice and social-action projects reflects Jewish values that our entire Jewish community should appreciate. 

Tell us a bit about your family.
We are hitting our 40th anniversary of living in KC. We are both from Des Moines and have known each other since seventh grade. (We became reacquainted at Washington University, in St. Louis.) Our daughter, Danielle, lives in San Francisco, and our son, Jacob, lives in New Orleans with his wife, Rachel, and their children Murray, 5, and Celia, 2. 
 
Tell us about your vocations.
Frank ended his business-litigation law practice in 2022 but continues to serve as a mediator. Janet worked in fund development, serving in leadership roles at various nonprofits. After retiring from the Kauffman Center as vice president for development in 2022, she continues as a part-time consultant there. 

Janet, what is a little-known fact about our performing arts center that people would be surprised to know?
The Kauffman Center comprises over 285,000 square feet, and two-thirds of the building is behind the stages — dressing rooms, rehearsal spaces, offices, etc., take up more than twice the space of the two theaters combined!