Rabbi's Week in Review - 8/1/2023
08/01/2023 09:30:23 AM
It is good to be back on with our Congregation Kol Ami newsletter after a summer hiatus. While summer is a time in which we expect to take a break, the Jewish calendar, with its particular logical rhythm, pushes us forward toward a continual process of self-reflection, self-improvement and living Torah in our daily lives. It is a balance of mourning/sadness and celebration/joy, contemplation/study and action/engagement.
In...Read more...
Rabbi's Week in Review - 6/19/2023
06/19/2023 06:08:58 PM
I spent the better part of last week at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Falls Village, Connecticut, at the final/culminating retreat for my Clergy Leadership Incubator (CLI), a two-year rabbinic fellowship striving to promote significant transformation of synagogue life. (And I, the rabbi, consistently test as an introvert every time I take a Myers-Briggs personality test, resulting in an approach to retreats bordering on...Read more...
Rabbi's Week in Review - 6/12/2023
06/12/2023 10:16:18 PM
We had a wonderful service this past Shabbat at the Manheim Community Garden. Every time we are out in the garden, it is a gift for us and a valuable contribution to our community.
Some thank-yous as I reflect back on our Shabbat time together. Thanks to Steve and Linda Sackin for being instrumental (as in, it would have never happened nor continue to happen without them) in all that is good about the Manheim Garden. Thanks to...Read more...
Rabbi's Week in Review - 6/6/2023
06/06/2023 10:01:09 AM
For someone who can make no claim of musicianship, I have made music a pretty constant companion my entire life. I cannot recall a time when I was without music, and I can track certain times in my life to specific songs or groups that were prominent during that time.
This has much to do with my being enamored of the radio as a form of communication. As a kid, I would get up early in our home and sit by the radio in the...Read more...
Rabbi's Week in Review - 5/29/2023
05/29/2023 12:29:54 PM
I have been under the weather for almost two weeks — certainly not life-threatening, and I don’t mention it to elicit sympathy, notwithstanding a modicum of whining and wimpiness inflicted upon Fay at home. If I could characterize it in a slightly broader perspective, my body has become increasingly annoying with age.
It has been awhile since I have come down with an illness. (I had Covid with mild symptoms in January 2022.)...Read more...
Rabbi's Week in Review - 5/23/2023
05/23/2023 11:32:22 AM
This week we celebrate Shavuot, one of the Shalosh Regalim — the three pilgrimage festivals. As Pesach (Passover) is the most popular of all Jewish holidays, and Sukkot has become increasingly popular recently, Shavuot is arguably the forgotten of these three Torah chagim/holidays.
Yet Shavuot is central to our existence. In celebrating the receiving of Torah at Mt. Sinai, we are really celebrating our ongoing Jewish...Read more...
Rabbi's Week in Review - 5/15/2023
05/15/2023 03:56:47 PM
In this, my weekly blog, my thoughts seem to move back and forth between being more positive and inspiring (at least, I hope they inspire) and pointing out injustices in order to fulfill our obligation as Jews to work for a more just community and world. I don’t have it necessarily planned out that way. It is more a reflection of the state of the world in which we need to carve out moments of joy in order to confront the chaos.
When...Read more...
Rabbi's Week in Review - 5/8/2023
05/08/2023 04:16:18 PM
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves spoke at our Friday service about some positive changes in how KCPD approaches a number of very challenging issues facing our police force, and she also glossed over other significant problems.
On the positive side, assigning a liaison (Officer Alex Saragusa) to work specifically with marginalized communities is a much-needed step. I asked for his contact information and will follow...Read more...
Rabbi's Week in Review - 5/2/2023
05/02/2023 11:43:32 AM
While we have a packed Shabbat this week (guest speaker, special Oneg Shabbat, AIDS walk), I wanted to focus on one aspect of our Shabbat celebration. We have the opportunity to honor and celebrate our lay leaders as we have a changing of the guard, with outgoing president, Wynne Begun, and incoming president, Pat Clinton. This in addition to all of our incredible board members who give so generously of their time to create a synagogue...Read more...
Rabbi's Week in Review - 4/25/2023
04/25/2023 11:30:36 AM
It’s been a difficult couple of weeks for our city. There was the shooting of Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old black kid who had the temerity to mistakenly go to the wrong house to pick up his siblings. This was one of a number of shootings that occurred when someone made a simple mistake — entering the wrong driveway, going to the wrong car — mistakes I have made and will probably make again.
There were a number of troubling events...Read more...
Thu, May 15 2025
17 Iyyar 5785
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