Rabbi's Week in Review Blog

We were filled with gratitude this past week at the news that four of the hostages taken on October 7 by Hamas were rescued. We continue to pray for the release of the remaining hostages still held captive by Hamas.

Yet we cannot rejoice, as the rescue came at the expense of (at the time of this writing) 274 Palestinian lives and many more injured. After being at war for so many months, it seems that the terrible status quo...Read more...

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...Read more...

Amidst the continuing sadness and acrimony surrounding the violence in Gaza, and the failure of  leadership on all sides to end the war, I continue to try and connect with those seeking an alternative that will lead to peace and justice — while also holding on to the positive and uplifting trends in our Kol Ami community.

This past Friday, we celebrated Shabbat with our Shabbat Shulchan informal service, followed by Shabbat...Read more...

I have always looked forward to celebrating Pesach. While the holiday is Torah-based, the seder is really a product of the Rabbinic and Geonic periods. Which is to say, it is ripe for good discussion and healthy argument — Machloket L’Shem Shamayim, Argument for the Sake of Heaven.

Yet I came into this year’s Passover feeling down, and concerned as to what was an appropriate way to celebrate — or even if it was appropriate to...Read more...

I was involved in a roundtable last week as part of KCPT Channel 19’s “Flatland in Focus” program. The program was one of the events commemorating the 10th anniversary of the murders at the Jewish Community Center and Village Shalom. On the panel was Mindy Corporon, the founder of the SevenDays nonprofit organization promoting kindness and understanding, and the mother and daughter, respectively, of Reat Underwood and Dr. William...Read more...