Worship Event
of the Week
Shabbat Shulchan
We always look forward to celebrating Shabbat together with our Shabbat Shulchan, our Shabbos Table. At 6 p.m. this Friday, February 14, at All Souls, join us for informal, joyous worship followed by our Seudah, our festive vegetarian Shabbat dinner. Click here to RSVP so Julia knows how much food to get.
We will also be celebrating Tu B’Shevat (actually occurring on Thursday) with food and drink appropriate to honoring this day, the birthday of the trees, and honoring the gift of our created world and the need to protect our environment.
Social Justice Event
Make Donations for Strawberry Week
We are collecting feminine-hygiene products (tampons, pads and liners) for Strawberry Week Society, a local nonprofit that improves access to menstrual products in underserved communities. Please bring tampons, pads and liners to our in-person Shabbat service this Friday, February 14. If you have any questions, contact Lee Merrill at lacmerrill@gmail.com.
— Lee Merrill
Yahrzeits
This Week
February 12
Daniel Freeman Jaffe – father of Anna Jaffe
Ruth Wells – mother of Lynne Bratcher
February 16
Marge Sackin – mother of Steve Sackin
We Wish Mi Shebeirach
A complete healing of mind, body and spirit:
Robert Clinton
Kenneth Dantzler
Alan Dietchman
Renée Dietchman
Judy Krugman
Yale Krugman
Carol Ann Parker
Steve Sackin
Micha ben Sarah
Jean Shifrin
Melvin Michael Slater
Serena Verden
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
Event of the week: So, the Chiefs lost, a team and a city bereft of hope.
Yet, as I write this the day after the game, I observe something remarkable. Life goes on! To the credit of our loyal/rabid fanbase, no one really seems too upset. With hope in our hearts, we eagerly look forward to next season, or at least the hope that comes with Kansas City Royals' spring training. As for the Royals, I remember the end of the 2014 ... Click here to read the rest of Rabbi Doug's blog post.
This Week's Torah Portion
Parashat Yitro (Shemot/Exodus 18:1-20:23)
We read this week not only about the delineation of the Aseret Dibrot, the Ten Commandments, but also about Moses’ crisis of confidence in his leadership capabilities. As to the latter, with the good advice of his father-in-law, Jethro, Moses delegates the responsibility for serving the people so the burden does not fall solely upon him.
We tend to contextualize this to distributing leadership responsibilities within our own community. However, this idea of effective leadership can be a lesson for creating coalitions — that we need to build coalitions beyond our own community in order to make progress on our own values.
Weekly Feature
Valentine’s Joy at JVS
By Ellen Karp
Hallmark celebrates each Valentine’s Day with an "exclusive" Gold Crown 13-inch Plush animatronic (sound and motion) critter. I celebrated the day annually by giving that year's offering to my husband, Dick. He loved them. Over time, the collection ballooned, including such items as an angel-winged alligator, a pink pig singing and dancing the Cupid Shuffle, a dancing Snoopy on ice, etc., etc.
Dick died six-plus years ago, and I decided to donate the collection, as well as around three-dozen Patriots and Red Sox caps, to Jewish Vocational Service. (He was a New Englander through and through and a diehard fan.) The day I took these treasures in a large trash bag to the JVS building, the receptionist pointed to empty wire shelves lining the wall in the waiting area that said “Free.” She told me to place them there. Also in the waiting room was a lively group, evidently a large extended family of 20 newly arrived immigrants, all speaking French. Babies, toddlers, young kids, a young mother nursing, adults and seniors of various ages.
As I pulled items from my bag and started placing them on the shelf, the room around me exploded in joy! I was swarmed with hands reaching out for the toys and the caps. Incandescent smiles and laughter broke out as the men traded caps among themselves, and the women and kids embraced the critters. It filled me with joy, and I knew that, somewhere, Dick was smiling, too.
Wishing you happiness as well this Valentine’s Day.
Community Events
Unidos: Rally for Immigrants and LGBTQIA+
A rally takes place from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, February 16, in KC's Westside (under the I-35 bridge between Cesar Chavez Ave. and Southwest Blvd.). See lafkc.org for more information.
Repro Shabbat
Dr. Michal Raucher, Dr. David Slusky and Rabbi Doug serve as panelists for a discussion on abortion and reproductive rights from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday, February 23, at Congregation Beth Shalom (14200 Lamar, Overland Park). This program is part of Repro Shabbat, a Shabbat focused on abortion and reproductive rights. To register for the event, click here.
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