Please click here for the link to the new Conservative prayerbook, Siddur Lev Shalem: Shabbat Shaharit Siddur Lev Shalem The prayers will be the same as in our usual blue siddur, so feel free to use that instead if you wish.
Please click here for the link to the page numbers for Shabbat morning prayers in Sim Shalom (Blue) and in Lev Shalem Page Numbers for Shabbat Morning
A Word of Torah from Rabbi Starr
White Fire: Poetry on the Parashah (part of a weekly column -- iambic pentameter parashah poetry) Ladder of Angels by -Ilana Kurshan
Jacob rarely slept straight through the night He often woke with vivid, startling dreams. His mother would come running to his tent Awoken by his tremors and his screams.
But then he left and set out for Haran. With neither tent to pitch nor mother near. Alone at night he slept beneath the stars Enveloped in the darkness, and his fear.
A mild man who stayed inside his tent, As he was known, now Jacob felt the chill Of outdoor air, and vast wide open space. And—gasp—a wind. The night was hardly still.
The wind of angels’ beating wings atop A ladder to the dark skies, up and down Ascend, descend. For God is in this place The heavens linked to firm and solid ground.
“I’m here with you,” said God. “And I will be, Alongside when you head back on your way.” Then Jacob woke, becalmed, his rest assured, He knew now something new. And so he prayed.
We all are Jacob, sleeping through our lives We’re swept up in time’s tide, its rise and fall We think: That’s just a ladder, just the sky. For most it happens rarely, if at all:
We wake up, stunned, bestirred -- For God is here! Life takes us far, but God is always near.
I’m sharing this poem that deals with the life of our patriarch Jacob, in particular his dream of angels ascending and descending between heaven and earth, which we read in this week’s Torah portion.
The Torah practices good writing: it SHOWS more than it TELLS. We see what people do rather than being told what they’re thinking, feeling etc. But all readers want to know more about the characters in a story: who are they, what’s their back story, what’s going on inside of them.
This poem encourages us to wonder more about Jacob. He’s not that strong: he relies on his mother. Phobias plague him: night terrors and scary dreams plague him. It’s cold and windy and barren. Just when you’re thinking “he’s in trouble” come the angels, and the ladder, and the realization that his small fragile life is part of a larger world in which heaven and earth connect.
In other words, God is in our world. No matter how lonely and small we may feel. We just have to be open to letting God in, to letting life surprise us. And then—everything’s different.
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi David Starr
*RSVP* TODAY Mini Jewish Film Festival Tuesday, November 28, 7:30PM
Daily Mishna Learning with Rabbi David Starr Monday - Friday, 12:00PM
When COVID began Rabbi David Starr started an online daily Mishna learning with KI. This has been a great way to connect and learn together.
We invite everyone in our community for daily Mishna learning and open dialogue on Zoom. The sessions meet at 12:00PM, for 15 – 20 minutes Monday through Friday.
Participant led Mincha will follow each learning at 12:20PM.
