CANCELLATIONS DUE TO CORONAVIRUS
To best protect the members of our community Kol HaLev services and activities AT CHC have been canceled until further notice.
Candle lighting, Torah study, classes, and other gatherings will continue virtually online. Read the weekly bulletin or check on this Kol HaLev website for details on how to connect to these virtual gatherings and for announcements about when we will be meeting again in person.
Virtual Shabbat and Torah Study
The Torah study portion this week is Pinchas, Numbers 25:10 - 30:1, continues the theme of Numbers of things falling apart. The community gets comfortable with the Moabites, which saddens Moses and angers God. A plague breaks out. An Israelite leader, Zimiri , and Cozbi, a Moabite princess, publicly flaunt their relationship in the tent of meeting. This infuriates Pinchas who takes brutal action against them, stopping the plague. How can we understand Pinchas’ actions? Does that fact that the plague is stopped really means that the Torah condones such violence?
Pinchas is rewarded with a “covenant of peace” a Brit Shalom. However, there is a scribal tradition that the letter “vav” in the Hebrew word shalom is written in the Torah in such a way to appear broken. Perhaps this tradition is a way that the handed down tradition, in the words of Rabbi Neil Fleischmann, “is telling us that a peace that is achieved through violence is a flawed and incomplete peace”. We certainly live this lesson. The violence against African Americans and the First Nation in this country has led to an incomplete peace. On this Shabbat may we dedicate ourselves to what we are taught in Mishna Avot 1:12, "Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving the creatures and bringing them closer to Torah."
Join Rabbi Ruth for Virtual Shabbat/Torah Study at 10:00 a.m. on Shabbat morning, July 11. (Click on Virtual Shabbat/Torah Study to join in or click here for phone in information. A siddur has been prepared that you can use or print off for this service. Click here to access these pages.
Virtual Candle Lighting
In honor of Shabbat please join Cantor George for virtual candle lighting every Friday, at 7:00 p.m.
For those of you missing Cantor George; "hear" are a few of him.
New Virtual Class - Values and Deliberate Living
Join us on Thursday evenings, at 8:00 p.m. ending September 10 for an exploration on how to better live an intentional, value-based life. We will begin each virtual 40-minute class by looking at a quote from a Jewish source or other wisdom tradition that focuses on a certain value such as patience, creativity, perseverance, etc. and share the successes and challenges we each face in cultivating these values in our own lives. Click here to view this week's quote. To join the virtual class on Thursdays click here. Please contact facilitators Judy or Kenny with any questions.
"Social Distance, But Not Disconnect"
While we are doing what we can to ensure our physical health and safety, let’s think creatively and wisely about our mental and spiritual health and wellbeing. This is quite a strange new world we are adapting to, but let’s not forget what makes life meaningful: our relationships, our sharing of joys and sorrows and ideas and experiences, our caring, our witnessing and accompaniment of each other, our learning and growing together. Something sacred goes on. I have noted before that among the features of a successful community that I most celebrate are the friendships (and the bonds beyond friendship) that are formed and enjoyed. Let’s not let this feature of Kol HaLev wane.
So now is NOT the time to forego the mental and spiritual benefits of our synagogue community. There are many ways to continue and even extend our “religious” practices while we are not meeting together in person. Cantor George, with Shabbat Unplugged, has recorded many of the songs we sing, and you can access them here. Sing or chant uninhibited, in the privacy of your own home. If you do not have a copy of our prayerbook, you can access the Daily Prayerbook or the Shabbat Vehagim by clicking on the title of each prayerbook. If you can not access these, we will deliver one to you for your reading / reflecting / contemplating / praying practice. You may follow the weekly Torah-reading schedule. We can all share recommendations for inspirational reading material. Now may be the time to make a concerted effort to learn something new in order to participate more fully.
So now is NOT the time to forego the mental and spiritual benefits of our synagogue community. There are many ways to continue and even extend our “religious” practices while we are not meeting together in person. Cantor George, with Shabbat Unplugged, has recorded many of the songs we sing, and you can access them here. Sing or chant uninhibited, in the privacy of your own home. If you do not have a copy of our prayerbook, you can access the Daily Prayerbook or the Shabbat Vehagim by clicking on the title of each prayerbook. If you can not access these, we will deliver one to you for your reading / reflecting / contemplating / praying practice. You may follow the weekly Torah-reading schedule. We can all share recommendations for inspirational reading material. Now may be the time to make a concerted effort to learn something new in order to participate more fully.
It is also true that KHL can continue to be KHL by means of the help we offer to each other. Should a need arise, we’re here for you! We can continue the practice of care and attention, of service and support. Our Chesed (Lovingkindness) network invites everyone to let Lysh, Laurie or Shira know if you need special help during this time. Others have offered to help by shopping and delivering groceries or other needs.
Please know that you are not alone, that we’re all in this together, and we can double down on love of self and neighbor. Commitment to the collective, and to each other, is the source and substance of religious community. It is the special sauce, the most important ingredient, our most important asset. The objective is to thrive, not simply survive.
Literature at Lunch - Postponed
Literature at Lunch has been postponed until it is safe to emerge from sheltering at home. A date in the future will be decided by Gail Lipsitz to discuss these memorable stories. Master storyteller Bernard Malamud (1914-1986) explored the mystery and magic of love in the two short stories that we will discuss in our last session this year. These stories also focus on parents' dreams and wishes for their children, and what happens when children choose a different path. In "The First Seven Years," a Holocaust survivor toils as a shoemaker to earn the hand of a young woman whose immigrant father wants her to "marry an educated man and live a better life." The title refers to the Biblical story of Jacob being obliged by Laban to work and wait before being allowed to marry his daughter Rachel (Genesis, chapters 29-31). In "The Magic Barrel," another immigrant, an elusive matchmaker whom Malamud calls a "commercial Cupid," tries to find a suitable bride for a picky young man. The story ends with an unexpected twist. For a biography of Bernard Malamud, click here.
Calendar of Events
Designate KHL At AmazonSmile
Kol HaLev now has an account with AmazonSmile - basically anyone in the congregation, or elsewhere, can elect to have Amazon donate 0.5% of the purchase price of anything they buy on AmazonSmile credited to Kol HaLev.
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support Kol HaLev every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to KHL. To shop at AmazonSmile simply go to smile.amazon.com from the web browser on your computer or mobile device. Make sure you are logged in at AmazonSmile each time you shop.
Sun, July 12 2020
20 Tammuz 5780
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Learn Hebrew!
As an entry point into Judaism and Jewish life, Hebrew language familiarity is the "Golden Gate." Those who have learned a little Hebrew can attest to how much more they can understand, access the wisdom, participate in and appreciate our communal services, celebrations and commemorations. All are welcome; no Hebrew required. As soon as it is safe to resume classes, KHL will offer an "Aleph Bet for Beginners" class on Wednesdays (5:00 to 6:00 p.m.) and Hebrew Literacy for adults is offered throughout the year on Wednesdays, (6:00 to 7:00 p.m.).
Shabbat Music
Kol HaLev, with the guidance of Cantor George has been introducing new, exciting, stimulating, joyful music to our services. Much of this music is for Friday nights and is played by Kol HaLev Unplugged on the fourth Friday night of the month. Kol HaLev Unplugged has made recordings so that the community can learn the melodies more easily. This link takes you to the recordings and the lyrics for the songs. You can also check out our latest You Tube video of Kol HaLev Unplugged singing Cantor George's Shalom Rav! Come to Shabbat and enjoy guitar, drum, voices and song!
KHL - Please Join Us
We are located in The Church of the Holy Comforter (CHC), 130 W. Seminary Avenue, Lutherville 21093. All Friday and Saturday Shabbat services are handicap accessible. For directions to the Shul please click here.
Black Lives Matter
Kol HaLev has joined over 400 Jewish synagogues and organizations that signed this declaration:
Jewish Organizations and Synagogues say: Black Lives Matter
We are Jewish organizations and synagogues from across the racial and political spectrum; from different streams of Judaism; whose members trace their lineage from countries around the world.
We speak with one voice when we say unequivocally: Black lives matter.
We support the Black-led movement in this country that is calling for accountability and transparency from the government and law enforcement. We know that freedom and safety for any of us depends on the freedom and safety of all of us.
There are politicians and political movements in this country who build power by deliberately manufacturing fear to divide us against each other. All too often, anti-Semitism is at the center of these manufactured divisions.
There is a long history to these attempts: during the Southern Freedom Movement of the 1950’s and ‘60’s, conspiracy theories were used by white supremacists attempting to delegitimize the extraordinary organizing of Black activists. Billboards were erected smearing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a communist, signs and flyers claiming that “communist Jews” were behind the civil rights movement were common, and pro-segregation organizations like the John Birch Society popularized these lies.
Black Lives Matter, the recent uprisings across the globe in the wake of the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and so many others, and the decades of political organizing across the country that have led to this moment are movements led by and for Black people. We see through any attempt to suggest otherwise by pointing fingers, scapegoating, or using anti-Semitic dog whistles.
As Jews, we know how dangerous this is: when politicians target Jewish people and blame us for problems, it leads directly to violence against us. When Black movements are undermined, it leads to more violence against Black people, including Black Jews.
Anti-Semitism is part of the same machinery those politicians use to blame Black and brown people, people who are immigrants, people who are Muslim, and more. But whether they generate division and fear based on our religion, our skin color, or how long we’ve been here, their goal is to keep us from working together to win the things we all need to survive and thrive.
When Jewish people join together with our neighbors across racial and religious differences, as we have in the past, we can protect each other and build the future of freedom and safety we all deserve.
Jewish tradition teaches us that justice is not something that will be bestowed upon us, it is something that we need to pursue, and that the pursuit is itself sacred work. We’ll show up for each other every time one of us is targeted because of our differences, and reject any effort to use fear to divide us against each other.
The Black lives matter movement is the current day Civil Rights movement in this country, and it is our best chance at equity and justice. By supporting this movement, we can build a country that fulfills the promise of freedom, unity, and safety for all of us, no exceptions.
Jewish Organizations and Synagogues say: Black Lives Matter
We are Jewish organizations and synagogues from across the racial and political spectrum; from different streams of Judaism; whose members trace their lineage from countries around the world.
We speak with one voice when we say unequivocally: Black lives matter.
We support the Black-led movement in this country that is calling for accountability and transparency from the government and law enforcement. We know that freedom and safety for any of us depends on the freedom and safety of all of us.
There are politicians and political movements in this country who build power by deliberately manufacturing fear to divide us against each other. All too often, anti-Semitism is at the center of these manufactured divisions.
There is a long history to these attempts: during the Southern Freedom Movement of the 1950’s and ‘60’s, conspiracy theories were used by white supremacists attempting to delegitimize the extraordinary organizing of Black activists. Billboards were erected smearing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a communist, signs and flyers claiming that “communist Jews” were behind the civil rights movement were common, and pro-segregation organizations like the John Birch Society popularized these lies.
Black Lives Matter, the recent uprisings across the globe in the wake of the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and so many others, and the decades of political organizing across the country that have led to this moment are movements led by and for Black people. We see through any attempt to suggest otherwise by pointing fingers, scapegoating, or using anti-Semitic dog whistles.
As Jews, we know how dangerous this is: when politicians target Jewish people and blame us for problems, it leads directly to violence against us. When Black movements are undermined, it leads to more violence against Black people, including Black Jews.
Anti-Semitism is part of the same machinery those politicians use to blame Black and brown people, people who are immigrants, people who are Muslim, and more. But whether they generate division and fear based on our religion, our skin color, or how long we’ve been here, their goal is to keep us from working together to win the things we all need to survive and thrive.
When Jewish people join together with our neighbors across racial and religious differences, as we have in the past, we can protect each other and build the future of freedom and safety we all deserve.
Jewish tradition teaches us that justice is not something that will be bestowed upon us, it is something that we need to pursue, and that the pursuit is itself sacred work. We’ll show up for each other every time one of us is targeted because of our differences, and reject any effort to use fear to divide us against each other.
The Black lives matter movement is the current day Civil Rights movement in this country, and it is our best chance at equity and justice. By supporting this movement, we can build a country that fulfills the promise of freedom, unity, and safety for all of us, no exceptions.
Weather Closing Policy
It is Kol HaLev's policy that if Baltimore County Schools are closed due to weather then any KHL service or event scheduled for that day will also be canceled and/or rescheduled.
Sun, July 12 2020 20 Tammuz 5780