This Week at Mount Zion
January 18 / 16 Shevat
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A note from Rabbi Spilker:
On Shabbat, as we were holding our breath during the hostage crisis in Texas, over 100 Mount Zion members gathered for Havdalah and prayers with just a half-hour’s notice. We needed to be with each other. Thank God the standoff ended hours later with Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker’s calm courage when he hurled a chair at the gunman allowing the hostages to flee.
What happened at Congregation Beth Israel raises once again the specter of antisemitism and how to enhance our safety. As I shared over the weekend on Mount Zion's Facebook Conversation Group, while we pray that this situation never happens again, we are realists and our Jewish community is prepared and also aware we cannot prevent all challenges. Our Twin Cities Jewish community is served by a network of FBI, police, and other security forces coordinated by a new position at the JCRC. Mount Zion’s safety committee under Dan Schibel’s leadership continues to make improvements in the building and in our protocols.
For now, with much relief and gratitude, I invite you to join online for Shabbat services so we can be together in prayer and song. Some will take part in “Our Bodies, Our Souls” retreat and the rest of us will participate in our congregational services. As always, on behalf of your rabbis and cantors, we are here if you would like to talk.
With prayers for courage, faith, and compassion,
Adam Stock Spilker, Rabbi
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Our Bodies Our Souls
25th Annual Jewish Retreat for Women
Friday, January 21 - Saturday, January 22
Lih’yot B’simcha! Let’s Celebrate!
This year’s Our Bodies Our Souls will shimmer and shine because it is our silver anniversary! We will have both in-person and Zoom programing.
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A Women of Mount Zion Temple Event
Wine and Wisdom with Beth Gendler, Executive Director of NCJW
Minnesota Judaism, The Supreme Court and Abortion – What it Means for Minnesota
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MZ Small Groups
Caring for Creation: A Jewish Call to Hope and Action for Climate
First meeting: January 30, 1:00 pm
Snowshoeing
January 30, 1:00 pm
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Volunteer Knitters, Crocheters, and Weavers Needed
When visiting congregants who are not well, Mount Zion’s clergy often give healing shawls made by congregants. We need volunteers to make shawls. For more information, contact Susan Bernhardt (susan@essenceayurveda.com, 612-208-6289)
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Lower school families met outside in person!
In the past month and a half, families from most lower school classes met in person after a long time of not seeing each other. They played outside and engaged during this challenging time. We want to thank the parents/guardians for helping making this happen and we hope to see it happening more as the weather gets better.
Thank you for the Engagement committee for the doing the first outreach about and helping this initiate.
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Mass Graves: From Exhumations to Justice in Bosnia and in Florida
January 23, 1:00-3:00 pm, Webinar
Mount Zion is a co-sponsor.
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Candid Conversation about Israel
January 30, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm via Zoom
with Deputy Consul General to the Midwest, Daniel Aschheim, Ph.D.
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Dismantling Racism from the Inside Out
by Yehudah Webster and Rabbi David Jaffe
Mondays, 6:30 pm, Orientation: Jan 31 and Feb 7
(then classes every other week: Feb 14 & 28; March 14 & 28; April 11 & 25; May 9 & 23).
To dismantle racism in our society at large and in each of us, we need to make both a systemic change as well as do the inner work to change our habits of mind.
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ENGAGE! 2022
February 5 - 8
$12 per class, FREE for participants under age 30.
All classes are held on Zoom and will run for 1 hour.
Four days of Jewish learning offered by Hineni! First-rate teachers, wonderful learning, wide-ranging topics – from cerebral to hands-on. Sign up for just one class, or join us for all four days!
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Conversation about Mount Zion’s Israel Sign with Yehuda Kurtzer
February 10, 7:00 - 8:15 pm via Zoom
Yehuda Kurtzer is a leading public intellectual in American Jewish life. He is President of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America and speaks extensively about the relationship between American Jews, Israel, and Zionism.
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Mount Zion Winter “Travel” for All: A Focus on Germany and Holland
with expert Tour Educator Mike Hollander
February 13, 20, 27 – 11:30 am-12:45 pm
This is a creative mix of off-the-beaten-path sites, culture, and history. The focus is on Germany and Holland. Details.
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Friday, January 21
6:30 pm Shabbat Services
A Return to Zoom Visual T’filah
Our clergy will lead directly through Zoom and will share the visual t’filah slides so all can participate as one. Cantor Strauss-Klein will accompany herself on guitar.
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Saturday, January 22
9:00 am Torah Study - Zoom
Zoom Meeting ID: 949 308 718
10:00 am Shabbat Service
(For calling in, use Meeting ID: 905 418 669)
Yitro – Ex. 19:1-20-23
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Learning Liturgy on Shabbat Mornings
Our rabbis will be teaching the overall structure of the service and a few specific prayers. There will be insights for all! Come to our online, hour-long Shabbat morning service and feel renewed as you appreciate the wisdom of our tradition and its ability to uplift your spirits.
- Learning Liturgy: A Learners' Service!
- Saturdays, Feb 12, Mar 12, Apr 23 10 am via Zoom.
- Learning Liturgy: In Depth Exploration of Prayers
- Saturdays, February 5, March 5, and April 9.
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New ways to help Afghan refugees
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In the Community
- In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, on Sunday, January 23 at 1 pm, Hadar Pe'er, St. Paul Jewish Federation Shaliach, will be joined by Aviv Jebri, Jewish Federation of MA Shaliach, to talk about the Holocaust of the Jews of North Africa. Hadar will share personal stories of his grandfather. Register.
- MICAH St. Paul Chapter Annual [virtual] Legislative Breakfast (Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing) Wednesday, January 26, 8-9:30 am via Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82536401270. MICAH is called to challenge racist practices like this that harm communities of color. St. Paul had passed tenant protections that limit use of criminal, housing court, and credit records by landlords; but then repealed that legislation under pressure from a big landlord lawsuit. We will look at these issues of racism and housing at a state and local level. RSVP with your name, phone number, legislative district or street address, and the number attending to us at
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Mount Zion
1300 Summit Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105
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