Temple News

Shabbat Morning Torah Study at 9:00 am, will be accessible online through ZOOM. If you wish to join us for Torah Study, you will need to provide us with your email address so that we can send you an invite.

We are living in trying times.  The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted every part of our lives.

The New Reform Temple is a spiritual community but, for the time being, we must connect online. We are strengthened by sharing our hopes, fears, and feelings with each other.  Join Rabbi Londy along with other NRT members for an hour of talk, sharing, and, hopefully, some humor on Tuesday, March 24 from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm.  Talk if you like.  Sit back and listen if you prefer. Only people who want to share will be asked to do so.

If you want to participate, email the temple at info@thenewreformtemple.com and we will send you an invite to our Zoom Conversation.

If you want to set up a time to speak privately with Rabbi Londy, contact the office at 816-523-7809 and we will set up a time.

Effective Monday, March 16 through March 31, The New Reform Temple will be closed to the public. Our Friday Shabbat Service will be viewable online through The Temple’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/newreformtemple?rf=111719738863451). Shabbat Morning Torah Study will be accessbile through ZOOM. If you wish to join us for Torah Study, you will need to provide us with your email address so that we can send you an invite.

Dear Friends,

All of us are aware of the COVID-19 outbreak that has become a public health concern. We hope that this health crisis will resolve itself with the least amount of sickness. Yet, we are aware that each of us must help to limit the impact of this disease and to function with a heightened sense of alertness and precaution. Judaism teaches us that we address challenges by working cooperatively within the community to support one and other.

We are instituting some simple precautions to address our current situation.

* Hand sanitizers are located throughout the congregation. Please make use of these upon entering the building. We will be strictly enforcing this precaution at Friday night worship and at our Oneg Shabbat.

* Enhanced cleaning and sanitation protocols have been implemented for our custodial staff.

* Hand sanitizer and sanitizing solutions will be in our religious school classrooms so students and teachers may sanitize as needed.

In addition to these sanitation efforts, we ask that our community work together to ensure the health and safety of our fellow congregants:

* If you have any cold or flu symptoms, please remain at home until you are free of symptoms.

* If you suspect/know you are exposed to coronavirus – either locally or through travel – please ensure you are symptom free before coming to Temple. We encourage you to seek appropriate medical assistance.

* In order to prevent any inadvertent transmission of disease, please do your best to minimize hand shaking, kissing, and hugging when greeting friends.

We will continue to monitor information and follow recommendations, as provided by the Missouri Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control. In the unlikely event that the congregation and/or religious school is required to temporarily close, we will keep you informed via email, our website, social media, and local news stations.

Comprehensive information on COVID-19 is available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/index.html and https://health.mo.gov/

These are trying times for all of us, but we will get through it. Let us all be supportive and sensitive to each other’s needs and fears. If any of you have specific concerns, please reach out to us so we can be there for you.

Thank you for your attention and cooperation.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Alan David Londy, D.Min.
Bradley Freilich, President

A community second night of Passover Seder will be offered Thursday, April 9 and takes place at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah beginning at 6:30 p.m. Family and friends come together as a community for the telling of the Passover story and to enjoy a traditional Seder meal. Information and mail in registration forms are available at www.kcrabbi.org. Register online at https://rabbiskc.ticketspice.com/passover2020. Reservation deadline is April 1. Questions: afprogram@aol.com or call 913-327-4622.

Sponsored by the Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City and Jewish Family Services and funded in part by the Flo Harris Foundation of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City and supported by Congregations.

On Thursday, March 5 at 7pm at the Sulgrave, we will screen: Gett, the Trial of Viviane Amsalem. In Israel there is neither civil marriage nor civil divorce; only rabbis can legalize a marriage or its dissolution, which is only possible with the husband’s full consent. Viviane Amsalem has been applying for a divorce for three years but her husband Elisha, will not agree. His cold intransigence, Viviane’s determination to fight for her freedom, and the ambiguous role of the judges shape a procedure in which tragedy vies with absurdity, and where everything is brought out for judgment, apart from the initial request.

RSVP is required. Please contact the Temple office.

The New Reform Temple launches the eighth season of its monthly film series for adults which brings to our community cutting edge, award winning films that will explore the Modern Jewish Experience.
On Thursday, February 20 at 7pm at the Sulgrave, we will screen: THE OUTRAGEOUS SOPHIE TUCKER. The rags to riches story of Sophie Tucker, an iconic superstar who ruled the worlds of vaudeville, Broadway, radio, television, and Hollywood throughout the 20th century. Before Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Bette Midler, Marilyn Monroe, and Mae West, Sophie Tucker was the first woman to infatuate her audiences with a bold, bawdy and brassy style unlike any other. Using all of “The Last of the Red Hot Mamas” 400-plus recently rediscovered personal scrapbooks, authors Susan and Lloyd Ecker take you on their seven-year journey retracing Tucker’s sixty-year career in show business.
RSVP is required. Please contact the Temple office.