In the News
here’s this song I like to hear when I’m sad, because it makes me feel a certain way of happy.
It doesn’t make me happy-happy. It’s not one of those instant pick-me-ups. But the song takes me to a place, every time. Listening to it is a process. An experience. And during this experience, the song nourishes me. It provides perspective, a chance for introspection, and in the end, it makes you believe in believing.
It’s called “Hashkiveinu.” It’s sung by Rabbi Randy.
These days, Rabbi James Stone Goodman spends a whole lot of time checking in with folks. “I make myself carry my 50-pound phone around and I call more people every day to see how they are doing,” said Goodman, who is affiliated with Central Reform Congregation. “Then I call their mother, their parents. I’m also talking with all kinds of people I haven’t talked to in a long while.”
[…] Some religious communities are ramping up their mental health outreach during the pandemic. Central Reform Congregation in the Central West End has expanded its monthly support group for people with diagnoses and their families to once-a-week gatherings.
ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) — Passover will begin at sunset Wednesday and Easter will be celebrated this coming Sunday.
Members of both religions will be celebrating differently this year as the coronavirus outbreak requires people to stay home to maintain the general public’s health. So instead of celebratory dinners at home and churches packed with members, everything is going digital.
Over the past few weeks, local sites of worship have had to recalibrate how they serve their congregations during a time when coming together can do more harm than good.
St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson announced a 30-day stay-at-home order last weekend. The restrictions require people to remain in their homes whenever possible as part of an ongoing effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. There are a number of exceptions to the stay-at-home order, city and county officials said, but religious centers aren’t one of them.
ST. LOUIS – Several local clergies from around the St. Louis area joined a group web conference call on Facebook with a clear message for Missouri Governor Mike Parson.
“Our mission is to make a moral plea to Governor Parson to join the other 18 governors in the country and issue a stay-at-home order,”
Relatively speaking, Missouri has not been hit as hard as many other states.
Rabbi Susan Talve, Central Reform Congregation, says a state-at-home order from the governor would carry greater significance than ones from counties.
Henry Rosenzweig admits that last week, when plans for his March 14 bar mitzvah at Central Reform Congregation began to unravel, he was plenty disappointed.
But in the end, the 13-year-old’s empathy for others helped him refocus his energy and taught him a life lesson he isn’t likely to forget.
[…] Michelle McNeal, a janitor at 1010 Market St., said she is a mother who previously experienced homelessness.
“We believe that $10 an hour is not enough to feed our families, to pay our bill, to be able to do public transportation, to be able to have our medical bills paid for,” she said.
Supporting the janitors at a downtown rally Thursday were Rabbi Susan Talve, St. Louis Building Trades Executive Secretary-Treasurer John Stiffler and Rev. Darryl Gray.
[…] Rabbi Susan Talve was one of six honorees at the Missouri Health Care for All’s Health Care Champion Awards Reception. The event recognizes legislators, volunteers and community partners who have made an impact in Missourians’ access to quality, affordable health care.
If pictures were used to explain the meaning of certain words, no doubt Randy Fleisher’s headshot would be found alongside “mensch.” The Central Reform Congregation rabbi personifies the definition of all-around good guy, kind soul and humble spiritual leader not only to members of his own congregation but to pretty much anyone who knows him.
Sitting around the table in the Central Reform Congregation library earlier this month, the meeting of No Shanda, a mental health group led by Rabbis Susan Talve and James Goodman, was about to start. Several of the participants chatted with one another. Some sat quietly. I introduced myself to the two women sitting nearest to me. I knew one of their relatives; it began to feel comfortable. The other I had just met on the Oklahoma vigil trip and we smiled at each other.
[…] The singing gave way to speeches by trip organizers, clergy and other participants.
“We need their holy chutzpah!” Central Reform Congregation Rabbi Susan Talve said. “Let our people and let our families and children go.”
Talve offered a prayer.
“Loving Creator, thank you for allowing us to be here today to share these words,” she said. “I ask that the ears that hear this message will do good and that the light and love in their hearts will bring them to action to do what is right.”
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – This friday is fifth anniversary of Michael Brown’s death that turned into months of protests, riots, reflection and change.
Rabbi Susan Talve of Central Reform Congregation was on the front lines. She joins us on Fox 2 this morning to take a look back.
Rabbi Susan Talve marched with protestors, provided spiritual guidance and support. She also travels the world advocating for peace and social justice.
LAWTON, Okla. (TNN) – Protesters traveling from St Louis are in Lawton, gearing up for protest on Fort Sill Friday morning.
Protesters arrived in Lawton from St Louis, and will march on Ft. Sill to demand migrant children not be housed on post. The organization leading the protest is Heartland for Human Justice.
“We are a group that came together to work on immigration issues, especially to respond to the suffering we see for families,” said Rabbi Susan Talve, a founder of Heartland for Human Justice.
About three years ago, Rabbi Karen Bogard had to make an uncomfortable decision.
She had received a request from a cousin who had been Bogard’s maid of honor. The cousin wanted Bogard to officiate at her wedding. But for Bogard, there was an issue: Her cousin was marrying someone who was not Jewish.
The southern border of the U.S., along with the people who live somewhere beyond it, can seem far removed from the St. Louis region. But for local Rabbi Susan Talve, who recently returned from Guatemala, the difficult situations facing many of America’s southern neighbors feel more urgent than ever.
The treatment of children on our southern border has many Americans asking why so many are being separated from their families, kept in detention and how 8-year-old Felipe Gomez Alonzo and 7-year-old Jakelin Caal, both from Guatemala, died in our custody on our watch.
I have been to the southern border, to shelters in Mexico, and recently to Guatemala to witness the human suffering, the injustice and the part American policy continues to play in the instability and migration in the global south. All of my visits have been with Jewish organizations and with other rabbis. I went with T’ruah, HIAS and most recently to Guatemala with the American Jewish World Service (AJWS) as a Global Justice Fellow.
Starting on Sunday, December 2 at sunset, Jews around the world will gather to celebrate the “Festival of Lights” known as Hanukkah. For eight nights, families light the traditional menorah, say special blessings and perhaps share a laugh or two while exchanging gifts.
To give everyone a better understanding of what Hanukkah is all about St. Louis Rabbi Randy Fleisher of the Central Reform Congregation shared eight things you may not have known about this important Jewish holiday.