Kol Ami News

Rabbi Samuel L. Spector, Congregation Kol Ami: “My goals as a clergy:

• "Take time for self-care and putting on my oxygen mask before helping others.
• "Increasing our social justice programs for helping refugees, homeless and hungry in our midst.
• "Organizing with partners to include more people into our tent and bring new perspectives to our community.”

​​​​​​​Read more...

Cantor Wendy Bat-Sarah of Congregation Kol Ami said although Hanukkah is a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar, it’s still important to American Jewish children who typically receive presents on all eight nights. Families eat fried foods such as potato pancakes (latkes) and jelly doughnuts (sufganiyot), attend parties and often engage in charitable activities.

“Historically, Hanukkah commemorates a time when Jews were struggling against losing our religion and culture. In modern times it has come to celebrate religious freedom which we Americans hold so dear,” she said. “Jews have always been a tiny minority of the world’s population, and yet, by focusing on our core ethical values and by taking care of each other, we have outlasted all of the regimes and social movements that have tried to erase us from history. For me, this is the enduring understanding of Hanukkah.”

Read more...

The biggest frustration for Jews in the Beehive State is getting off for Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana, says Rabbi Sam Spector of Utah’s Congregation Kol Ami.

Christmas is a federal holiday, the rabbi says, when most workers get a day off, but it is not a holiday Jews observe because they are not Christians.

For their holidays, many of his congregants have to use vacation time.

“Every year, I have to write letters to employers, begging them to allow our people to have the time off,” Spector says, “and explaining the religious significance.”

Read more...