The Jewish community will gather on Saturday, Sep. 17 to prepare for the High Holy Days at the annual community Selichot program and service.
This year, The Mussar Institute founder Alan Morinis will be the featured speaker.
The program will take place at Congregation Beth Torah, and there will be opportunities for both in-person and virtual participation.
The evening will begin with a dessert reception at 8 p.m. followed by Havdalah at 8:50 p.m. At 9 p.m., “Jewish Guidance for Living in Turbulent Times” will be the topic of a discussion led by Morinis, founder of The Mussar Institute and a leading figure in the contemporary revival of the Mussar movement, a 1,100-year-old, authentic, personal and communal Jewish spiritual tradition that was nearly lost following the Holocaust.
Morinis, a filmmaker, Rhodes Scholar and anthropologist whose focus had been Hindu religious pilgrimages, reached a personal turning point in his life in 1997 that led to his exploration of Mussar.
Morinis sought out Rabbi Yechiel Yitzchok Perr, an accomplished master who stood in an unbroken line of transmission of the Mussar tradition. Following years of study, he reinterpreted the ancient Mussar learnings and practices for modern audiences in the books “Climbing Jacob’s Ladder” and “Everyday Holiness.”
To address the growing public interest in Mussar, he founded The Mussar Institute in 2004. He went on to author two more books, “Every Day, Holy Day” and “With Heart in Mind.” Morinis continues to explore and interpret original Mussar sources in Hebrew and is making these valuable teachings available to the contemporary world.
“We are all seeing and experiencing so many difficulties tearing at the fabric of society today,” commented Alan Morinis. “Anxiety, fear and worry are rampant. But we are far from the first generation to experience so much unsettledness in our lives.
“Engaging with the world around us to bring about change is also an obligation we have to our own souls. This perspective offers us a lens through which we can see social issues not just as external conflicts but as personal spiritual challenges and opportunities. Our ancestors show us how we can work at making the world a better place while simultaneously engaging with the experience in ways that will help us grow and blossom as human beings in fulfillment of our human mission.”
The Selichot service begins at 10:10 p.m. and is designed to help worshipers begin to spiritually prepare for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The service will be led by area clergy, a community choir and a musical leadership team of soloists from congregations across the community.
Singers are invited to participate in the Selichot service. Soloists and singers for the chorus should be available for two rehearsals. This chorus also meets early on the day of the service for soundchecks and final run-throughs at 8:30 p.m. Lara Steinel will lead the Selichot community choir. Those wanting to sign up can contact Lezlie Zucker, music coordinator at Beth Torah, at .
More information about the Selichot program is available at kcrabbi.org. To register, visit forms.gle/eGw4q635ey9pda858.
Annette Fish, Rabbinical Association Administrator, can be contacted with questions at or 913-327-8226.
The Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City sponsors the Selichot program in collaboration with area congregations and with generous support from Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City.
