November 7, 2025

As the government shutdown has entered its second month, we are starting to see its direct impact in our own community. Earlier this week, I was invited to a meeting at the Worthington Resource Pantry with fellow clergy and community leaders to understand the shutdown’s impact on SNAP benefits. Those who earn at or below 130% of the federal poverty line are eligible for SNAP benefits. However, due to the shutdown, they did not receive those benefits on November 1. The federal government tapped into an emergency fund to allocate benefits, but at most, people will only receive half of the funds they typically receive each month, and it is unclear when those funds will be released. Additionally, the State of Ohio and Columbus City allocated emergency funds, but those funds are limited to people earning only 50% below the federal poverty line. The government shutdown also makes it impossible for any new registrants to enter the program. The Worthington Resource Pantry is able to serve people earning at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty line.

On Monday, the Worthington Resource Pantry served 232 families. Their previous daily high was 205. They served 27 new families. Many TSA and FAA employees were among the newly served as they continue to work without pay. As the shutdown goes on, there will be further demands and strains placed on local resource pantries. The Worthington Resource Pantry currently has the capacity to serve the increased demands. However, they have authorized emergency funds to spend on dry goods. The Resource Pantry is hoping to stay ahead of the curve. For example, they receive fresh fruit from the Mid-Ohio Food Bank, but since the food bank receives food from the USDA, that will end this month as USDA workers are not working due to lack of pay from the shutdown. Donations will enable them to provide the fresh fruit and other items they need.

Jewish tradition is guided by several sources when it comes to responding to hunger. Practically speaking, we might turn to Maimonides compendium of Jewish law, the Mishneh Torah offers a collection of laws entitled “Gifts to the Poor”. Chapter 9 begins with a law requiring every community to appoint righteous individuals to a committee who will circulate among the neighbors each week to collect tzedakah. That tzedakah is placed in what is called a kupah, and then is distributed to the poor, providing food for seven days. Maimonides adds, “we have never seen or heard of a community that does not have a kupah for tzedakah.” This universal communal characteristic directs our concern to the dignity of every neighbor in our community and reminds us that we all play a role in ensuring no one goes hungry.

Here is how you can help right now:

1. Consider making a monetary donation directly to the Worthington Resource Pantry. This is the best way to help because the Pantry has purchasing power and can best use financial resources.

2. Consider purchasing and donating items from their needed item list. This list reflects items that they would buy at the same price as we would in the store. Please deliver these items directly to the Worthington Resource Pantry, not Beth Tikvah.

3. Consider purchasing/donating items from their Amazon Wish List. These items will be delivered directly to the Pantry.

Of course, we are a geographically diverse community. If you prefer to donate to a pantry in Dublin, Hilliard, Delaware County, or wherever you live, they will be incredibly grateful for the support. The Worthington Resource Pantry is the largest Pantry in the area because they serve people living in the following zip codes: 43016, 43035, 43065, 43081, 43085, 43229, 43235, 43240.

Below is the data for local SNAP recipients, many of whom are children and elderly:

As the shutdown drags on, demand will increase. When it comes to an end, neighbors will still face a lack of resources to keep food on the table and conditions will only improve slightly.

If you can help, please consider donating. If you need help, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or to Rabbi Martin. We are here to support you in these challenging times.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Rick Kellner

October 31, 2025

Home.

Community.

Resilience.

Life.

It is difficult to find the words to capture these last three days on the JewishColumbus Israel mission. Traveling with our Beth Tikvah family and the larger JewishColumbus community has been incredible. We are the largest mission to travel to Israel since October 7^th with over 190 people. As I walked through the neighborhoods of Tel Aviv last evening, I saw a vibrant market, a kids’ Halloween party, trick-or-treaters, packed restaurants and bars. Tel Aviv has the vibrancy that it has always had.

Of the 190, 45 were first-timers, and only a few had been since October 7. You instantly feel at home. Where else in the world could you visit and be thanked for coming. Our opening dinner was prepared by celebrity chefs; one stood to speak and he thanked us for “coming to my home” and then he immediately corrected himself and said, “our home.” You feel an instant connection to the land and the people. They are our family.

When we arrived at Rickenbacker Airport on Monday afternoon to board our chartered ElAl flight, many of us saw old friends and began connecting to new ones. The JewishColumbus staff and volunteer committee have been planning this trip for the last 18 months. Their vision was to bring us together and connect us to Israel. After a long night’s sleep, we learned about Columbus’ direct connection to the Ein HaBasur Moshav in the Eshkol region.  Sivan Shefer’s parents made Aliyah from Columbus, OH to the Western Negev region of Israel more than 50 years ago. Their grandson Dudi was murdered on October 7 at the Nova festival. Sivan had a vision: to create a farm called Dialog for Life in memory of her nephew, Dudi. This farm specializes in healing the trauma endured by the residents of the region, IDF soldiers, and Nova survivors using the Human-Animal Dialogue method. JewishColumbus is the Founding Partner, helping to establish this incredibly impactful place. As we planted trees, made ceramic kalanit, and helped build this sacred place, we recognize that our community extends far beyond Central Ohio.

I am continually amazed by the Israeli people: the residents of Kibbutz Alumim who defended their Kibbutz on October 7^th. The residents of Kfar Azza, another Kibbutz I visited in May of 2024, promise to rebuild in the next two years. The Nova site has changed so much in the last 18 months. The memorials where laminated paper was on display have been replaced by permanent metal placards that share the stories of the victims. As I have immersed myself in these stories over the last two years, some of the names are becoming more familiar. To remember just one name keeps their memory alive. To have met family members of victims and learned their child’s story helps us personalize the connections in a more meaningful way when we see their names. I recall the feeling I had the first time I was at Nova. It was as if my soul had been sucked out of my body. That emptiness was only matched when I walked the grounds of Auschwitz. Perhaps one of the lessons of Jewish sovereignty is our ability to not only remember and build memorials but to know and share the name of every person who was murdered.

We woke up in Tel Aviv, ran and cycled on the beach, watched the sunset, and saw and felt that Israel is still a vibrant place. Yes, the trauma of October 7^th is still trapped in the souls of every Israeli, but so is the hope. It is the hope to be a free people in our own land. Together, with our family—the Jewish people, we share in the dream for our collective future. It is the dream that our ancestors shared when they wept by the waters of Babylon after the destruction of the first Temple. It is the dream that directed our hearts towards Jerusalem for centuries. It is the dream that Herzl and others after him turned into a reality. That dream is kept alive by every Israeli and Jewish soul. Each and every day, another stone is laid that hearkens back to our history and looks toward the future.

As Shabbat begins in Jerusalem and Columbus this evening, we nurture that dream through our prayers.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Rick Kellner

October 24, 2025

I was recently discussing the concept of Jewish prayer as it relates to theology with our Confirmation class. One aspect of prayer that we discussed was offering a blessing of gratitude for moments we encounter in our lives. Of course, the students were familiar with blessings such as the Motzi (thanking God for bringing forth bread from the earth) or Kiddush (blessing over the wine). They were unfamiliar, however, with the blessing over the rainbow. In fact, they were quite surprised to hear that there was a specific blessing for seeing a rainbow.

Every time a rainbow appears in the sky, it is met with much excitement. People run to see it. Perhaps the best word to describe what people are feeling is awe. In his book “Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life,” Dacher Keltner defines awe as, “the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your current understanding of the world.” He adds that awe is about our relation to the mysteries of life. In moments where we behold the rainbow, we don’t typically think about how the sunlight is refracted through the raindrops. We do not try to make sense of what we experienced; we stand in awe of its beauty trying to soak it all in.

When we behold the rainbow, does our mind take us to the story of Noah? Are we aware that there is a special Jewish blessing that can make such a moment both Jewish and holy? Our rabbis teach us that the blessing for the rainbow is:

.בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה, אֱלוֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, זוֹכֵר הַבְּרִית וְנֶאֱמָן בִּבְרִיתוֹ וְקַיָּם בְּמַאֲמָרוֹ 

Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam zocheir habrit v’neeman bivrito, v’kayam b’ma-amaro.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, sovereign of the universe, who remembers and is faithful to the covenant and keeps the promise [made to humanity].

The Jewish connection to the rainbow comes from this week’s Torah portion. We learn that this connection is a sign of the covenant established between Noah and God. God promised not to destroy the world again and humanity promised to care for the earth and one another. The Talmud imagines that in a time of perfectly righteous people, there are no rainbows. so then, is it our hope that we should no longer see a rainbow? Rabbi Shlomo Riskin suggests in modern terms that since the rainbow is a half-circle, it means that human beings have a certain responsibility to become partners with God to care for the earth. 

Taking a moment to recite the blessing upon seeing a rainbow (or the blessing for eating certain foods or encountering other aspects of wonder) has numerous purposes:

1. It elevates the moment.
2. It ties us into aspects of Jewish history or our textual tradition that have been studied for thousands of years.
3. The blessing reminds us of the lessons we learn from the stories they are tied to.
4. Taking a moment to say a blessing is a Jewish act that forges a connection between Jewish joy and pride.

If you are interested in learning about more blessings in the Jewish tradition, you may want to consider downloading the “Daily Blessings (CCAR)” app in your app store.

In the months ahead we will be offering a “How-to” email each month which can help bring some guidance and insight into certain Jewish practices ranging from holidays to Jewish ritual life. We hope these emails will serve as a reference for you and may even open doors that spark your curiosity. Having a deeper knowledge of our tradition empowers us and enriches the ways in which we practice Judaism and live Jewishly.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Rick Kellner