There is an important environmental message behind those laws.  The earth has its own integrity, independent of its usefulness to us.  Because the earth is God’s creation, we are not free to do with it whatever we please.  There is also an important spiritual message behind those laws. If we wish to make room for God in our lives, we must start by making ourselves smaller. By remembering that the world is not ours — that we are not God — we make room in our lives for the One whose world this is.

At the deepest level, environmental sensitivity and spiritual sensitivity go together. And Shabbat, the day on which we step back from our work  in order to appreciate the world as the gift that it is, renews both kinds of sensitivity.  May this Shabbat, and every Shabbat, help to make us better stewards of the world, and of our own souls.

• Shabbat services at The New Shul are on Friday evenings from 6 to 7 pm, and on Saturday mornings from 9 am to 12 noon. The kiddush this Shabbat is sponsored by Pnina and Itzik Becher, and by Patti Evans and Andy Gordon, in honor of Eden Becher’s graduation from high school and Asif Becher’s graduation from middle school.
• Childcare is available from 10 am to noon on Shabbat mornings. Beyond Bim Bom I, our learning service for grades K to 1, is from 10:15 to 11:00 am.
• Minyanim at The New Shul during the week are on Sunday mornings at 9:30 am, and on Wednesday mornings at 7:00 am.
• Shavuot, the festival that commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, begins on Saturday night May 26.  Join us for our all-night Tikkun (study vigil) beginning at 9 pm. We will end at dawn on Sunday with morning prayers outdoors. All are welcome for any part of the night.
• The service for the second day of Shavuot, Monday May 28, will begin at 9 am and will include Yizkor, the memorial prayer.
• Rabbi Wasserman’s essay, “The New Middle Ground,” has been published as the lead article in the most recent edition of Conservative Judaism, the journal of the Rabbinical Assembly and the Jewish Theological Seminary. You can read it here.

Often we think of the counting as an expression of anticipation.  We are impatient to receive the Torah, to complete our journey out of Egypt, and so we count off the days until we will reach our destination.

But the S’fat Emet understood the counting differently, not as an expression of impatience but of gratefulness.  We count the days to remind ourselves that, even during difficult, uncomfortable transitions, every day is precious and irreplacable.  During times of in-betweenness in our lives, when we are neither here nor there, it is tempting to wish away the hours and days, to close our eyes and grit our teeth until we get where we are going.  But living fully means being present even in those times of uncertainty.  It means counting those days too as days to be cherished.  Counting the omer, as the S’fat Emet understood it, is about reminding ourselves of that challenge.

The S’fat Emet was also teaching us a lesson about revelation, about how we reach Mount Sinai.  Moments of deep gratitude, when we are truly present in the moment, are in their own way moments of revelation, when we experience God’s presence and sense God’s call.  At those moments, wherever we are standing, we stand at Mount Sinai.

• Shabbat services at The New Shul are on Friday evenings from 6 to 7 pm, and on Saturday mornings from 9 am to 12 noon. The kiddush this Shabbat is sponsored by The New Shul community.
• Childcare is available from 10 am to noon on Shabbat mornings. Children’s services this Shabbat are: Munchkin MInyan for ages 2 to 4 from 11:00 to 11:30 am, Beyond Bim Bom I for grades K to 1 from 10:15 to 11:00 am, Beyond Bim Bom II for grades 2 to 3 from 10:15 to 11:00 am, and Tween Tefillah for grades 4 to 6 from 10:15 to 11:30 am.
• Minyanim at The New Shul during the week are on Sunday mornings at 9:30 am, and on Wednesday mornings at 7:00 am.
• Shavuot, the festival that commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, begins on Saturday night May 26.  Join us for our all-night Tikkun (study vigil) beginning at 9 pm. We will end at dawn on Sunday with morning prayers outdoors. All are welcome for any part of the night.
• The service for the second day of Shavuot, Monday May 28, will begin at 9 am and will include Yizkor, the memorial prayer.

What is the antidote to lashon hara? The rabbis taught that it is the study of Torah. We heal ourselves from words that cut us off from one another by turning to words that bind us together. The answer to destructive language is sacred language, language that creates community by teaching us to recognize the image of God in one another.

May the Torah that we share, that we grow into together, always bind us together in that way.

• Shabbat services at The New Shul are on Friday evenings from 6 to 7 pm, and on Saturday mornings from 9 am to 12 noon. The kiddush this Shabbat is sponsored by Joy and Fill Bagatell.
• Childcare is available from 10 am to noon on Shabbat mornings. Children’s services this Shabbat are: Munchkin MInyan for ages 2 to 4 from 11:00 to 11:30 am, Beyond Bim Bom I for grades K to 1 from 10:15 to 11:00 am, and Beyond Bim Bom II for grades 2 to 3 from 10:15 to 11:00 am.
• Minyanim at The New Shul during the week are on Sunday mornings at 9:30 am, and on Wednesday mornings at 7:00 am.
• On Shabbat morning May 5, we will celebrate the bat mitzvah of Alana Gutkin, daughter of Allan Gutkin and Ana Maria Gutkin.
• Shavuot, the festival that commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, begins on Saturday night May 26.  Join us for our all-night Tikkun (study vigil) beginning at 9 pm. We will end at dawn on Sunday with morning prayers outdoors. All are welcome for any part of the night.
• The service for the second day of Shavuot, Monday May 28, will begin at 9 am and will include Yizkor, the memorial prayer.

The notable thing about Moses’s response, as Rashi understands it, is how undefensive it is.  Moses, who brought the Torah down from Mount Sinai, is able to learn something new from his brother without embarrassment.

Rashi’s comment teaches us not only about the strengths of Moses as a learner, but also about the kind of environment that supports learning in general.  If we want to grow in Torah, wisdom, and understanding, we must create the kind of community in which we need not feel embarrassed by what we do not know, a community in which all of us, without defensiveness, can learn from one another.  May our shul always be that kind of place, a place for us to grow together.

• Shabbat services at The New Shul are on Friday evenings from 6 to 7 pm, and on Saturday mornings from 9 am to 12 noon. The kiddush this Shabbat is sponsored by Mariam Cohen and Barry Schnur.
• Childcare is available from 10 am to noon on Shabbat mornings. Children’s services this Shabbat are: Beyond Bim Bom I for grades K to 1 from 10:15 to 11:00 am, and Tween Tefillah for grades 4 to 6 from 10:15 to 11:30 am.
• Minyanim at The New Shul during the week are on Sunday mornings at 9:30 am, and on Wednesday mornings at 7:00 am.
• On Shabbat morning May 5, we will celebrate the bat mitzvah of Alana Gutkin, daughter of Allan Gutkin and Ana Maria Gutkin.
• Shavuot, the festival that commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, begins on Saturday night May 26.  Join us for our all-night Tikkun (study vigil) beginning at 9 pm.  We will end at dawn on Sunday with morning prayers outdoors.  All are welcome for any part of the night.
• The service for the second day of Shavuot, Monday May 28, will begin at 9 am and will include Yizkor, the memorial prayer.

Rabbi Yaakov of Ishbitza explained that those ashes are a metaphor for people who seem to have no spark of holiness left burning in them.  No matter how far from God we drift, the possibility of return is always there.  As images of God, we have a holiness that never leaves us.  We must never give up on the possibility that the embers can re-ignite.

A true spiritual community is a place of purity, where even those who feel farthest from God can find a home, and perhaps renew the spark of holiness inside them.  As we look toward Pesah, our season of rebirth, may we always trust in our potential for renewal.

• Shabbat services at The New Shul are on Friday evenings from 6 to 7 pm, and on Saturday mornings from 9 am to 12 noon. The kiddush this Shabbat is sponsored by Linda and Jay Samuels.  This Shabbat afternoon, after kiddush, Linda will talk about her recent experience in Thailand, as a volunteer with American Jewish World Service.
• Childcare is available from 10 am to noon on Shabbat mornings. Children’s services this Shabbat are: Munchkin MInyan for ages 2 to 4 from 11:00 to 11:30 am, Beyond Bim Bom I for grades K to 1 from 10:15 to 11:00 am, and Beyond Bim Bom II for grades 2 to 3 from 10:15 to 11:00 am.
• Minyanim at The New Shul during the week are on Sunday mornings at 9:30 am, and on Wednesday mornings at 7:00 am.
• Services for the first days of Pesah are on Friday evening April 6 at 6 pm, and on Shabbat and Sunday mornings, April 7 and 8, beginning at 9 am. Services for the last days of Pesah are on Friday morning April 13 at 9 am, Friday evening April 13 at 6 pm, and Shabbat morning April 14 at 9 am.  The service for the 8th day of Pesah, on April 14, will include Yizkor, the memorial prayer. The kiddushes on the first and last days of Pesah are sponsored by Lee and Patsy Bakunin.
• Please note that there will be no e-newsletter for the next two weeks because of Pesah.  The next newsletter will be sent on April 19.

To call a person is to single that person out by name.  It is to acknowledge that person’s uniqueness, to recognize who that person truly is.  Often, in the rush of life, we speak to people as if they were interchangable. But to take a moment to acknowledge that the person to whom we speak is an individual, unlike anyone else, is a great gift.  It is to grant that person his/her dignity as an image of God.  In that sense, it is an act of love.

When we speak to one another, may we always start by recognizing who it is that we are speaking to.

• Shabbat services at The New Shul are on Friday evenings from 6 to 7 pm, and on Saturday mornings from 9 am to 12 noon. The kiddush this Shabbat is sponsored by Debby and Kenn Harris and by Dale and Alan Singer.
• Childcare is available from 10 am to noon on Shabbat mornings. Children’s services this Shabbat are: Beyond Bim Bom I for grades K to 1 from 10:15 to 11:00 am, and Tween Tefillah for grades 4 to 6 from 10:15 to 11:30 am.
• Minyanim at The New Shul during the week are on Sunday mornings at 9:30 am, and on Wednesday mornings at 7:00 am.
• Join us for an adult workshop, In Every Generation: Preparing for Pesah, on Monday March 26 at 7:30 pm.
• Services for the first two days of Pesah are on Shabbat morning April 7 and Sunday morning April 8 beginning at 9 am.  Services for the last two days of Pesah are on Friday morning April 13 and Shabbat morning April 14 beginning at 9 am.

The author of  Netivot Shalom noted that Moshe could have said simply, “Take an offering,” but that he added “from yourselves.” Those extra words remind us that the most important part of any gift, of any contribution that we make to the world around us, is the part of ourselves that goes with it. The Talmud teaches that “God wants the heart.” It is when we give of ourselves that we feel most deeply that our lives have meaning and purpose.

When it comes to building a spiritual community, the most important gift that we can give is ourselves — our openness to searching and growing together in prayer, in learning, and in caring for each other. May we all find joy in giving of ourselves to build our community.

• Shabbat services at The New Shul are on Friday evenings from 6 to 7 pm, and on Saturday mornings from 9 am to 12 noon. This Shabbat morning, March 17, we will celebrate the bat mitzvah of Anita Gutkin, on the occasion of her 70th birthday and the 50th anniversary of her marriage to Jerome.  The kiddush is sponsored by the Gutkins.
• Childcare is available from 10 am to noon on Shabbat mornings. Children’s services this Shabbat are: Munchkin Minyan for ages 2 to 4 from 11:00 to 11:30 am, Beyond Bim Bom I for grades K to 1 from 10:15 to 11:00 am, and Beyond Bim Bom II for grades 2 to 3 from 10:15 to 11:00 am.
• Minyanim at The New Shul during the week are on Sunday mornings at 9:30 am, and on Wednesday mornings at 7:00 am.
• Join us for an adult workshop, In Every Generation: Preparing for Pesah, on Monday March 26 at 7:30 pm

According to the author of Siftei Kohen, the lesson to be learned from that midrash is that one should never curse oneself — i.e. seek to “erase one’s name” — even for a good cause. Just as we feel Moshe’s absence in this parashah, we feel the absence of anyone who, for whatever reason, considers him/herself expendable. A true community depends on everyone being fully present.

• Shabbat services at The New Shul are on Friday evenings from 6 to 7 pm, and on Saturday mornings from 9 am to 12 noon. The kiddush this Shabbat is sponsored by Ivan and Karen Brodsky, and Adam and Valerie Brodsky, in honor of their friends Cantor Neil and Saranee Newman.
• Childcare is available from 10 am to noon on Shabbat mornings. Children’s services this Shabbat are: Munchkin Minyan for ages 2 to 4 from 11:00 to 11:30 am, Beyond Bim Bom I for grades K to 1 from 10:15 to 11:00 am, and Beyond Bim Bom II for grades 2 to 3 from 10:15 to 11:00 am.
• Minyanim at The New Shul during the week are on Sunday mornings at 9:30 am, and on Wednesday mornings at 7:00 am.
• Erev Purim is next Wednesday evening Mar. 7. Join us for the reading of the megillah beginning at 7:00 pm. On the morning of Purim, Thursday Mar. 8, join us for minyan, including another reading of the megillah, at 7 am.
• The New Shul will host a blood drive on Sunday Mar. 11, beginning at 8:15 am and continuing through the day. To sign up to donate, or for further information, please call or email.
• On Shabbat morning, Mar. 17, we will celebrate the bat mitzvah of Anita Gutkin.

Rabbi Moshe Alshekh pointed out that the beginning and the end of that sentence do not seem to line up.  One would expect God to say, “Let them build me a holy space so that I may dwell within it.”  Instead God says “within them.”  The point, Alshekh explained, is that the holy space that really counts, the place on earth where God can truly dwell, is in our own hearts.  When we build external structures to bring God into our lives, their real purpose is to open us internally, to sensitize us to God’s reality.  We build them so that God can dwell in us.

May our shul, the space that we strive to make holy, open our hearts to God’s presence.  May it challenge us to make room within ourselves for God to dwell.

• Shabbat services at The New Shul are on Friday evenings from 6 to 7 pm, and on Saturday mornings from 9 am to 12 noon. The kiddush this Shabbat is sponsored by Mike and Jennie Kronenfeld, and by Laurie and Adrienne Phillips in memory of Adrienne’s mother.
• Childcare is available from 10 am to noon on Shabbat mornings. Children’s services this Shabbat are: Beyond Bim Bom I for grades K to 1 from 10:15 to 11:00 am, and Tween Tefillah for grades 4 to 6 from 10:15 to 11:30 am.
• Minyanim at The New Shul during the week are on Sunday mornings at 9:30 am, and on Wednesday mornings at 7:00 am.
• The New Shul’s 10th Anniversary celebration is on Sunday Feb. 26 at 6 pm at the Hilton Scottsdale. Rabbi David Wolpe will be the keynote speaker.
• The New Shul Book Group meets on Wednesday Feb. 29 at 7:30 pm.  The book is My Father’s Paradise by Ariel Sabar.
• Erev Purim is Wednesday Mar. 7. Join us for the reading of the megillah beginning at 7:00 pm. On the morning of Purim, Thursday Mar. 8, join us for minyan, including another reading of the megillah, at 7 am.
• The New Shul will host a blood drive on Sunday Mar. 11, beginning at 8:15 am and continuing through the day. To sign up to donate, or for further information, please call or email.

Rabbi Menahem Mendel of Kotzk explained the phrase in this way:   Throughout history, the greatest thinkers have attempted to understand God intellectually, but they could comprehend only what the human mind is able to grasp.  The way of mitzvah is different.  To do a mitzvah is to find God not in abstract thought but in concrete action.  It is to comprehend what the mind alone cannot.  Hence “We will do and we will understand.”

Why is action able to take us to a level of understanding that intellect alone cannot?  Because action involves the whole self, body and heart as well as mind. The more of ourselves we commit, the closer we can come to God. The more we give, the higher we reach.

The Kotzker Rebbe’s point is one that we verify through our own experience. Thinking is important. We do not wish to be uncritical followers. But through mitzvah, sacred action, we come to understand the meaning of holiness in a way that we cannot through detached thought alone.  May the life of mitzvah that we build together help us to achieve that deeper understanding.

• Shabbat services at The New Shul are on Friday evenings from 6 to 7 pm, and on Saturday mornings from 9 am to 12 noon. The kiddush this Shabbat is sponsored by Yaneav and Michele Cohen.
• Childcare is available from 10 am to noon on Shabbat mornings. Children’s services this Shabbat are: Beyond Bim Bom II for grades 2 to 3 from 10:15 to 11:00 am, and Tween Tefillah for grades 4 to 6 from 10:15 to 11:30 am.
• If you would like to participate in The New Shul’s Purim shpiel, please stay for rehearsal after kiddush this Shabbat.
• This Saturday night, Feb. 18, join us for a screening and discussion of the film Campfire by Yosef Cedar (2004).  Please note that the time been moved from 7:30 to 8:00 pm.
• Minyanim at The New Shul during the week are on Sunday mornings at 9:30 am, and on Wednesday mornings at 7:00 am.
• On Presidents’ Day, Mon. Feb. 20, The New Shul community will serve meals to the hungry at St. Vincent de Paul’s Jackson St. dining room.  Please let us know if you can help.
• There is still time to RSVP for The New Shul’s 10th Anniversary celebration on Sunday Feb. 26 at 6 pm at the Hilton Scottsdale. Rabbi David Wolpe will be the keynote speaker. The cost is $54 per person. To RSVP, please reply to this email by Monday Feb. 20.
• Erev Purim is Wednesday Mar. 7. Join us for our megillah reading and shpiel beginning at 7:00 pm. On the morning of Purim, Thursday Mar. 8, join us for minyan, including another reading of the megillah, at 7 am.
• The New Shul will host a blood drive on Sunday Mar. 11, beginning at 8:15 am and continuing through the day. To sign up to donate, or for further information, please call or email.