Nitzavim/Vayeilekh

Parshat Nitzavim, the first of this week’s two parshiyot, is always read on the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah. The parashah begins with Moses addressing the entire community of Israel as they reaffirm their covenant with God. He says to them: “You are standing here today, all of you, before the Lord your God — the heads of your tribes, your elders, your officials. . . and the stranger within your camp, from woodchopper to water-drawer.” Everyone is present, from the highest to the lowest — and everyone needs to be present, or we would all be the less for it. When we stand before God, hierarchies fall away. All of us bring something irreplaceable to the moment.

The awareness that each of us is a unique image of God — that, when any one of us is missing, we are all the less for it — is at the heart of what it means to be a spiritual community. To be a community of prayer is to know that each of our voices is irreplaceable, because each one resonates in a different way. To be a community of learning is to know that each one’s insight counts, because no one else could have expressed that insight in exactly the same way. And to be a community of kindness is to know that each one’s actions make a difference, because each of us has the capacity to help in a unique way.

As we come together on Rosh Hashanah, and each week during the year, may we re-experience what being a community means.

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 Pat Power.
Childcare is available from 10 am to noon on Shabbat mornings. Children’s services this Shabbat are: “Munchkin Minyan” for ages 2 to 4, 11:00 to 11:30 am, “Beyond Bim Bom” for grades K to 3, 10:30 to 11:15 am, and “Tween Tefillah” for grades 4 to 6, 10:15 to 11:30 am.
S’lihot is this Saturday night Sept. 24. Join us at 9 pm for a screening and discussion of the film “Metallic Blues” by Danny Verete (2004) as a text on teshuvah, followed by the S’lihot service.
Minyanim during the week are on Sunday mornings at 9:30 am, and on Wednesday mornings at 7 am.
Rosh Hashanah begins next Wednesday evening, September 28. The service for Erev Rosh Hashanah on Wednesday evening is from 6 to 6:45 pm. Services for the two days of Rosh Hashanah, Thursday and Friday September 29 and 30, are from 8:15 am to 1:15 pm. They are followed by a kiddush lunch, open to everyone.
On Shabbat afternoon October 1, our guest teacher after kiddush will be Phyllis Goldstein, Senior Associate at “Facing History and Ourselves” in Boston. She will talk about her new book, History of a Convenient Hatred, on the history of anti-semitism.
Yom Kippur begins on Friday evening October 7. Kol Nidre starts at 5:30 pm. Services for Yom Kippur, Saturday October 8, are from 8:15 am to 6:45 pm, with a break of about an hour and half in the afternoon. Following Yom Kippur, the shul will host a break-fast, open to everyone.
If you would like to order a lulav/etrog set, please let us know by Tuesday October 4. The cost is $50 per set.
Here is our Niggun of the Week, the “Krakow Niggun” by Shlomo Carlebach.
Please note that there will be no newsletter next week because of Rosh Hashanah.