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The New Shul

Parshat T’rumah

In this week’s parashah, T’rumah, God gives the children of Israel the task of building Him a home on earth.  God says to Moshe, “Let them build me a holy space so that I may dwell within them.”

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.