Parshat Miketz/Shabbat Hanukah

In Midrash B’midbar Rabbah, the ancient rabbis used the image of one candle lighting another as a metaphor for sharing spiritual energy. In reference to the story in the book of Numbers in which Moshe delegated his authority to seventy elders by sharing his prophetic power with them, the rabbis explained: “They [the elders] were filled with the holy spirit from the spirit of Moshe, but Moshe was not diminished at all. This is like a person who lights a candle from another candle. The second candle is lit, but the first candle is not diminished.”

The same thing happens when we put our hearts into the work of building spiritual community. Rather than deplete our energy, we multiply it in the act of sharing it. May the light of the Hanukah candles, which grow brighter by the night as one candle lights another, remind us that our work in this world is to do the same.

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 Mike and Sharon Klausner.
Childcare is available from 10 am to noon on Shabbat mornings. Munchkin Minyan, our learning service for preschoolers and their parents, resumes this Shabbat from 11 to 11:30 am. Beyond Bim Bom I for grades K to 1 is from 10:30 to 11:00 am. Parashah study for teens is from 10:15 to 11:15 am.
Finding Our Way, Rabbi Wasserman’s class on Jewish prayer, continues after kiddush this Shabbat afternoon December 15.
The New Shul’s annual Hanukah Coffee House is this Saturday night December 15 at 7:30 pm. Join us for lots of live music and other entertainment by our own local talent. The cost is $5 per adult at the door.
Minyanim during the week are on Sunday mornings at 9:30 am and on Wednesday mornings at 7 am.
On New Years Day, Tuesday January 1, 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.
The New Shul Book Group meets on Wednesday January 9 at 7:30 pm. The book is Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum