Parshat Hayei Sarah

This week’s parashah, Hayei Sarah, begins with the story of Sarah’s death and Avraham’s negotiations with his neighbors to purchase a burial site for her. Avraham opens the discussion by acknowledging that he is a landless foreigner. “Ger v’toshav anokhi imakhem — I am a sojourner residing among you.”

One of the most important reasons why we rest on Shabbat is to remind ourselves that we are all sojourners in this world. Once a week we give up our sense of ownership. We stop trying to control our surroundings, to bend the world to our will, in order to remind ourselves that the world is not ours. We are just passing through. Remembering our true status makes us more open to appreciating God’s gifts, and more attentive to our obligation to be good care-takers of God’s world. May our rest on this Shabbat, and every Shabbat, help us to see ourselves, and the beauty of God’s world, more clearly.

• 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, October 26, is sponsored by Ruth and Sam Schindler in honor of Sam’s 91st birthday. Rabbis Wasserman and Kanter will be away this Shabbat. Rabbi Meir Goldstein will give the drashah.
• Childcare is available from 10 am to 12 noon on Shabbat mornings. Beyond Bim Bom for grades 2 to 5 meets this Shabbat from 10:15 to 11:30 am
• Minyanim during the week are on Sunday mornings at 9:30 am and on Wednesday mornings at 7 am.
• Kasher Noshers meets for dinner at Kitchen 18 on Sunday October 27. You can sign up here.
• Join us for Friday night dinner at The New Shul on November 8. The cost is $18 per adult and $9 per child under 18 (no charge for children under 5). Please send in your payment by Wednesday October 30 to reserve your place.