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The New Shul

Shabbat Shuvah/Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur is a day of turning inward. But it is also a day of turning outward to community, when the barriers that isolate us from each other gradually melt away. Rabbi Yehudah Leib Alter of Ger explained that, since those barriers were symptoms of our sins, atonement causes them to disappear. As we are purified from sin, we recognize our deeper unity with others, which was always there beneath the surface.

The opposite is also true. Not only does atonement bring us closer to each other, but our closeness to each other helps us in the process of atonement. The work of teshuvah, of changing course, is too hard for anyone to do alone. We find the strength to meet that challenge in the knowledge that we stand with others doing the same work. It is as members of a sacred community that we find the courage to grow.

May we draw strength from one another on this Yom Kippur, and may our journey of atonement strengthen 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. The kiddush this Shabbat, September 19, is sponsored by Patsy and Lee Bakunin, who will soon leave our community to move to Cyprus.
  • Childcare is available from 10 am to noon on Shabbat mornings. Learning services for children this Shabbat are at the following times: 11 to 11:30 am for toddlers and pre-schoolers, and 11 to 11:45 am for grades 1 to 3.
  • Yom Kippur begins on Tuesday evening September 22. Join us for Kol Nidrei at 5:45 pm. Our service for the morning of Yom Kippur, Wednesday September 23, begins at 8:15 am. The afternoon service begins at 4:15 pm. We will blow the shofar to end the fast at 7:15 pm. Yom Kippur is followed by a break-fast, open to all. Complete information on our holiday services is available here.
  • Sukkot begins on Sunday evening September 27. Our services for the first two days of Sukkot, Monday and Tuesday September 28 and 29, begin at 9 am.
  • Shmini Atzeret is on Monday October 5. Our service begins at 9 am, and includes Yizkor, the memorial prayer.
  • Simhat Torah begins on Monday evening October 5. Join us for hakafot and dancing beginning at 7 pm. Our service for the morning of Simhat Torah, Tuesday October 6, begins at 9 am.
  • Please note that there will be no e-bulletin next week.