Parshat Noah

The Hebrew word for “ark” in the story of Noah is “tevah,” which can also mean “word” (because words, like arks, are vessels).  According to the Baal Shem Tov, God’s command to Noah to “go into the tevah” has a deeper message, which is addressed to all of us. To make Torah and prayer meaningful, we must go into the tevah — the word —  with our whole selves.

To truly study Torah means not just to think about the text from a distance, but to put ourselves into the text, to let it shape our minds and hearts, so that — like Noah’s ark — it can renew our lives. In the same way, to truly pray means to enter into the language of the siddur, to allow its words to move us to a higher level.

Sacred words — words of Torah and prayer — are truly sacred only if we grant them the power to change us. That means finding the courage to go into the tevah. May we, as a community of learning and prayer, help each other to grow.

• The New Shul’s Shabbat services are on Friday evenings from 6 to 7 pm, and on Saturday mornings from 9 am to 12 noon. This Shabbat morning, October 17, we will celebrate the bar mitzvah of Kian Bobrow. The kiddush-lunch is sponsored by Ben and Mojdeh Bobrow.
• 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.
• On Shabbat morning October 24, we will celebrate the bar mitzvah of Michael Berro.
• Join us for dinner at The New Shul on Friday November 6, after the 6 pm service. The cost is $18 per adult and $9 per child/teen under 18. No charge for children under 5. Please send in your payment to make your reservation by Friday October 30.