Parshat Bo

In the first words of this week’s parashah, God says to Moshe “Bo el Par’oh — Go to Pharoah!” But literally the word “bo” means not “go” but “come.”  Strictly speaking, what God says to Moshe is not “go to Pharoah” but “come to Pharoah.”

Rabbi Menahem Mendel of Kotzk understood that as a reminder that it is impossible to go from where God is. From God’s perspective, we are always coming toward, not going away, because God is present everywhere, even in places (like Pharoah’s palace)  that we fear the most. Whether we know it or not, we are always coming in God’s direction.

May we always remember  — even when we must descend into the Egypts of this world (or the Egypts within ourselves) — that we can never go from God, only come toward. And may that knowledge give us strength and courage.

• 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. This Shabbat, January 16, we will celebrate the bat mitzvah of Risa Farber, daughter of Paul and Halle Farber. The kiddush-lunch is sponsored by the Farber family.
• Childcare is available from 10 am to noon on Shabbat mornings. Learning services for children this Shabbat are at the following times: from 11 to 11:30 am.for toddlers and preschoolers and from 11 to 11:45 am for grades 1 to 3.
• Minyanim during the week are on Sunday mornings at 9:30 am, Monday evenings at 7 pm, Wednesday mornings at 7 am and Wednesday evenings at 7 pm.
• On Martin Luther King Day, Monday January 18, and on Presidents Day, Monday February 15, 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.
• Join us at Limmud AZ, a community-wide day of Jewish learning, on Sunday January 31. See the Limmud website for more information.
• The New Shul community’s annual meeting is on Sunday February 7 at 10:00 am. All are welcome.