Parshat Emor

This week’s parashah, Emor, teaches us about the mitzvah of counting the omer. As we make our way from Pesah to Shavuot, we count off each of the 49 days in between.

Often we think of the counting as an expression of anticipation. We are impatient to receive the Torah, to complete our journey out of Egypt, and so we count off the days until we reach Mount Sinai.

But the S’fat Emet understood the counting differently, not as an expression of impatience but of gratefulness for every moment here and now. We count to remind ourselves that, even during difficult, uncomfortable transitions, evey day is precious and irreplacable. During times of in-betweenness, when we are neither here nor there, it is tempting to wish away the hours and days, to close our eyes and grit our teeth until we get where we are going. But the truth is that we never get where we are going as long as we are alive. Life itself is a journey. Living fully means being truly present even in times of uncertainty. It means counting those days too as days to be cherished.

As we search together for Mount Sinai, may we help each other to be grateful for each day along the way.

• 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, May 13, we will celebrate the naming of Justine and Natan Simons’ new daughter, and the upcoming wedding of Alyssa Wolk and Gabriel Bankier-Perry. The kiddush-lunch is sponsored by Michelle and Howard Kaufman in honor of the bride and groom, and  Ros and Martin Slovin in honor of their new granddaughter.
• Childcare is available from 10 am to noon on Shabbat mornings. Our learning service for grades K to 4 is from 11 to 11:40 am.
• 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.
• Join us for Friday night dinner at The New Shul on May 19 after the 6 pm service. The cost is $18 per adult, and $9 per child/teen under 18 (no charge for children under 5). To make your reservation, please send in your payment by Friday May 12.
• Shavuot begins on Tuesday night May 30. Join us for our all night Tikkun Leil Shavuot beginning at 9 pm. Our topic this year will be “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself: The Golden Rule Through Many Lenses.” We will conclude with morning prayers at dawn on Wednesday. Our service for the second day of Shavuot, Thursday June 1, will begin at 9 am, and will include Yizkor, the memorial prayer.