Parshat Yitro

In an ancient midrash, the rabbis asked: Why did God wait fifty days after taking us out of Egypt before giving us the Torah? Why not give us the Torah immediately? The midrash answered that the children of Israel needed time to recover from the experience of slavery. They had to heal before they would be ready for such closeness to the divine.

What was true as we left Egypt is also true as we leave our work behind each Friday. To emerge from the stresses of the work week into the peace of Shabbat requires patience. To open our hearts, after a week of gritting our teeth, takes time.

That is why the pace is so much slower on Shabbat. We take our time at meals, we take our time in prayer, and so on. The pace of Shabbat is part of the secret of its healing power. Slowly, patiently — like our ancestors leaving Egypt — we make our way from fragmentation to wholeness.

• 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, February 3, the kiddush-lunch is sponsored by Walter Lamm.
• Childcare is available from 10 am to noon on Shabbat mornings. Our learning service for children is from 11 to 11:45 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.
• The New Shul’s annual meeting is on Sunday February 4 at 10:30 am. All are welcome. The meeting is followed by a blood drive in the afternoon. Please contact us for an appointment to give blood.
• On Thursday February 22 at 7 pm, The New Shul will host a lecture by Dr. Rachel Tzvia Back: “The Woman’s Voice in Modern Hebrew Poetry.” On Monday February 26 at 7 pm, we will host a lecture by Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld: “Mi Yodea: Humility and Hope in an Uncertain World.” Both lectures are co-sponsored by Valley Beit Midrash