Parshat Emor

In this week’s parashah, Emor, we read about the mitzvah of counting the omer. Beginning on the second night of Pesah, we count off each day for a total of seven weeks, until we reach Shavuot, the day on which we received the Torah at Mount Sinai.

Counting the omer has a way of making us intensely conscious of time passing, and of the preciousness of each day. Perhaps that is the point. In Psalm 90, we ask God to “teach us to number our days, so that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” There is no greater wisdom than the recognition that our time is limited, that each passing day is irreplaceable. That recognition opens our hearts and sensitizes us to our obligations in this world. It attunes our ears to hear God’s call. In that way, counting our days truly brings us closer to Mount Sinai.

• 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. The kiddush-lunch this Shabbat, May 5, is sponsored by Linda and Jay Samuels.
  Childcare is available from 10 am to noon on Shabbat mornings.
  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.
  Shavuot begins on Saturday night May 19. Join us for our all-night Tikkun Leil Shavuot from 9:30 pm on Saturday night through dawn on Sunday morning. The Tikkun will end with morning prayers outdoors at sunrise.
  The service for the second day of Shavuot, Monday May 21, will begin at 9 am and will include Yizkor, the memorial prayer.
  Join us for Friday night dinner at The New Shul on June 15, after the 6 pm service. The cost is $18 per adult, and $9 per child under 13 (no charge for children under 5). Please make your reservation by sending in your payment by July 8. If you wish to pay on-line, you can do so here.