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.

• The New Shul’s Shabbat morning service is from 9 am to about 11:45 am. In accordance with the latest Covid guidance from the CDC, we require all those over the age of 2 to wear a mask while in our building. Our kiddush-lunch is outdoors, so masks are not required.
• The kiddush-lunch this Shabbat, January 22, will be sponsored by Jeffrey and Francine Buchhalter in honor of their daughters Lillian and Abigail.
• On the Shabbat of January 29, we will celebrate the bat mitzvah of Bella Ross, daughter of Michael and Shaindel Ross.
• Weekday minyanim at The New Shul are on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm, and on Sunday mornings at 9:30 am. Kabbalat Shabbat is on Friday evenings at 6 pm at our rabbis’ home (please contact us for directions).