Parshat P’kudei

This week’s parashah, P’kudei, completes the story of the building of the mishkan, the sacred structure in which God dwelled among the children of Israel. The parashah ends “The cloud of YHWH was upon the mishkan by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the eyes of all Israel throughout their journeys.”

Perhaps the key phrase is “in the eyes of all Israel.” God’s presence is everywhere, but most of the time we do not see it, and so we experience the world as spiritually empty. The purpose of sacred structures –both physical structures like the mishkan and behavioral structures like the patterns of Jewish practice — is to challenge us to open our eyes and see that “the whole world is full of God’s glory.” Sacred structures do not change an ever-present God, but they do make God more present “in the eyes of all Israel.”

May our shul, and the life of mitzvah that we build there, help to open our eyes as well.

• The New Shul’s Shabbat morning service is from 9 am to about 11:45 am. We require all those over the age of 2 (with a few exceptions) to wear a mask while in our building. Our kiddush-lunch is outdoors, so masks are not required. For more details on our Covid policy, please contact us.
• This Shabbat morning, March 5, the kiddush-lunch will be sponsored by Pam Kaplan and Ross Wilkoff.
• 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).
• The annual meeting of The New Shul community will be on Sunday March 6 at 10:30 am. All are invited.
• Purim begins on Wednesday evening March 16. Join us at The New Shul at 7 pm for our megillah reading and shpiel.