Aharei Mot/K’doshim

In the second of this week’s two parshiyot, K’doshim, we learn the Golden Rule:  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am YHWH.”

What does the second phrase, “I am YHWH,” have to do with the first: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”? Martin Buber understood the juxtaposition in this way: In our love for our neighbor, we meet God. When we recognize the infinite value of another human life, we uncover the image of God in that person. In doing so, we bring God out of hiding, and come face to face with the divine.

In other words, caring for others is not only a matter of ethical concern, but of spiritual sensitivity as well. True kindness is a form of prayer, an opening to the transcendent. May our concern for one another’s welfare help to move us forward on our spiritual path.

• Candle lighting this Friday evening April 28, is at 6:50 pm. Shabbat ends on Saturday night at 7:49 pm.
• The New Shul’s Shabbat morning service is from 9 to about 11:45 am, followed by a kiddush-lunch open to all. This Shabbat, April 29, the kiddush-lunch is sponsored by Karen and Ivan Brodsky in memory of Karen’s mother Doris Steiman.
• Weekday minyanim are on Sunday mornings at 9:30 am, and on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm.
• Please note that, after today, our e-message will be on hiatus for the summer. The next e-message will be sent on August 10.
• Shabbat services and weekday minyanim will continue throughout the summer (with the exception of Kabbalat Shabbat, which will be suspended for the month of May).
• Services for Shavuot will be on Friday morning May 26 at 9 am, and on Saturday morning May 27 at 9 am. The service on May 27th will include Yizkor, the memorial prayer.