The New Shul

Weekly Message

This week’s parashah, Yitro, tells the story of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. As a preamble to revelation, God promises:  “If you will truly hear my voice. . . you will be my treasured possession.”

The S’fat Emet noted that the first letters of the Hebrew words “. . .you will truly hear my voice” [shamoa tishma b’koli] are the letters of the word Shabbat.  He took that as a hint that, on Shabbat, our day of quiet, we can hear God’s voice more clearly than at any other time.

The ancient rabbis taught that the voice of Sinai calls out every minute of every day.  But it is a “still-small voice,” deeper than a whisper.  The stresses, tensions and distractions of the work week easily drown it out.  But on Shabbat, when we turn down the volume of the world around us, we hear God’s call from deep within ourselves.  We feel commanded once again to make our lives a source of blessing.  May this Shabbat, and every Shabbat, make room within us for the voice of Sinai to be heard.