Va-eira
12-13 January 2024/3 Shevat 5784
Erev Shabbat – 7.30 short service with study – zoom only
Yeridat HaDorot – Onwards and Upwards, or is it Downhill from Here?
Rabbinical Literature knows the concept of Yeridat HaDorot, which means ‘the decline of the generations’. Later generations are further away from insight and truth and should challenge the rulings of their ancestors only with great reluctancy, if at all. This concept goes against our progressive tradition, as its name (‘progressive’) already makes clear. Yet, we too claim that we stand in relation to our past. Can we make any sense of this ‘decline of the generations’? All generations welcome to start shabbat together in prayer and reflection.
Shabbat morning – Va-eira
9.45 Beith Midrash/House of Study – Old Meeting House (no zoom)
Where do I begin? The New Year of Trees and Other Beginnings.
This month of January knows two New Years: the secular or Gregorian New Year at the beginning and the New Year for Trees, Tu B’shvat, this year on 24-25 January. In our Beith Midrash, we’ll use the latter to reflect on the importance of beginnings in our tradition. Are we natals rather than mortals?
The House of Study welcomes all members and friends.
Shacharit 11.30 Old Meeting House and Zoom
Torah reading: Exodus 6: 14-28
Haftarah: Isaiah 42: 5-17