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Shabbat starts on Friday at 5.05pm and ends on Saturday at 6.07pm. The weekly Torah portion is Devarim and Shabbat Chazon. If moshiach does not come, the fast of Tisha b’Av will start on Wednesday at 5.28pm and end on Thursday at 6.02pm

Mincha continues at Ainsworth Property – 7/459 Collins St (North Tower), at 1.00pm and we use the WhatsApp group to confirm numbers. Subject to numbers, we should have a minyan on Tisha b’Av.

The weekly lunch & shiur continues on Wed at 1.10pm at A-P 7/459 Collins – and via zoom, followed by mincha. Current topic: residential landlord obligations  Details here and on the WhatsApp group.

Thought of the Week with thanks to Avi Gordon.

In this week’s Torah reading, Moshe starts his words of rebuke to the nation by reminding them of their sins and rebellions. One of the events he mentioned was the incident of the spies. The Jews believed the slanderous report concerning the land of Israel, and did not believe Yehoshua and Calev who reported that the land was in fact a very good place.

It is difficult to understand this because Yehoshua and Calev were outnumbered ten to two. Why were the Jewish People reprimanded for not listening to Yehoshua and Calev – who were the clear minority?

The answer is that whilst the ‘negative’ spies were the majority, Yehoshua and Calev’s position was much more logical to believe (as they advocated entering the land where their report would be verified).

The lesson Moshe was teaching us, is that the biggest responsibility we have is to always apply our minds. Gd instilled every human being with intelligence and understanding with which s/he is capable of grasping divine wisdom. We should never lose sight of this gift or fail to use it.

Credit: Rabbi Eli Scheller