JBD – Jews of the Melbourne CBD is now on LinkedIn. Follow us here.

Shabbat starts on Friday at 5:27m and ends on Saturday at 6:26pm. The weekly Torah portion is Vaetchanan and Shabbat Nachamu. Tu B’Av is on Monday

Mincha 1pm continues at Ainsworth Property – GF/459 Collins Mon-Wed. Join the WhatsApp group where we take a count to confirm each day.

Weekly sushi & shiur will continue on Wed at about 1.10pm (after mincha) at A-P GF/459 Collins – and via zoom. Current topic: borrower dignity. Details here and on the WhatsApp group.

Thought of the Week with thanks to David Werdiger.

Research tells us that “bad is stronger than good“. Bad feedback has a more powerful impact than good, and our memories of bad experiences are stronger than those of good ones. According to some views, it takes six good interactions to counter a single bad one.

This concept is evident this Shabbat, which after the three weeks of mourning culminating in Tisha b’Av, begins the seven weeks of comfort – where the haftorahs share the theme of renewal and comfort. That represents a ratio 2.3 of good over bad.

This week’s Torah reading features the Ten Commandments, the second of which is the prohibition against idol worship.

When we commit this sin, God self-describes as zealous, exacting punishment for up to four generations for those who continue to despise Him. However, for those who love God and respect His commandments, reward is paid forward for at least two thousand generations. The Rabbis learn from this that the measure of reward is 500 times greater than that of punishment.

For all the bad our people have suffered, the good will surely be many times greater.