Mazel Tov to Ya’akov and Leah Waller & families on the birth of a son.

JBD is hiring! Please see details here

Times:  Shabbat starts on Friday at 7.08pm and ends on Saturday at 8.04pm. The weekly Torah portion is Vayikra

Mincha continues at Ainsworth Property – 7/459 Collins St (North Tower), at 2.01pm and we will use the WhatsApp group to confirm numbers.

The weekly lunch & shiur continues on Wed at 1.40pm at A-P 7/459 Collins – and via zoom, followed by mincha at 2.01pm. Current topic: commercial disputes.  Details here and on the WhatsApp group.

Thought of the Week with thanks to David Werdiger.

This week’s Torah reading discusses the sacrifices brought at the temple for various reasons. One is the special atonement for a community leader who commits a sin. The verse states “asher nassi yecheta” – “if a leader sins”, but uses the Hebrew word “asher” rather than the more common translation of “if”. The commentator Rashi states that the word “asher” is similar to “ashrei” – “happy”, to convey the message: “fortunate is the generation whose leaders acknowledge their own sins and seek atonement for them”.

But wouldn’t the truly fortunate generation have leaders who don’t sin in the first place?

The truth is we don’t need perfect leaders (and besides, no-one is perfect). Only a leader who has themselves erred and has needed to seek forgiveness can find it in their heart to forgive others. The most important attribute we need in a leader is empathy and connection with the needs of others.