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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.

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 Dovid Gutnick.

There is an interesting lesson in the continuum of spiritual self-refinement derived from the order of the 10 commandments.

We know that the first 5 relate to our interaction with the Divine and the latter 5 relate to our interaction with our fellow person. It is also interesting to note that the first 5 indicate a progress from thought to speech and then action. The latter 5 indicate the reverse; a movement from action to speech and then to thought.

Rav Hirsch explains that this relates to the progression of one’s spiritual journey.  When it comes to our relationship with the Divine we start with the idea – to believe. Yet belief alone is not enough. We are charged to translate the belief into speech and then action. Our interaction with society and humanity is the reverse. We open up with a priority on action, then we progress to refining our speech, and finally we can even tame our feelings.