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Shabbat starts on Friday at 8:00pm and ends on Saturday at 8:58pm. The weekly Torah portion is Terumah. Purim Katan is next Friday.

Mincha at Ainsworth Property – GF/459 Collins is in recess for the summer and will resume in March if we get numbers and if not, after DST ends. Join the WhatsApp group for updates.

Weekly sushi & shiur has resumed on Wed at 1.30pm at A-P GF/459 Collins – and via zoom. Current topic: adjoining property rights. Details here and on the WhatsApp group.

Thought of the Week with thanks to Isaac Balbin.

In the realm of Jewish metaphysics, a point of contention between Hassidic and non-Hassidic approaches revolves around the extent of divine presence within inanimate objects or those considered evil or impure. The primary figures in this debate were the Gaon of Vilna and Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi.

Concerning the weekly Torah reading of Teruma, it is noted that the top covering of the Mishkan, or Tabernacle, was crafted from the skin of a Tachash. The Tachash is described as a once-existent, multi-coloured desert creature with a single horn. The Talmud is uncertain if it qualifies as a kosher animal. How are we to comprehend that the covering of the sacred Mishkan was fashioned from an animal of questionable purity?

In our moral framework, impurity or evil is typically avoided, and the association of Godliness with such entities is a subject of debate, as mentioned earlier. However, beyond our mundane reality, the concept of impurity is less rigid, and what is deemed impure may possess unique qualities and value. This is evident in the Mishkan and its covering.

Despite its questionable purity, the Tachash was specifically chosen and deemed suitable for the sacred task of covering the Mishkan. Each aspect of creation serves a purpose when viewed through the lens of Torah.