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

Shabbat starts on Friday at 5:15pm and ends on Saturday at 6:16pm. The weekly Torah portion is Matot-Masei and it’s Chazak and Shabbat Mevarchim Menachem Av. Rosh Chodesh is on Monday, which marks the start of the Nine Days.

Mincha 1pm continues at Ainsworth Property – GF/459 Collins Mon-Wed. Join the WhatsApp group where we take a count to confirm each day. This week mincha will be at L1 Capital on Mon.

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 Michelle Coleman.

In the second half of this week’s Torah reading, we are told of the 42 journeys made by the Children of Israel during their 40 years after leaving Egypt. 42 journeys in just 40 years … resting your head but never feeling quite at home, settling as best you can but knowing that the current place you’re calling home is only temporary. How did they manage this?

Life’s challenges are manageable when we understand our purpose. The Children of Israel’s wanderings were not aimless; rather, the Torah tells us, their every move was “by the word of G-d”. Moreover, they were always aware of their end goal of settling in the land of Israel.

As Jews in exile, we can take heart from this. We may move from place to place or even when we live for many years in the same place, something happens (as does the current rise in antisemitism) to remind us that it’s not really home.

However, reflecting on our ancestors’ perseverance over 42 journeys can inspire us to keep putting one foot in front of another. All we need do is remember that we, too, are moving “by the word of G-d”, who is intimately involved in every aspect of our lives. And for us, too, the end is in sight, when we return to Israel with the coming of moshiach.