Times: Candlelighting is Friday 5:21pm; Shabbat ends Saturday 6:20pm. The weekly Torah Portion is Shoftim.

Past Events: This past Tuesday, we had a wonderful turnout to hear Rabbi Kenneth Brander speak about “Ethics in Philanthropy: Should synagogues and Jewish institutions accept tainted funds?”.  To listen to the speech click here.  For more information about this event please click here for the JBD website or for the Facebook page click here.

Mincha in the CBD: JBD mincha minyan continues at 1:00pm. There are also minyanim every day at 1.15pm at East Melbourne shul and Chabad of the CBD.

Study: Mon 12.30 @ East Melb Shule; Wed 12.30 Special @ Billing Bureau.

Kosher Food in the CBD: GOLD’S GOURMET are supplying delicious sandwiches to the following THREE outlets in the CBD:
Pronto on Flinders @ Ground Level, 335 Flinders Lane
CBW Express- CGU Building @ 181 William St.
Cityblend Café @ 365 Little Collins St

Thought of the Week with thanks to Gaby Silver. On the surface, the commandment to ‘Appoint judges and officers at all your gates’ reflects a priority for law and order in Israel’s cities, as Rambam explains. Talmud Nedarim likens man to a microcosmic ‘City’ and the 5 sensory organs; eyes, nose, ears, skin and mouth as ‘gates’, which allow through information and bar undesirable influences. By using the second person singular form ‘shearecha’, the Torah hints that each individual must be rigorous in guarding the portals of their body – the gateways to the soul. Using Torah as our guide to judge what is acceptable to see, hear, touch, speak and eat and guard against things damaging to our souls, we can all fulfil the Torah’s admonition and promise two verses later: ‘Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live and possess the land the Lord, your God, is giving you’. May it happen speedily in our days.