Times: Candlelighting is Friday 4:59pm; Shabbat ends Saturday 6:00pm. The weekly Torah Portion is Pinchas. Fast of Tammuz is Tuesday (July 15). Fast begins 5:52am; Fast Ends 5:49pm

Mincha in the CBD: Mincha continues at our usual location at Level 5 South, 459 Collins St, at 1.00pm Mon-Thu. We will have a Sefer Torah for mincha on Tuesday.

Study: Mon 12.30 @ East Melb Shule; Wed 1.15 @ Billing Bureau.

Kosher Food in the CBD: Kosher sandwiches and snacks provided by Sidewalk Cafe under Kosher Australia hashgacha are available at the following locations:
-CBW Express- 181 William Street (Open late until 9pm)
-Pronto on Flinders – 335 Flinders Lane
Kosher sandwiches and snacks delivered daily to the CBD.
SANDWICHES: egg mayonnaise and tomato, tuna mayonnaise and pickles, smoked salmon and herbed cream cheese, crisp lettuce, sliced cheese, tomato, cucumber and salad. SNACKS: natural berry yogurt with oat cluster crumble, fresh fruit salad, mixed berry muffin

Thought of the Week with thanks to Yehuda Gottlieb. In this week’s Torah reading we see the reward provided for Pinchas’ act of zealotry described last week – the covenant of peace and the priesthood. In receiving this reward, Pinchas is singled out by Hashem as being deserving of an instant reward for his actions. This is in stark contrast to Moshe and Aharon, who, despite being the leaders of the Jewish people and saving the nation a number of times (e.g. Moshe after the  golden calf, Aharon after Korach’s rebellion) never received an instant reward for these actions. Why was Pinchas so deserving of this ‘special treatment’?

Rabbi Baruch Epstein writes in his work, the Torah Temima, that the episode of Pinchas demonstrates the importance of being quick to act in the face of a clear desecration of Hashem’s name. It would have been easy for Pinchas to have sat back and deferred to the Jewish leadership to handle the situation. However, due to his keen sense of moral judgement, Pinchas assessed the situation and acted swiftly. His reward was received immediately to validate his response and to publicly acknowledge that anyone can and should take action to prevent or minimise a situation of chillul Hashem. This is a timely lesson, demonstrated this week by the outpouring of condemnation by Jewish leaders and laypeople alike of the alleged Jewish reprisal killings of a Palestinian youth. This response, compared to that of the Palestinians (and the rest of world) to our own national tragedy, highlights the chasm between the two protagonists in the proposed peace process.