Times: Candlelighting is Friday 5:26pm; Shabbat ends Saturday 6:25pm. The weekly Torah Portion is Eikev.

Upcoming Events: Tuesday, 19th August: A lunchtime lecture from Roy Doliner “Kabbalistic Secrets in Italian Art and Architecture” 12:45pm at Wingate Group, Level 48, 101 Collins Street (mincha will follow the event at 1:45pm) RSVP for catering purposes to events@jbd.org.au by COB today. For more information click here.

Mincha in the CBD: Mincha continues at our usual location at Level 5 South, 459 Collins St, at 1.00pm Mon-Thurs. On Tuesday, we will use the SMS system to confirm numbers as some people may prefer mincha at our usual venue instead of at the Doliner event.

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 Rabbi James Kennard.  Rain. An inconvenience to many, a boon to others. And, surprisingly, the feature which distinguishes Israel from other lands (Deuteronomy11:11). Israel is contrasted with Egypt, where the annual overflow of the Nile irrigates fields automatically, but in the promised land rain comes sporadically, and the success of each harvest, and hence life itself, hangs in the balance. And this is a blessing?

Yes it is, because dependency on rain leads to a dependency on G-d. Egyptian life needs the beneficence of no higher power and hence benefits from no sense of accountability to a moral authority. But Israel is the land on which “the eyes of G-d are from the beginning to the end of the year”; living in Israel necessitates a relationship with heaven. We pray and we accept G-d’s oversight; in order to live we have to live ethically. This is indeed a blessing.