Times: Shabbat starts tonight with candlelighting at 7:57pm, ends Saturday night at 9:01pm. Early Shabbat – light candles between 6:50pm-6:55pm. The weekly Torah portion for Shabbat is Vayetzei.

Chanukah is just around the corner, and we have some cool things planned. Details to follow soon …

Mincha in the CBD: Mincha will continue Mon-Thurs at 1.45pm at Level 5, South Tower, 459 Collins St, using the SMS reminder system to confirm numbers.

Study: Wed shiur @ Billing Bureau: about 1:15pm

Kosher Food in the CBD: Nifla Kosher Catering (KA Hechsher)
Offers Corporate Catering, specializing in individual and board room lunches. For further details visit www.nifla.com.au
10% Discount on your first website purchase. Enter promo code “FIRST TIME”. Kosher sandwiches, muffins and salads are available at the following locations:
CUPP- Manchester Unity Building- Ground Floor-220 Collins Street
CBW EXPRESS-181 William Street.(Entrance Little Bourke St)
IN A RUSH CAFE-616 St Kilda Road-(Ground Floor-Lowe Lippmann Building)

Thought of the Week with thanks to Avi Gordon. In this week’s Parsha we read about Yaakov’s journey to his uncle Lavan. On his way down, Yaakov makes a promise to God that if He returns him home safely, he would commit so serving Him faithfully forever more.

The Midrash Rabba comments that Hashem said because Yakov’s used the word ‘VeHaya’ (‘and it will be’) in his promise, all blessings and salvations to come to the Jews in the future will always come through the expression ‘VeHaya’. This midrash is perplexing as it is unclear why a single, seemingly innocuous use of the word of VeHaya has such a deep and far-reaching impact.

Rav Pinchas Roberts explains that the word “VeHaya” is in essence made up of two contradicting words: ‘Haya’ which means and ‘it was’, and the letter vav as a prefix which changes it from past tense to future tense, and transforms the word from ‘it was’ to ‘and it will be’.

Rav Roberts explains that the midrash is teaching us all a life lesson. If we look back at our history, and contemplate all our great leaders, forefathers and foremothers, and commit to emulating their ways into our future, in essence incorporating the past into the future (adding the vav to the haya), we will become a vessel for all of God’s blessings and salvations. May we all find the spiritual inspiration from our leaders, past and present and incorporate it into our personal lives.