Times: Shabbat starts tonight with candlelighting at 6:55pm, ends Saturday night at 7:51pm. Turn the clock back one hour on Saturday night to end DST. Early Shabbat – light candles between 6:05pm-6:10pm. The weekly Torah portion for Shabbat is Shemini, Parshat Parah & Shabbat Mevarchim Nissan. Rosh Chodesh is next Shabbat
Upcoming Event: Wednesday, 6 April: Feed your soul and feed your body with a lunchtime lecture from Rabbi Davey Blackman. 12:30pm-1:30pm with mincha following lecture at Wingate Level 48, 101 Collins Street. RSVP for catering purposes to events@jbd.org.au by Monday, 4th April.
Friday Mincha in the CBD: Schnitzel & kugel (1.40pm) and mincha (1.53pm) is on today using the SMS system to confirm numbers (which should be pretty easy). This is the last week for ‘late’ Friday mincha; we will try to get this going during winter if there is demand.
Mincha in the CBD: Buffet Lunch from 12.30pm-2.00pm.
Mincha at 12.50pm, 1.00pm, and 1.15pm.
Melbourne Room of St. James complex near the corner of Little Collins Street and Church Lane. Click here for a map. For more information click here. Your participation is important so please email stjames.mincha@gmail.com to register your willingness – updates will be sent to that address.
Study: Wednesday shiur will take place after the 1.15pm mincha at St James.
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:
IMPORTANT NOTE: the two CBD locations are not reliably stocking kosher products due to low demand. One of two things will happen: either they will stop carrying them, or more people will start buying and it will be worthwhile for them.
1932 Café- Ground floor –Manchester Unity Building- 220 Collins Street. Melbourne.
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 Rabbi Leon Anaf. Parsha Shemini tells of the many animal offerings on the final day of the Mishkan (Tabernacle)’s inauguration. The Midrash notes that that the Jews had to atone for “the sin of the beginning” and for the “sin of the end”. On this day they brought offerings of goats to atone for the selling of Yosef, which Yosef’s brothers concealed by dipping his coat in goat’s blood, and they offered a calf, to atone for the more recent sin of the golden calf.
One explanation for this first offering is because the brothers animosity towards Yosef stemmed from jealousy, because Yaacov had given Yosef a special garment. The Mishkan could have caused a similar problem as the Kohen Gadol and the Kohanim were accorded special garments when they performed the service. Therefore on the day when the Mishkan was completed, G-d demanded that Jews atone for the sale of Yosef, so they will be reminded not to be envious of those who have been designated for a specific role.
The Torah is teaching us that everyone has a specific role to fulfil in life, and his role is of no less significance than anyone else’s, and that different people are given different roles all of which are of equal importance as part of G-d’s grand plan for the world.