Times: Shabbat starts tonight with candlelighting at 7:08pm, ends Saturday night at 8:03pm. Early Shabbat candle lighting is between 6:10pm-6:15pm. The weekly Torah portion is Vayakhel-Pekudai. Rosh Chodesh Nissan is on Tuesday (28/3).

Mincha in the CBD: Mincha (at 1.55pm) continues using the SMS system.

Study: Wednesday shiur & lunch is on Wednesday at 1.35pm at Billing Bureau, followed by mincha.

Kosher Food in the CBD: Nifla Kosher Catering (KA Hechsher)
Offers Corporate Catering, specialising in individual and board room  lunches.
10% Discount on your first website purchase. Enter promo code “FIRST TIME”. For further details visit www.nifla.com.au
New Stockist- PRONTO ON FLINDERS– 335 Flinders Lane, Melbourne.
Tel. 96297724 stocking sandwiches and pastas.
New Stockist- CBW Express – Corner Little Bourke and William Streets Melbourne.
Tel. 96421491-stocking sandwiches, bagels , muffins and fruits salads.

Thought of the Week with thanks to Geoffrey Bloch. The building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) in this week’s Torah reading is juxtaposed against the fashioning of the Golden Calf in last week’s reading.

The two cases describe the passion shown by two different types of people: one misguided and the other principled. In the case of the Golden Calf, a group of people had a passion to create something new and novel. In the latter case, the passion to create was tempered in a cause which was subject to strict rules and regulations.

Growing numbers in our society are unwilling or unable to accept that they stand on the shoulders of those who have come before to whom the credit for most modern achievement is due and who (in the words of Barak Obama) are freed from the shackles of the traditions of previous generations to fundamentally transform society. Such hubris, a characteristic of the modern followers of the Golden Calf, might fairly be described as “progressive”.

On the other hand, shrinking numbers in our society respect tradition, don’t believe in change for the sake of change itself and (in the words of John Howard) might fairly be described as “conservative” because they do not believe they are inherently superior to their grandparents.

Every one of us has a free choice regarding which group to join. Perhaps we are being taught to exercise that choice wisely.