Condolences to Beverly Honig and family on the passing of her mother, Rebbetzin Dora Sarah Honig.
Times: Shabbat starts tonight with candle lighting at 8:15pm, ends Saturday night at 9:21pm. The weekly Torah portion is Vayeishev.
Upcoming Event: Wednesday, 13 December: 5:00pm. Please join us for our annual Latkes and Doughnuts in the CBD at Crockett Chambers. Whisky will also be served. Location: Crockett Chambers – 7th Floor, 530 Lonsdale St. RSVP for catering purposes to events@jbd.org.au by COB Monday 11, December.
Previous Event: The pre-Chanukah lecture by Rav Yoni on Wednesday was very well attended. Unfortunately, no recording is available.
Mincha in the CBD: Mincha will begin at 1:50pm. Please keep coming to help sustain the minyan for the last few weeks of the year.
Study: Wednesday shiur & lunch is on Wednesday at 1.20pm at Billing Bureau, followed by mincha.
Kosher Food in the CBD: There is good news on the horizon .. watch this space!
Thought of the Week with thanks to Rabbi James Kennard. Joseph – shepherd, slave, household chief, prisoner, ruler. Quite a resume!
With the story of Joseph, Genesis concludes. The Jewish family is established. Now its members must learn to survive and thrive during the forthcoming Egyptian exile and beyond. Joseph is the trailblazer.
Exile poses many challenges; physical vulnerability to hostility and the spiritual threat of assimilation under a comfortable regime.
Therefore Joseph undergoes so many different experiences – as each foreshadows a different challenge. Slavery, humiliation and dismissal as an alien “Hebrew” were archetypes of what we would later call “antisemitism”. And when given the chance to rule the known world, Joseph wears the badge of “Hebrew” with pride, this time by choice. Egyptian decadence and debauchery, personified by his master’s wife, threaten his moral integrity.
Joseph faces each trial and stays loyal to the Jewish people and to Jewish values. His triumphs inspire us to do the same.