Times: Shabbat starts tonight with menorah lighting at 8:20pm followed by Shabbat candle lighting, ends Saturday night at 9:26pm, followed by menorah lighting. The weekly Torah portion is Mikeitz. Rosh Chodesh is on Monday & Tuesday.

Mincha in the CBD: Today, we will have cholent and whisky, followed by mincha at 1.51pm. Next week mincha will begin at 1:55pm, using the SMS system to confirm numbers. We will go into recess for summer at the end of next week.

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 Michelle Coleman. And they rushed Yosef out of the dungeon [prison] and he shaved…” (Bereishit 41:14). Rashi comments that he shaved in honour of the throne (as he was being brought before Pharaoh).

Why does Rashi interpret Yosef’s shaving as in honour of the throne? Surely it is obvious that if a person has spent many years in prison, as has Yosef, it would be appropriate that he clean himself up and shave before re-entering society, whether to see a king or not?

Our sages say that Yosef was freed from his prison in Egypt on Rosh Hashanah. If so, how could he shave – a forbidden act – upon his release? This is the question that Rashi is really answering: Yosef was allowed to shave despite it being Rosh Hashanah “in honor of the throne”. Like the Shulchan Aruch rules, it is permitted for the sake of a mitzvah.

(Torat Moshe – Rabbi Moshe Ben Chayim Alshech Hakad)