Mazal Tov to Moshe Ross and family on the birth of a son.

Condolences to Adam Goldberger and family on the passing of his father, Bernard (Bernie) Goldberger.

Times: Shabbat starts tonight with candle lighting at 7:21pm, and ends Saturday night at 8:16pm. The weekly Torah portion is Vayikra. Rosh Chodesh Nissan and Parshat Hachodesh is on Shabbat.

Mincha in the CBD: Mincha has resumed and will continue next week at 1.58pm using the SMS system to confirm numbers

Study: The Wednesday shiur & lunch takes place at the new time of 1.30pm at Billing Bureau, followed by mincha.

Kosher Food in the CBD:  We are thrilled to announce Glicks online. We now come to you! Whether it’s for one person or corporate catering for 100, we have a delicious range of filled bagels, fruit, danish, muffins, drinks and club sandwiches. The food is beautifully presented and we deliver twice a  day anywhere in Melbourne including the CBD. Gluten free choices are also available. We are offering a huge 20% off all orders till end February (excluding delivery). Go to www.glicks.com.au and enter promo code glicks2018 to receive the discount.

SUSHI: Kosher sushi delivery coming to the city soon … watch this space for more details.

Thought of the Week with thanks to Yudi New. As children, my brother and I were allowed to have as many lollies on Shabbat as there were Torahs brought out for reading. This meant that on very rare occasions (not necessarily even once a year) on a week like this one, we scored the maximum 3. A “3 lolly Shabbat” was a big deal.

On Shabbat, we will read the weekly portion of Vayikra but add to it readings for Rosh Chodesh (beginning of the month) and Parshat Hachodesh (special reading in the lead up to Pesach). These readings are drawn from otherwise unconnected parts of the Torah. However, it appears to me that there is a common thread, that of sacrifice, which runs through all of them.

Vayikra explores the many sacrifices which dominated Temple life. Our sages teach that every Jew must sacrifice and elevate their animal soul in order to connect to the Almighty.

That covers individuals. Beyond this, at designated times (Shabbat/ Rosh Chodesh/ Festivals) we must join to bring additional public sacrifices which bind us as a community together with the Almighty.

Finally, there are times in history when even bringing a sacrifice comes at great self-sacrifice. In Parshat Hachodesh, we read that G-d commanded the Jews in Egypt to abandon their slave mentality and defiantly designate the Egyptian God of a sheep as a sacrifice. This was the spiritual catalyst for a beaten and lost nation to will itself to freedom through its re-connection with G-d.

Wishing everyone a meaningful and enjoyable “3 lolly Shabbat”.