Mazal Tov to Shirly and Tal Bloom on the occasion of their wedding.
Condolences to Tal Bloom and family on the passing of his father, Mr Brian Bloom ע”ה.
Condolences to Annette Charak and family on the passing of her father, Mr Israel (Isi) Charak ע”ה.
Times: Pesach (and Shabbat) begins tomorrow night (30/3) with candle lighting at 6:59pm. On the second Night of Pesach (31/3) light candles after 7:55pm. First days of Pesach finish on Sunday night (1/4) at 6:53pm AEST (or 7.53 AEDT if you didn’t change your clock on yom tov). Chol Hamoed is Monday-Thursday. Seventh Night of Pesach begins on Thursday (5/4) with candlelighting at 5:50pm. Eighth Night of Pesach (and Shabbat) is on Friday (6/4) light candles at 5:49pm. Pesach and Shabbat end Saturday night (7/4) at 6:44pm.
Mincha in the CBD: With the end of daylight savings, mincha switches back to 1.00pm from Tuesday. We will use the SMS system to confirm numbers during chol hamoed, and in the following week just a reminder.
Study: There will be no Wednesday shiur & lunch this week (4/4) The shiur will resume the following week (11/4) after mincha at Billing Bureau.
Thought of the Week with thanks to Rabbi Dovid Gutnick. Not everyone realises this but the key theme of the exodus story and the role of its hero Moshe, is abandonment. Moshe was a child abandoned by his parents, who, under genocidal duress cast him onto the Nile river in a basket.
He in turn then chose to abandon the luxurious life in Pharaoh’s house to tend to an abandoned people. A famous scene features Moshe pursuing an abandoned sheep. Perhaps psychologists will suggest an inherent, subconscious sensitivity to abandonment because of his childhood experience.
But it goes much further. In his progression as leader Moshe learns to abandon himself; his selfish desires and aspirations. He becomes our greatest exponent of abandonment of ego.
He tells G-d that if you destroy the people you may as well wipe me from your Torah: I am here for them not for myself. In the end Moshe’s abandonment of selfish aspiration is so great that he never even enters the land of Israel. His mission was to bring fulfillment to the people not himself. Furthermore we know not where he is buried – abandonment even in death.
And on the night of Pesach this greatest of all leaders, the absolute hero of the pesach story is abandoned to anonymity. He is not mentioned in the Haggadah.
Except once: “and the people believed in G-d and Moshe his servant.”
A servant who abandons himself before Gd.
To a G-d who abandons no one at all.
Chag Sameach.