Times: Shabbat starts on Friday at 8:26pm and ends on Saturday night at 9.31pm. The weekly Torah portion is Vayigash. 

Mincha in the CBD: Mincha is in recess for the summer. We look forward to opening up next year when people return to their offices and we have sufficient numbers. Details at the WhatsApp group.

Study: The Weekly Shiur is now in recess – returning in late Jan. Details here.

Thought of the Week with thanks to David Werdiger. Yosef’s encounter with his brothers reaches its climax and he reveals to them his true identity. But why did he need this degree of brinkmanship? He had already overheard his brothers express their regret to each other for selling him (and they did not realise he could understand them as he had used an interpreter). Was that not enough?

The ‘gold standard’ for teshuvah (repentance) requires both regret for the past and acceptance to change in the future. The latter can only be truly tested if someone encounters a similar situation, and is able to resist the inclination to stray.

For this reason, Yosef contrived an elaborate ruse to confront his brothers with the opportunity to give up their brother Benyamin in exchange for being able to return safely to Canaan. It was only after they refused and therefore demonstrated true change, that he was able to forgive them.