Times: Shabbat starts on Friday at 4:54 pm and ends on Saturday night at 5:56 pm. The weekly Torah portion is Pinchas and Shabbat Mevarchim Av. Rosh Chodesh is next Shabbat.

Mincha in the CBD: As people slowly return to the city, we will try to resume Mincha. The Thursday mincha at 1.50pm (following shiur & lunch at 1.00pm) at L1 28/101 Collins is planning to resume on 8 July. Join the the WhatsApp group to stay across the latest details.

Study: The Weekly Shiur continues on Wednesday at 1:10pm via zoom. BYO lunch. We will switch to combined zoom/in-person based on demand. Details here.

Thought of the Week with thanks to Levi Rosenbaum. Shana Tova! Happy New Financial Year. It is fitting that this date of renewal fell out this week.

The Torah reading of Pinchas speaks about renewal and the cycle of life in various aspects:

1. Pinchas is granted the status of “Cohen” and born again to devote his new life entirely to God.

2. The Jewish tribes are counted and allocated portions in their new land of Israel.

3. Tzlafchad’s daughters bring about a new law, ensuring that after death, a property’s new owner is from the same family.

4. Joshua is appointed as the new leader by Moshe, chosen to lead the Jews into their new land.

5. We read about Rosh Chodesh and the new moon.

6. We journey through the festivals and the Jewish calendar.

A simple, timely lesson is to reflect on our achievements thus far and implement positive change to begin the year anew. This ensures that our next year is more like climbing a round staircase than going around again in the same circle.

This lesson is even more prevalent to this week as we bless in incoming month of Menachem-Av. While Av is a time of mourning and decreased happiness, it is an opportunity to reflect on what part of our lives we can renew to help bring the Third Temple and begin our new lives in Israel with our leader, Moshiach.