Times: Shabbat starts on Friday at 5:42 pm and ends on Saturday night at 6:40 pm. The weekly Torah portion is Nitzavim.

Rosh Hashana begins on Monday night; light candles at 5:45 pm. On Tuesday night, light candles after 6:43 pm from a pre-existing flame. Rosh Hashana ends on Wednesday night at 6:43 pm. The fast of Tzom Gedalia is on Thursday, and ends at 6:32pm.

Mincha in the CBD: We will seek to resume mincha at L2/430 Lt Collins after DST starts if there is demand. Join the WhatsApp group to stay across the latest details.

Study: The Wednesday Weekly Shiur is in recess and will resume on 6 Oct with a lunch to celebrate the completion of the chapter and the volume. Details here.

Thought of the Week with thanks to Rabbi Menachem Wolf. Kabbalah utilises the six days of creation as a model to understand time and goes as far as to describe our reality mirroring ‘higher’ realities. As we transition into the Hebrew year of 5772 we find ourselves late on ‘Friday afternoon’ in the Kabbalistic model, a time that in many homes is the most chaotic with the final Shabbat preparations and cleaning taking place.

The great mystic, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, described Australia (based on its geographic location) as a spiritual lever for the whole world and that the spiritual activities here elevate and impact the whole world. As uncomfortable and challenging as our lockdown reality is, the pressure we are feeling and experiencing may be part of being the fulcrum of the Divine lever.

The unique situation of two High Holiday seasons in lockdown may very well be a part of the Divine process of levering the world to a higher plain.

Nobody can deny the pain, suffering and discomfort we are all experiencing but I know that just as the Kabbalistic perspective on reality has been spot on every period of history so it must be right this time. Very soon, the sun will set and we will welcome a serene era not yet experience by humankind.