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Times: Shabbat starts on Friday at 7:48pm and ends on Saturday night at 8:45pm. The weekly Torah portion is Vayak’hel, Parshat Shelakim, and Shabbat Mevarchim Adar II. Rosh Chodesh is on Thursday & Friday.

Mincha in the CBD: Mincha is in recess for the summer. We look forward to opening up when people return to their offices and we have sufficient numbers. Join the WhatsApp group to stay across the latest details.

Study: The Weekly Shiur continues on Wednesday at 1.20pm at Warlow’s Legal – 2/430 Lt Collins St – and via zoom. Current topic: Torah derivation of employee eating rights. Details here and on the WhatsApp group.

Thought of the Week with thanks to Ya’akov Waller. Why did Moshe command the people of Israel to stop donating to the Mishkan building project? It is not often that one sees, as we find in this week’s Torah reading, charitable organisations imploring their donors to close their wallets and pause their generosity.

It is true that the divinely-specified construction requirements had been met, but surely the Mishkan could have used the excess supplies and funds for its ongoing operations, if not for discretionary improvements to that which God commanded? There is certainly no indication that the people risked impoverishing themselves by giving beyond their means.

The lesson, perhaps, is this: moderation, even when it comes to material displays of religious commitment, is laudable in and of itself. Insatiable demands upon our time, resources and commitment are problematic and fraught. And if properly channelled moderation is sufficient when building the house of God, for what other endeavours is this also true?