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Times: Shabbat starts on Friday at 4:49 pm and ends on Saturday at 5:51 pm. The weekly Torah portion is Behaalotecha.

Mincha in the CBD: On Mon/Tue/Thu, Mincha is at ABL – 21/333 Collins, and on Wed at Warlow’s Legal – 2/430 Lt Collins St. Join the WhatsApp group to stay across the latest details.

Study: The Weekly Shiur continues on Wednesday at about 1.15pm (after mincha) at Warlow’s Legal – 2/430 Lt Collins St. – and via Zoom. Current topic: employee eating right transferrability. Details here and on the WhatsApp group.

Thought of the Week with thanks to Avi Gordon. In this week’s Torah reading, we read about the famous mitzva to light the menorah in the Tabernacle, and the Temple.

Our sages explained that the unusual terminology used of “beha’alotcha”, which means going up, hints to us at the obligation of the Cohen to ascend the 3 steps placed in front of the menorah as part of the kindling service.

The question remains, however, what is the significance of these steps? They barely had a practical utility given that the menorah itself was slightly more than 5 feet tall so there must be more to its symbolism…

Perhaps, it can be explained that each of the three steps represents the three parts of the Jewish nation: Cohen, Levi, and Yisroel. And the message to the Cohen is that before he kindles their flame, bringing real and spiritual light to the world, he must consciously think that he represents not one single part of Israel, but the entire nation: skipping a single step or excluding one section of Israel would blemish his service. As a leader, he represents all of Israel, anything less would not truly bring light to the world.