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Shabbat starts on Friday at 6:59pm and ends on Saturday at 7:55pm. The weekly Torah portion is Tzav and Shabbat Parah.

Mincha at Ainsworth Property – GF/459 Collins is in recess for the summer and will resume on 8 April after DST ends. Join the WhatsApp group for updates..

Weekly sushi & shiur continues on Wed at 1.30pm at A-P GF/459 Collins – and via zoom. Current topic: employee carry provisions. Details here and on the WhatsApp group..

Thought of the Week with thanks to Ya’akov Waller

In this week’s reading, the Torah describes how the entire congregation gathered at the Tabernacle to witness its inauguration and the induction of the Kohanim. Just as the ceremony is about to start, Moshe announces to the people that this thing they are about to witness was commanded by God. The announcement is seemingly trite; it would have been obvious to everyone present that the ceremony was commanded by God, just as the entire process of constructing the Tabernacle and instituting the sacrifices were so commanded.

The commentator Rashi picks up on this and observes that Moshe made the announcement in order to pre-empt any accusations that Moshe was engaging in the ceremony, which included the induction of Aharon, in order to glorify himself and his brother.

From our perspective, with knowledge of the accusations which were subsequently to be levelled at Moshe and Aharon, Moshe’s attempt to quell discontent was astute and prescient. Although it was not entirely successful, his ability to foresee the doubts and rumblings within the population says much about the quality of his leadership. The way in which he addressed the issue is equally instructive. Moshe did not say “trust me” or claim any natural superiority over the people. To the contrary, he deferred entirely to the command of God, and sought to distance himself from any glory.