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Shabbat starts on Friday at 4:49pm and ends on Saturday at 5:52pm. The weekly Torah portion is Sh’lach and Mevarchim Chodesh Tamuz. Rosh Chodesh is on Thursday and Friday

Mincha continues at 1pm at A-P GF/459 Collins Mon-Wed, and Thu 1.45pm at L1 Capital using the WhatsApp group to confirm numbers.

Weekly sushi & shiur continues on Wed at 1.10pm (after mincha) at A-P GF/459 Collins – and via zoom. Current topic: fencing law. Details here and on the WhatsApp group.

Thought of the Week with thanks to Jeremy Herz.

In the weekly Torah reading of Shelach, the debate between Caleb and the other spies highlights a critical flaw in the spies’ perception. When reporting on Canaan, they declared, “ki chazak hu mimenu“, meaning “it is stronger than us.” However, Rashi suggests “mimenu” does not only mean “than us”, but can also mean “than Him”, implying the spies believed the Canaanites were stronger than G-d.

This mistaken conclusion stemmed from the spies’ awe of Canaan’s developed civilisation. By then accustomed to the simple, isolated desert life, the spies were overwhelmed by Canaan’s technological and societal advancements. They felt like “grasshoppers” compared to the Canaanites, leading them to doubt G-d’s power beyond the wilderness.

They feared that G-d’s teachings and promises were irrelevant in such an advanced, “real world” setting.

The notion that Torah and faith are articles of ancient times and retrograde societies has echoed throughout Jewish history, especially when contrasted with the advanced cultures we have inhabited.

However, our timeless values have survived against the odds and consistently managed to shine a light on the folly of many aspects of the zeitgeist which has enveloped us. The times we are living through are no exception.

May we merit to maintain the spirit of Caleb’s exhortation – “ki yachol nuchal la” – “we shall surely ascend it!”.