Mazel Tov to Yechiel & Chanie Belfer on the birth of their baby boy
JBD – Jews of the Melbourne CBD is now on LinkedIn. Follow us here.
Shabbat starts on Friday at 7:48pm and ends on Saturday at 9:02pm. The weekly Torah portion is Toldot.
Mincha continues at 1.45pm 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 1.20pm (before mincha) at A-P GF/459 Collins – and via zoom. Current topic: governance of charity collectors. Details here and on the WhatsApp group.
Thought of the Week with thanks to Gaby Silver.
In this week’s Torah portion, Yaakov negotiates with his father-in-law Lavan that only the akudim, nikudim, and teluyim—the ringed, speckled, and spotted sheep—would become his wages. On the surface, this is a clever strategy to outmanoeuvre Lavan’s deceit. However, there is a far deeper spiritual meaning behind these unusual furry patterns.
Yaakov’s years with Lavan represent the soul’s descent into the world. Lavan, whose name means “white,” alludes to lofty spiritual whiteness; the pure light of the holy Sefirot, which are channels for the creative lifeforce with which G-d created the spiritual and physical universe. Yet, when these are misaligned, they can become forces that conceal G-dliness. Yaakov’s task is to “extract the sparks”, elevating the holiness buried within an environment of concealment and distortion.
Why, then, does Yaakov specifically choose spotted and speckled animals? White represents revealed holiness; dark spots symbolise places where the Divine light is obscured. By choosing animals marked with concealment, Yaakov demonstrates the mission of every Jew: not to run from darkness, but to illuminate it. Seen this way, Yaakov’s selective breeding is a metaphor for refining the “mixed” aspects of the world; purifying and elevating those parts that seem spiritually blemished until they reveal their inner G-dliness.
Thus, Yaakov’s flocks are not merely animals but a living illustration of our role in creation. It’s no accident that this story focuses on animals – “beheimot” in Hebrew – a direct reference to the “nefesh habehamis“, the animal soul that exists in all of us and seeks to distract us from our G-dly mission. We are called to uplift the “speckled” parts of life—the challenges, the confusions, the places where Divine light seems obscured. When we engage with the world through Torah and avodah, we transform even its darkest patches into sources of blessing.
May we, like Yaakov, succeed in revealing the Divine within every “spot” and “stripe” of our lives.