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Shabbat starts on Friday at 8:12pm and ends on Saturday at 9:18pm. The weekly Torah portion is Vayishlach.

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.

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 Isaac Balbin

Until Rachel died, Ya‘akov kept his sleeping arrangements in her tent. After her passing, Reuven seized the moment to alter the household order and interfere with those arrangements. A straightforward reading of the verse suggests that Reuven had relations with Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah, thereby preventing Ya‘akov from moving his bed to her tent. Yet the Talmud teaches that no such impropriety occurred; rather, Reuven merely relocated Ya‘akov’s bed from Bilhah’s tent to that of his mother, Leah.

The difficulty is obvious: the Torah’s language appears to depict Reuven as having committed a grave sin. The Talmud, offering a more authoritative and nuanced account of what transpired behind the scenes, corrects this impression and makes clear that no immoral act took place. Why, then, does the Torah present the episode in terms that seem misleading? Why not simply state what occurred in accordance with the Talmudic tradition?

The Torah here conveys an essential principle—one that resonates acutely in our own era. Matters that outwardly appear wrongful, unjust, or even sinful should not be accepted at face value. It is our obligation to probe beneath the surface, identify the origins of misunderstanding, and uncover the deeper truth. Appearances alone cannot be trusted; they must be examined, analysed, and clarified. The Torah’s formulation thus functions as a charge: to study rigorously, to peel back layers of perception, and to reveal and proclaim the truth behind episodes that, at first glance, cast us in a negative light.

In a world that shamefully and falsely condemns us with accusations of ethnic cleansing, starvation, and other atrocities, we must not remain silent. We must investigate, expose, and present the genuine facts—clearly, powerfully, and incontrovertibly.