JBD – Jews of the Melbourne CBD is now on LinkedIn. Follow us here.

Shabbat starts on Friday at 8:22pm and ends on Saturday at 9:24pm. The weekly Torah portion is Bo.

Mincha is now in summer recess until the end of DST in early April. See the WhatsApp group for further info.

Weekly sushi & shiur resumes on 28 Jan at 1.30pm at A-P GF/459 Collins – and via zoom. Current topic: rewards for giving charity. Details here and on the WhatsApp group.

Thought of the Week with thanks to Ezra May

G-d commands Moshe (Shemot 12:13) to instruct the Jews to place blood from the Pesach sacrifice on their doorposts on the night of the Exodus, so that He would pass over their houses and spare them from the plague of the firstborn.

A natural question arises: if G-d knows who is in each house, why was the blood necessary?

Rabbeinu Bechaye explains that the blood was not a magical substance protecting the homes. Rather, it was an act of faith, identity, and participation in the redemption. While it served as a sign, it was not for G-d’s benefit, but for the Jewish people themselves—to demonstrate commitment and readiness for redemption.

Slaughtering the lamb, an Egyptian deity, and displaying its blood publicly was an act of courage and a clear rejection of idolatry. It marked a break from Egyptian beliefs and a public declaration of loyalty to G-d, requiring trust and spiritual bravery while still living among their oppressors.

This command also teaches that redemption requires human action. G-d redeems, but the Jewish people must participate. The blood on the doorposts symbolized a decisive separation between Jewish and Egyptian destiny.