Archive for July, 2019

From The Rabbi – Parshat Pinchas 5779

Last Friday night we conducted our inaugural Friday night kids Service and Dinner, which was attended by many families with their children. It was a real nachas seeing all the children with their parents in Shul, having a Bimah filled with children for the Kiddush, and the convivial child-friendly atmosphere at the Shabbat dinner which followed!

Many thanks and Kol Hakavod to all those who have assisted towards the wonderful success of the evening and we look forward, please G-d, to our next Kids Friday Night in the near future.

In the meantime, we are pleased to report that, following the success of the recent Beni Akiva Shabbaton, they will be returning to us again at the end of next month with their year 9 & 10 students and we look forward to another uplifting and exciting Shabbat. This will take place on the Shabbat of August 23 & 24.    

Next week Friday will be Rosh Chodesh Menachem Av, (the beginning of the month of Av) when we will enter the final 9 days of the current ‘Three Weeks’, during which we intensify our mourning customs. Please see information below regarding special customs during this time and an associated great article of interest entitled ‘Seven Principles for maintaining Jewish Peoplehood’ by former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in this regard.

Please see information below regarding ‘the Three Weeks’, a period of mourning in the Jewish calendar, and our current and upcoming courses namely, ‘the Temple Tour’ and ‘All My Heart’ – A meaningful course on the Art of Jewish Prayer.    

S habbat Shalom, and we look forward to seeing you in Shul. 

Rabbi Levi and Dvorah Jaffe

From The Rabbi – Parshat Balak 5779

We are thrilled to welcome the many families and their children, who will be joining us at the Brisbane Synagogue this Shabbat for our inaugural Kids Friday Night Service and Shabbat Dinner. A bouquet of thanks is extended to board members Denise Shulman, for graciously setting up the hall so beautifully, and Leah Phillips for her kind assistance and support. We extend our sincere appreciation to Chef Aron kann for his ongoing dedication and expert culinary skills in preparing the communal dinner.

This weekend, people all over the world are marking 50 years since Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon, an event whose historic significance resonated with just about everyone on Earth in 1969, just as it does today. Like all events great and small, man’s reaching for and arriving on the Moon can be viewed through the lens of Judaism in myriad ways that serve as lessons to all of humankind. Please see article below, entitled ‘the Rebbe on the Lunar Landing and Human Prowess’, in this regard.

Did you know that that one of the first (and only) mentions of the coming of Moshiach is in this week’s Torah portion, Balak, in the prophecy of the evil prophet Balaam. It is quite ironic that of all places, one of the most central tenets of Jewish faith comes from the mouth of an individual who wanted to harm us.

This teaches us that sometimes the greatest light can only be truly felt after experiencing darkness. Our current exile is a time of extreme darkness, and when Moshiach comes we will experience a total transformation, utopian peace and tranquility. But it takes going through exile to be able to really appreciate the redemption. One may only truly appreciate light, when coming out of darkness.

This Sunday we observe the fast day of the 17th of Tammuz, marking the beginning of the destruction of the Bet Hamikdash (Temple). The fast this year is postponed by a day because of Shabbat, when we are not permitted to fast and mourn, representing the transformation of darkness to light. So, in a sense, this Shabbat is a foretaste of the Messianic era, when the fast day is replaced by the Festive spirit of Shabbat.

Please see information below regarding ‘the Three Weeks’, a period of mourning in the Jewish calendar, and our upcoming courses namely, ‘the Temple Tour’ and ‘All My Heart’ – A meaningful course on the Art of Jewish Prayer.    

Our hope and prayer today is that once the fast is already being postponed, may it be postponed indefinitely, with the arrival of Moshiach, which will usher in a time of universal peace for all of humanity!

Shabbat Shalom, and we look forward to seeing you in Shul. 

Rabbi Levi and Dvorah Jaffe