The Brisbane Synagogue

Archive for June, 2022

Among the texts in our Siddur – Prayer Book, which we customarily recite daily, following the Shacharit – morning service, are the Shesh Zechirot, ‘the Six Remembrances’.

The Shesh Zechirot contain some of the most famous and significant events in early Jewish history, such as the miraculous Exodus from Egypt, the awesome Revelation at Sinai, the tragic worshipping of the Golden Calf yet, included among these highly significant events, is an incident recorded at the conclusion of this week’s – Torah portion, “And Miriam spoke against Moses, her brother” (Numbers, 12:1) and the Torah records her subsequent punishment.  “Remember what the L-rd, your G-d, did to Miriam on the way as you went out from Egypt”. Why is this relatively insignificant personal exchange between Miriam and her brother, included among topics and events, which shaped the national destiny of our people.

One of the things even great people can forget is that they have to constantly be on guard against the tendency to see the negative in others. Ironically, it seems that those closest to us are often the ones most harshly subjected to our negativity.

By including the incident of Miriam speaking negatively of her brother Moshe, the Torah is teaching us the importance of how much we need to bend over backwards whenever and wherever possible in order to avoid making assumptions about others. When we are negative, we are essentially disconnecting ourselves from the Divine, who looked at the world He created and saw that it was “very good.”

There is a tendency among most people to view themselves with positivity bias, and to find excuses for their own deficiencies or mistakes. However, we are also endowed with the capacity to choose to extend that positive outlook towards others to see the world through the eyes of G-d.

There is no room for negativity in G-d’s world; the positive in such a world becomes overwhelming and all-encompassing, leaving no room for anything else. This is one of the reasons why there is a specific mitzvah to remember the episode of Miriam every day – it is so easy to forget how good our loved ones really are.

The above message is alluded to in the name of this week’s Parsha ‘Behaalotecha’, “when you raise up”, emphasizing the importance of lifting each other up with positive actions, words, and even thoughts which, according Rambam – Maimonides, has the potential to tip the scales and bring salvation to the entire world.

It has come to our attention that there are some members of our congregation and community who are not receiving these newsletters. If you are aware of someone who is not receiving and wishes to receive, please email to us the details and we will be only too happy to include them.

Wishing you an uplifting and inspiring Shabbat Shalom

Levi and Dvorah Jaffe

Thank you Rabbi Ron Jawary for the above message

Kol Hakavod to the many children and their parents and grandparents, who attended our very special anniversary of receiving the Torah over Shavuot, as we recited the Ten Commandments with a Bimah full of children, what a nachas – pleasure!

A huge bouquet of thanks for all those who have contributed to the lovely atmosphere in Shul over Shavuot, from those who were instrumental in decorating the Synagogue sanctuary so beautifully with plants and flowers, to the elegant and delicious Shavuot meal, graciously prepared by Odelia Fitzpatrick, which was served in the Memorial Hall on Shavuot night, to those who have shared pearls of wisdom and inspiration at our late night learning program. It is the dedicated contribution of all these wonderful people that truly make this the special Kehilah Kaddisha – Holy community it continues to be.

At our final lesson of the current JLI course “Beyond Right’ today, we posed the age-old question about who is man? Is he born with an essence, or is his nucleus formed through childhood? If something in him is innate, what is it?

A story is told that once, during a dinner discussion at the royal palace, RaMBaM – Maimonides, personal physician to Sultan Saladin, argued that only human beings can change their character, while animals could not.

One of the sultan’s anti-Semitic advisors, seeing an opportunity to humiliate the Jewish physician, proposed a wager, claiming he could transform a cat into a waiter, thus teaching it to behave contrary to its nature.

Now, the advisor was also a remarkable animal trainer, and did indeed succeed in training the cat to walk on its hind legs, to hold a little tray in its paws, to wear a costume of sorts, etc.

On the designated day, Maimonides arrived with only a little box. The Sultan and his court seated themselves. With great fanfare, the advisor opened the door, and in walked the cat—costumed, on two legs, with a tray of delicacies in his paws.

The sultan looked at Maimonides, who, still smiling, opened his box. Out ran a mouse. The cat immediately dropped the tray, went down on all fours and began chasing the mouse all over the great dining hall . . .

Some people of other faiths believe that man was born into sin. Thus, man is a sinner by nature.

Many respected secular thinkers reached a similar conclusion, maintaining that at his core, man is driven by selfishness, ego and lust, and is no more than a masquerading beast. The good in him is superimposed and external, the result of nurture, not nature.

Judaism is far more optimistic.

For one, in one of its most breathtaking teachings, the Bible states that “G‑d created man in His image.” G‑d is inherently good, and so is the being He created called man.

As for the question of how man comes to sin if indeed he is so G‑dly, commenting on a verse from this week’s Torah portion, the Talmud answers profoundly: “A person does not commit a transgression unless a spirit of folly enters him.”

Unlike others who believe that man is at best a trainable cat who can act human so long as the mice are away, the Talmud suggests that man is in essence a beautiful being— with a Divine soul who, because of a “spirit of folly,” can sometimes veer from their essential good nature.

The above perspective of the human condition profoundly influences the manner in which we view ourselves and each other and engenders healthy positivity bias.

Shabbat Shalom and may we share good news

Levi and Dvorah Jaffe