The Brisbane Synagogue

Archive for June, 2024

In conversation yesterday with one of our distinguished senior members, the topic of large families and good old-fashioned nutritious home-cooked food came up in our discussion. He was bemoaning the fact that when he was raised in pre-war Europe, his mother would work alongside his father from nine to five, yet she still managed to come home and prepare delicious three course meals each night for the family. We also discussed about how in his grandparent’s era it was common for parents with relatively low incomes to raise large families.
What has changed? Like many things in life, much of this has to do, not with our capabilities but rather priorities. When something is important for us, we seem to find ways to make them happen and conversely, when we are not interested, we find all the excuses to explain why we are unable to achieve.
This week we read about twelve upstanding leaders of the Jewish people, handpicked by Moshe (Moses), to check out the land of Israel (then known as Canaan), and bring back a report. Tragically, this story did not end well, as these men (with the exception of two) returned full of negativity, concluding that it would be impossible to conquer the land, thus the Jewish nation remained wandering in the desert for forty years.
Many commentators ask how come such great leaders failed their mission so miserably? According to the Chassidic masters, their failure was a result of their aspirations and priorities, as pious as they were, having not being aligned with the Divine will. They had become too comfortable with the spiritual cocoon of the desert life, in which all of their physical needs were provided for miraculously by Hashem, food from heaven, water from a rock, and protection from the elements by the Clouds of Glory, enabling them to dedicate their lives to spiritual pursuits. All very nice and altruistic however, the Divine will was for the people to enter the land and begin to live within the natural order. To translate their spiritual yearnings into creating a spiritual abode for Hashem within the physical constraints of our world.
It would appear that the issue of misplaced priorities and excuses to suit them is not a new phenomenon. Let’s learn from the…

Shabbat Shalom and we look forward to seeing you at Shul.
Rabbi Levi & Dvorah Jaffe

The past couple of weeks have been quite heavy going as. our current JLI course, ‘Decisions of Fate’ has been delving into the Jewish view on fundamental questions of life and death, in the context of some of the most controversial contemporary questions facing society, such as Euthanasia, Abortion, and the sanctity of life.
You may recall the emotional scene in the popular Israeli TV series, Shtisel, in which Ruchama is faced with the heart-breaking news that, due to her serious medical diagnosis she is informed that, in order to save her own life, she must abort her unborn child, which constituted a threat to her own life. In this week’s class we discuss the Jewish response to Rechama’s desire to go ahead with the pregnancy, despite the risk of losing her own life.
Is a mother permitted to give up her life for the life of her child and, is a fetus in the womb of its mother considered as human life? What would you say?
The underlying principles of Judaism which influence the Torah approach to such complex philosophical questions is based on the premise that, as opposed to the secular western notion of the right to choose, the Jewish approach is based on the obligation and responsibility we have towards the sanctity of life.
Studying these important topics through the lens of Torah as elucidated in the Halachah – Jewish law, demonstrates yet again the depth and all-encompassing nature of Torah wisdom, as an expression of the will and desire of Divine Architect of the Universe.
These questions are very much at the heart the current situation in Israel, and the heated debate regarding the moral duty of the Israeli Government towards its citizens in the face of the barbaric and brutal Simchat Torah massacres.
This week, we read in the Torah of the miraculous and uplifting sustaining of the Jewish people during their travels in the desert, as they were led by the Divine GPS, the clouds of glory.
We too endeavor to lead our lives according the Divinely communicated principals of the Torah, and we pray for the protection of the people in Israel, the young men and women of the IDF, and the innocent citizens of Gaza, and an end to all war and conflict with the ultimate ‘Behaalotecha’ – uplifting arrival of the Geulah Shlemah, – ultimate redemption and the revelation of Moshiach!
In order to ensure that we may secure regular Minyanim, we have now set up a ‘Minyan Management’ Whatsapp group, so that we may communicate in advance to confirm our numbers for the respective Synagogue services. Please let us know by return email if you would like to be included in the group, as it will be appreciated greatly if we could have as many people as possible on this group.
Shabbat Shalom and we look forward to see you at Shul.
Rabbi Levi & DvorahJaffe