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Shabbat starts tonight at 4:59 pm, and ends on Saturday night at 6:01 pm. The weekly Torah portion is Chukat.
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Condolences Mr Anton Hermann
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Our deep sympathies and condolences on the tragic loss of Mr Anton Hermann who worked in the CBD and dedicated his life to non-profit organisations. |
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Mincha in the CBD Mondays to Fridays
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Mincha, whisky and kugel today 1:00 pm. Mincha continues at
1:00 pm Monday to Friday using the SMS reminder system.
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Weekly Shiur
The Wednesday shiur and lunch starts at about 1:15 pm after mincha.
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Thought of the Week
With thanks to Chezy Deren
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This week's Torah reading, Chukat, is named for the Mitzvah that it begins with - Parah Adumah - the Red Heifer. In our tradition, the word chok connotes not just any rule or command, it refers specifically to a Mitzvah whose underlying rational escapes us.
One of the reasons why the Parah Adumah is seen to be the prototypical chok is because it doesn't just defy any logical explanation to the extent that it is also inconsistent on its own terms. The Parah Adumah refers to a complex recipe - both in ingredients and in method - that results in a solution that a Kohen would spray to purify someone who is Tameh because they came in contact with a corpse. But oddly, the Kohen charged with carrying out this procedure of purification, himself becomes Tomeh.
Paradoxically though, this strange feature, this inherent contradiction, that is a defining feature of this chok, can instructive in how we approach any Mitzvah, even though most logical among them.
Rabbi Aryeh Levin (1885 -1969) was known as the "Rabbi of the Prisoners." Living in Israel during the British Mandate he would famously visit young Jews in British prisons. Some of those prisoners were members of the resistance, others were, well, just prisoners.
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His grandchild once confided in the Rebbe that it bothered him that Reb Aryeh was sometimes criticised for the time he spent with people that were seemingly less than worthy.
The Rebbe quoted to him the Mishnah about High Priest Aharon, who passes away in this week's Torah reading: "Be of the disciples of Aaron – Love peace and chase peace, Love the creatures and bring them close to Torah."
Notice, the Rebbe commented, the Mishna uses the terms "creatures", meaning, we are talking about people who seemingly their only redemptive quality is that they were created by God - there is not much else good to say about them. It's these, seemingly "unlovable" people, that we are charged with loving and bringing lose to Torah.
There you have it. Ahavat Yisroel, the mitzvah of loving your fellow Jew can be practiced as a chok, a contradiction on its own terms: when you show love and compassion to a person who seems to deserve neither.
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