MIZRACHI MATTERS PARSHAT SHOFTIM Friday, 13 August (5 Elul) This week’s newsletter is generously sponsored by Raie Levy, Naomi Arber, Danny Levy, Pninah Lissauer & This newsletter is dedicated in loving memory to Tamara Rubinstein & families nee Schreiber) in loving memory of their husband & father) ע"ה Edith Kraus ח י ה ע טל בת ישראל זאב ע " ה ע" ה Manfred Levy on her 14th Yartzeit on 3 Elul ר משה אריה בן החבר יהודה הלוי ע " ה whose Yartzeit is Shabbat 6 Elul Candle Lighting: 5:24pm REGISTRATION & MASKS ARE MANDATORY FOR ATTENDANCE AT ALL MIZRACHI SERVICES. PLEASE ENSURE TO REGISTER YOUR ATTENDANCE AT WEEKDAY MINYANIM & SHIURIM VIA THE QR CODES ON CAMPUS. Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 13 August 14 August 15 August 16 August 17 August 18 August 19 August 20 August 5 Elul 6 Elul 7 Elul 8 Elul 9 Elul 10 Elul 11 Elul 12 Elul

1. Beit Yehuda 2. Beit Yitzchak 3. Beit Midrash (Beit Haroeh Shabbat Morning) 4 . Bnei Akiva 5 . Elsternwick 6 . Midrashah 7 . Goldberger Hall 6:30am1; 7:00am2

Shacharit 7:30am1 Dawn 5:57am 5:56am 5:54am 5:53am 5:52am 5:51am 5:49am 5:48am Tallit & Tefillin 6:16am 6:14am 6:13am 6:12am 6:11am 6:10am 6:09am 6:07am Sunrise 7:09am 7:08am 7:06am 7:05am 7:04am 7:03am 7:01am 7:00am 9:46am 9:46am 9:45am 9:44am 9:43am 9:43am 9:42am 9:41am ( ג ר ״ א) Sh'ma Earliest Mincha 12:52pm 12:52pm 12:52pm 12:52pm 12:52pm 12:52pm 12:52pm 12:51pm

4:36pm 4:36pm 4:37pm 4:38pm 4:38pm 4:39pm 4:40pm 4:40pm (גר״א) Plag HaMincha Mincha / Ma’ariv 5:30pm1 5:10pm1 5:35pm1 5:35pm1 5:35pm1 5:35pm1 5:35pm1 5:35pm1 Sunset 5:42pm 5:43pm 5:44pm 5:44pm 5:45pm 5:46pm 5:47pm 5:48pm Night/Shabbat Ends 6:23pm 6:24pm 6:25pm 6:25pm 6:26pm 6:27pm 6:28pm 6:28pm Second Ma’ariv

DAF YOMI Sukkah 37 Sukkah 38 Sukkah 39 Sukkah 40 Sukkah 41 Sukkah 42 Sukkah 43 Sukkah 44 Via Zoom 8:15am 7:30pm 8:15am 8:15am 8:15am 8:15am 8:15am 8:15am Rabbeinu Bachye Lunch and Learn “Following in the Parsha Shiur for women R’ Danny Mirvis Footsteps of our R’ Danny Mirvis R’ Danny Mirvis 1:00pm Fathers” 8:00pm SHIURIM 9:30am Parsha HaShavua 11:00am (ZOOM Only) Shiur with Via Zoom Tzurba Communal R’ Leor Broh R' Dovid Gutnick Shiur R’ Jonny 8:30pm Gary’s Gemara Brull 8:30pm Shiur 8:30pm Ladies Tanach Shiur - Dr. Michal Kaufman 8:30pm MISHNAH Mikvaot Mikvaot Mikvaot Mikvaot Mikvaot Mikvaot Mikvaot Mikvaot YOMIT 7:1-2 7:3-4 7:5-6 7:7-8:1 8:2-3 8:4-5 9:1-2 9:3-4

EVENTS

Brian & Debbie Raie Levy Anne Kelman Geri Kras Ursula Cher Anne Shnider Wiener (Husband) (Mother) (Mother) (Husband) (Father) (Father) Naomi Arber, Judy Berkovits & Lawrence Cher, Jennifer Wein Danny Levy, Jeff Lefkovits Leonie Balbin & YAHRZEITS (Mother) Pninah Lissauer & (Father) Nathan Cher Gary & Paul Tamara Rubinstein (Father) Korbl (Father) (Father)

Mizrachi Matters can now be found on the Mizrachi website at http://mizrachi.com.au/mizrachi-matters/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MizrachiMelb We wish a hearty Mazal Tov to:

Samantha and Adam Rischin on the birth of their daughter, Bella Miriam. Mazal tov to her grandparents: Gloria and Daniel Blau and Rachelle and Danny Rischin

Lexi & Yoel Rosenbaum on the birth of their son. Mazal Tov to his grandparents: Stevan Lambert and Alan & Roxanne Kozica

BAR / BAT MITZVAH ANNIVERSARIES: Mark Granek

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Saturday: Amanda Teller, Judy Seigel, Meir Leib Meltzer, David Cohney (HBD) Sunday: Raphael Mihalovich, Benjamin Cook Monday: Mark Granek, Ralph Greenberger, Trevor Shnider, Natalie Zuckerman (HBD) Wednesday: Leon Burman, Peter Kacser, David Slonim, Gabe Paneth (HBD) Thursday: Diana Izsak, Stephen Bloch Friday: John Kraus, Yonina Garfield

WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES: Saturday: Ruth & Reuben Wein Sunday: Amanda & Daniel Teller, Naomi & Geoff Bloch, Tammy & Chaim Kingsley Wednesday: Daniel & Amanda Teller (HWA), Deborah & Richard Zimmermann

If you have an occasion or milestone event that you would like to be mentioned in Mizrachi Matters, please email it to [email protected] by 12:00pm on Thursdays

Parshat Shoftim

"You shall surely pursue justice in order that you shall live and you shall inherit the Land that Hashem your Go-d gives you. You shall not plant for yourself any idolatrous tree alongside the altar of the Hashem your Go-d which you shall make for yourself" (Devarim 16:20-21).

The laws concerning the appointment of Judges at the beginning of this week's Parsha are immediately followed by the prohibition against planting a tree for idolatrous purposes. The Gemara in Sanhedrin explains the connection between these laws:

"Reish Lakish says, 'anyone who appoints an unsuitable Judge, it is as if he is planting an idolatrous tree in , as it says, 'You shall appoint for yourself Judges and officers', and juxtaposed to it, 'You shall not plant for yourself any idolatrous tree''." (Sanhedrin 7b).

Reish Lakish explains that appointing an unsuitable Judge is as severe as planting a tree to use it as in idol. Nevertheless, the relationship between these laws remains unclear. What is the connection between pursuing justice and planting a tree?

From its outer appearance, the idolatrous tree looks no different to any other tree. Like any other tree, it had the potential to inspire great belief in Hashem, highlighting the wisdom of Hashem as it appears through nature. However, despite its outer appearance, the idolatrous tree is spiritually rotten, abominable, and must be destroyed.

Reish Lakish wants to teach us that a Judge who behaves inappropriately is like an idolatrous tree. Though his outer appearance may make him look as pious and righteous as any other judge, he is internally rotten. We must therefore be exceptionally careful when appointing Judges, not to be influenced by external appearance alone.

Whilst this message is aimed at Judges in a formal legal setting, it is highly relevant to our individual lives as well. It is easy to righteously claim, "We should not judge", but the unavoidable reality is that we naturally make conclusions about the people and circumstances around us.

As we move through the month of Elul and enter the build-up to the Day of Judgment when we will all be on trial, we must aim to improve our judgment of others. It is not enough to appear just or fair. We must ensure that we are purely motivated and entirely clear of any bias, prejudice, or search for personal gain. By judging those around us with understanding and compassion, may we be deserving of favourable judgments ourselves,

Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Danny Mirvis

Reb Leor Broh

Riddle for Parshat Shoftim

I am an object that appears twice in Parshat Shoftim, and nowhere else in the Torah. The first time I appear is in association with a Mitzvat Aseh (a positive Mitzvah). The second time is in association with a Mitzvat Lo Taaseh (a negative Mitzvah). What am I?

Answer to Riddle for last week (Re’eh)

Find a set of six words in a row that appear twice in the Parsha, in exactly the same order and with exactly the same “trop” (musical notes).

Answer:

” כִּ ֣ י עַ ֤ם קָ דוֹשׁ֙ אַתָּ֔ ה לַה אֱ לֹ- הֶ ֑ י � " For you are a people consecrated to Hashem your G-d

This exact phrase with the exact same ‘trop’ appears both in 14:2 and 14:21.

Whilst not commenting on the repetition of this phrase, Rabbenu Bechaye does mention the double -:here, namely ”קדוש“ meaning of the word

1) Separate (from the nations of the world, and hence subject to dietary laws they don’t have) 2) Reserved for Olam Haba (and therefore forbidden to mutilate the body, as the nations do in grief for a lost relative).

From the Gush

Rav Moshe Taragin Global Warming and the Crime of Lost Potential

Man is at his worst behavior during wartime - destroying lives and devastating his surroundings. Modern war feels slightly more civil, as it is generally brief and is conducted at a distance from the enemy. Ancient wars were more savage, bloody and vicious. Often military campaigns stretched years, as prolonged sieges gradually starved and suffocated the population into surrender.

The Torah prohibits wantonly razing trees during these lengthy sieges. Barren trees may be felled but fruit trees must be spared. This prohibition, known as bal tashchit, serves a dual function. Firstly, it curbs excessive brutality and tempers vulgar reactions. Facing stress and fear, soldiers often commit hideous and gruesome crimes. Protecting Nature during wartime preserves human dignity, when it is most vulnerable. In 1969 Golda Meir commented "When peace comes we will perhaps, in time, be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons". The prohibition of bal tashchit restrains uncontrolled ruthlessness, preserving some measure of human dignity during war.

Secondly and more importantly, the prohibition against vandalizing trees regulates our overall relationship with Nature. Man is expected and encouraged to manipulate the forces of Nature for human benefit, and on behalf of human progress. Yet, we must respect the Divine masterpiece of Nature, avoiding purposeless depletions of the environment. This iconic prohibition of bal tashchit extends far beyond the military application. It applies to needless ripping of clothing and pointless killing of animals. Even under peaceful conditions, absent the pressures of war, humans must be mindful about draining Nature.

Of course, the most familiar application of this rule concerns the wastage of food. In the modern context, the concern of bal tashchit and wasting food has dramatically shifted. Until recently, humanity often struggled to feed itself. In 1798 Thomas Malthus predicted that an industrialized world would soon become overpopulated and far outstrip food production. Humanity would be unable to feed an ever-growing population. His warnings haven’t materialized, as he overlooked the power of technology to adapt and provide sufficient food. Advances in industrial- scale agriculture, refrigeration and transportation have yielded geometric increases in food production, almost eliminating hunger as a source of death- at least in the first world. As food is so abundant the parameters of bal tashchit have been redefined. It is likely, that normal discarding of leftover foods which will not be eaten, does not constitute destructive and prohibited bal tashchit.

While disposing uneaten food may no longer violate bal tashchit, we face a newer bal tashchit-esque dilemma regarding wasting Nature's potential: global warming and climate change. As technology advances, we burn more fossil fuel and deforest our woodlands. We may have escaped the Malthusian trap of hunger, but it appears that our advanced lifestyles endanger the sustainability of our planet. Does the prohibition of bal tashchit mandate climate preservation? Does it prohibit not just felling a tree but abusing planetary resources?

Truthfully, it is a complicated question- both in the purely legal sense, as well as from a moral perspective. The Talmud Shabbat (140) ponders the preferability of consuming inferior barley bread in place of better-grade wheat bread. Consuming barley bread is less enjoyable but would conserve resources, as wheat is more valuable and more scarce. Perhaps bal tashchit demands long-term preservation of resources, even at the cost of current personal benefit. The Talmud rejects this option, authorizing the consumption of wheat bread: squandering natural resources is a violation of bal tashchit, but so is the diminishing of human benefit. Eating barley bread would preserve natural resources but constrict human experience and would violate the spirit of bal tashchit. The quality of human experience supersedes the preservation of natural resources. From a strictly legal and halachik standpoint it appears that human need should not be confined or compromised to preserve natural resources.

To be sure, the issue of climate change is more complicated than the Talmud's dilemma. The Talmud challenges us to calibrate between human benefit and the preservation of Nature. Climate change poses a very different dilemma: current human needs pitted against long term planetary sustainability and long-term human needs. Do we have the right to indulge in our present, possibly at a cost to future generations and their needs? For example, it would be immoral to ignore debt, allowing it to swell and passing it along to our children. Would it be similarly immoral to exploit Nature and her resources while possibly wrecking the environment for the future inhabitants of our planet?

This question should not be simplified: Man is gifted with creativity and expected to exploit natural resources for human prosperity. Just the same, as the creatures most Divine-like, we, like God are also custodians and caretakers of Nature. The duality of our relationship with Nature is distilled in a verse in Genesis in which God commands humans to "develop our planet but also preserve it" (l'ovdah u'leshomrah). What happens when these two mandates clash? How do we proceed when our efforts to advance human welfare may endanger the conservation of Nature? This is not a question which yields an obvious or simple answer, but certainly one which we should contemplate.

An additional factor complicates the issue of climate conservation. After flooding our planet, G-d swore to Noah and to humanity that the world would never again be obliterated. Obviously, the Divine promise doesn’t preclude humans from triggering nuclear Armageddon and despoiling our planet. However, burning fossil fuels, even at our current exaggerated levels, isn’t vandalistic or malevolent. Perhaps we should rely upon the Divine promise that normal human behavior will not threaten global extinction. Though the Torah's will about climate preservation is unclear, many religious and morally sensitive people intuitively support policies which advance human progress while attempting to safeguard our climate for the future.

The preservation of Nature's potential and the prohibition of bal tashchit spotlights a more severe sin: the wasting of human potential. If misusing the potential of Nature is criminal, squandering human potential is even more immoral. With the onset of Elul, the annual period of teshuva and personal introspection has begun. Typically, we probe our sins, our moral crimes, our harmful relationships, and our general unhealthy behavior. What about the massive personal potential we waste? Shouldn’t our teshuva also probe the opportunities in life we ignore and the accomplishments we are too lazy to strive for? Focusing solely on repairing wrongdoings and misdemeanors yields average or pedestrian religious identity. In our pursuit of religious excellence, we must mourn the choices we didn’t take, alongside the terrible choices we did commit.

Commenting on penitence for lost potential, my revered Rebbe, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein zt”l wrote: "The failure to exploit spiritual potential, the failure to drink spiritual life to the lees, is not just some kind of pallid passivity, but, …. is spiritual rot". Describing repentance for lost potential he continues: "Along comes the opportunity of teshuva. Teshuva is not just an opportunity per se; it is the opportunity to amend for all the missed opportunities. Teshuva is the chance to redress the balance, to take all of that waste and not only neutralize it but energize it, even transforming it into a positive force"

Teshuva is an opportunity to atone for lost opportunities. Don’t waste opportunity.

Elul 5781

Dear Friends,

5781 has certainly been an unusual year and it is hard to believe that we are nearing the end and Rosh Hashana is fast approaching. We can only hope that we will be fortunate enough to celebrate the start of 5782 in a much more traditional manner than we did last year. We have arrived at the time of year where we focus specifically on teshuva and m’asim tovim and it is the perfect opportunity to consider the needs of others especially those that rely on support from our community.

Throughout the year the Mizrachi Charity Fund (MCF) is committed to providing members of our extended community with the necessary support to ensure that they are able to provide for their families adequately. The need is constant and the requests endless. Unfortunately, there is an increasing number of families within the community that rely on our support in order to manage their financial burden. Not surprisingly the last 18 months revealed a particularly steep increase in the number of requests received and our community’s reliance on our support is at an all-time high.

*Jacob recently approached MCF after tragically losing his wife. Having no family in the country, Jacob resigned from his employment to care for his wife during her illness. Jacob was also required to care for his two children. Jacob is desperately seeking employment that will accommodate his need to be available for his two children who are struggling to adjust to life without their mother. He is finding it extremely difficult to find anything suitable and consequently cannot afford his daily expenses.

*Esther is an existing client of MCF and manages with our support on a tight budget. Esther was employed by a small business however, unfortunately, the impact of COVID has had a significant effect on her employer’s business and they are no longer able to offer her employment. Esther is facing significant financial hardship without her income and is struggling to find alternative employment at this stage.

Jacob and Esther, and their families are just two examples of families who turned to Mizrachi Charity for assistance when they found themselves so vulnerable.

We receive requests from families within our community and beyond. The most alarming feature is that many of these requests are coming from families that are deeply integrated in our close knit community. The need is literally on our doorstep and it is something that we cannot ignore. Furthermore, the impact of the pandemic has resulted in the emergence of a new faction of the community seeking our support, families that have never sought assistance in the past but have been adversely affected in these challenging times.

We are pleased to be able to assist those families that seek our support and the only hurdle we face is having limited funds which restricts our ability to assist to the full extent required. We are completely reliant on the support of our generous community which ensures that we sustain our record of distributing approximately $280,000 a year to those who find themselves hungry, homeless, jobless and with few avenues of support.

Every month, funds are disbursed to provide food vouchers, rental assistance, medical assistance, payment of utilities and occasionally, financial support in order to retrain or re-educate an individual so that they can return to the workforce. We hope to do more of this.

Obviously the more money we raise the more capability we have to assist. Sometimes what we provide is only enough to help our clients out of a drastic predicament and we always wish we had the ability to help on a grander scale.

Please consider those families whose added challenges can be alleviated by our thoughtful assistance by supporting our Rosh Hashana Appeal. We are so grateful for your continued support and are delighted to advise that donations can now be made online by clicking on our website charity.mizrachi.com.au

Wishing you all a Shana Tova and Gmar Chatima Tova.

Warm regards,

Karen Franks Mizrachi Charity Fund Executive Director *Names have been substituted

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To watch the dedication of Beit Yitzchak in loving memory of Erwin & Ilse Lamm z"I please click below

MESSAGE FOR YISCA & MOTTI GOODMAN BNEI AKIVA SHLICHIM

The Olympics have just ended. 5 years of preparation, training and organizing culminating into 16 days of competitions with the best athletes in the world, providing enjoyable viewing for sports fans all around the world (especially those who were in a lockdown).

For the Israeli delegation, this was the most successful Olympics ever! 4 medals - 2 bronze (Avishag Samberg in Taekwondo and the judo team in the group competition) and two particularly exciting gold medals (Artem Dolgopyat in artistic and Linoy Ashram in rhythmic gymnastics). In addition to these medals, we had 18 athletes in the final stage, and overall of 90 athletes who came out in blue and white to represent our country.

We tried to think what we could take from the small and big stories of our delegation, So here are 4 out of our 10 takeaways from Tokyo 2020 (to see them all- visit here https://www.facebook.com/yiscaha/videos/593885941771273/):

Individual and collective - Artem Dolgopyat, made Aliyah with his father from at the age of 12 without any friends and family and without knowing the language. When school also became too much of a challenge for Artem, gymnastics was a means for him to express himself and flourish, and there he also found community, friends and family. Artem had all the reasons and excuses in the world not to achieve anything special in his life, and he could've fairly blamed everyone for this possible failure. But he was not interested in what was not possible for him, only in what was. It doesn't take anything off our obligation as a community to recognise the struggles of those around us, ensuring they don’t slip through the cracks or fly under our radars, but it has a huge impact on individuals. The reasons, excuses and accusations - all may be true. But the opportunity to overcome them- is in our hands.

National Pride - Artem’s coach, Sergei Weisburg said: "This is my fourth Olympics as a coach ... to hear our anthem- HaTikvah- on the podium, it was a dream come true ..." And Artem himself said: "This medal is not just for me. It is for all the people of Israel. This achievement is for all the new Olim who came to Israel, everyone can get where they want and dream ...". Does every American, Chinese or Australian who wins a medal (and you do not lack such...) - feel that he represents each and every member of their people and feel proud to bring happiness to the whole nation? In any case, it warms the heart to hear Artem proudly represent the Olim community as the whole world hears us proudly singing- "Our hope is not yet lost, the hope of two thousand years, to be a free nation in our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem."

Modesty and faith - "I never feel like I'm going to come back with a medal or that I'm the best. I always try to come from a humble place and just do my best ..." Artem and Linoy both came as underdogs and amazingly won the gold medal. It's a great lesson for all of us that there is only so much we can do. After we have made sure that we have made every possible effort along the way, and especially that we have not given up on ourselves, we need to know how to let things go and give to God (Artem did not call him that, he just closed his eyes and pointed intentionally and confessed to heaven), to do his part.

Kibbutz Galuyot - After winning, Linoy spoke on the phone with her family. It was hard to miss the accent of her grandparents who made Aliya to Israel from Yemen. Artem himself came from Ukraine like some other athletes. Together with Olim from Ethiopia and other places, they produce an exciting mosaic of the Israeli delegation to the Olympics. These are not just immigrants from different countries who met by chance under the same flag. These are different pieces of the Jewish people's puzzle that come together in a land that many generations have dreamed of all over the globe. Return of Zion 2021.