Dear [first_name],

Fire and Water: the two staples of human life and development.

Without water, nothing can live; with water the possibilities are endless. This is why so much effort and money is being invested into discovering whether there is or was water on Mars.

And fire: at the very onset of civilisation, what distinguished Man from all other creatures was his mastery of fire. Fire is energy in its rawest state. And to control fire, was to control the world.

In the Bible and the Talmud, Torah is compared to both Fire and Water.

In Kabbalistic thought, Fire and Water represent G-d’s first tools of Creation. The Talmud in tractate Chagiga explains the Hebrew word “Shamayim” (=heavens) is made up of two words: Esh (=fire) and Mayim (=water). According to Kabbalah, Water represents Divine Kindness (Chessed) whereas Fire represents Divine Judgement (Gevurah). Indeed the two most common names of G-d represent His acting in a manner of Chessed (Hashem) and Gevurah (Elokim).

Yet while fire and water are indispensable for Creation and the success of humanlife, they can, as in the case of tsunamis or devastating Australian bushfires, be responsible for Destruction on an enormous scale.

Indeed this is the manner in which G-d had created the world - the greater the potential for good, the greater the potential for evil. “This (referring to good) parallel to this (referring to evil), G-d did make.”

Another example of this is the drive for sexual gratification. On the one hand, it is the most infinite, creative and beautiful power which the human body possesses. Infinite and creative – because it gives the power to live on forever through progeny who are unique to us. And beautiful because it enables us to bond with the deepest intimacy with another human being.

But that same power which contains so much good, can also be the cause of much evil and suffering.

The Rabbis put it very well. They explain that the Hebrew word for Man is Ish, whereas the Hebrew word for Woman is Isha. Both these words contain the Hebrew word for fire – Esh. However the Hebrew word for Man also includes a Yud, whereas the Hebrew word for Woman also includes a Heh. When combined, Yud and Heh make up G-d’s Name. And so the Rabbis explain: If a Man and Woman merit – the Divine Presence (represented by the letters Yud and Heh) rests between them. If they don’t merit – a fire consumes them.

The very power that can make their lives Divine can destroy them.

In our own time we are in the midst of one of the greatest technological revolutions of mankind – the Internet. On the one hand it creates global links between human beings, grants unprecedented access to information and gives unimaginable power to the individual. On the other, if abused it can be the cause of great physical and spiritual destruction, may Hashem protect us!

And when it comes to human beings, our Rabbis quite clearly state: “the greater a person is, the greater his evil inclination is.” After all, it’s only fair that a person with the potential for greatness, should have an equal potential for its opposite. Otherwise, there would be a lack of balance, an absence of free choice in the world.

Although all human beings are special, we Jews possess a unique Divine Spark –Chelek Elokah Mimaal Mammash – literally a portion of G-d. It is because of this that G-d calls us in the Torah “ A Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation”. With this spark we can achieve what no one else can achieve. And indeed we have. But we need to choose wisely, for as our Rabbis say concerning the Jewish People: “They are compared to the stars and they are compared to the dirt of the ground. When they rise, they rise higher than the stars, but when they fall, they fall lower than the ground.”

Let’s not kid ourselves. As human beings and especially as Jews, each of us has enormous, infinite and unique potential. We do however, have a choice: to use it or abuse it. And although most people would not choose to actively abuse their potential to do evil, many simply waste it.

And what could be worse than a person with the potential of being a spiritual giant choosing to be a midget?

With best wishes for a good and inspiring Shabbos, on behalf of the Rebbetzin and all of us at South Head.

Rabbi Benzion Milecki OAM

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President's Message
Kristina Keneally

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In December 2009 then NSW Premier Nathan Rees was defeated in a Labor party room ballot. Before the vote, he said, "Should I not be Premier at the end of this day, let there be no doubt in the community's mind that any challenger would be a puppet of Eddie Obeid and Joe Tripodi." He lost to Kristina Keneally, who said in Parliament, "I am nobody's puppet, I am nobody's protege, I am nobody's girl."

I, too, am nobody’s girl. (I am not sure if that was the case for Kristina Keneally.) As President of our synagogue I serve to represent the interests of our members as best I can. I take my responsibilities seriously.

The past few months have been stressful. We have a very difficult financial position. We have lost many members. While we are pushing hard to cut costs, we need to find ways to retain and rebuild our membership base.

We are holding an Information Meeting next Wednesday night at the synagogue; the starting time has been pushed back to 8.00pm to avoid a conflict with a talk by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Central Synagogue. We will present information about our situation and there will be an opportunity for questions and answers. We will be open and transparent. Please come, participate, understand what is going on and help us go forward – our future is at stake.

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Kiddush Sponsor
Malka Family

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This weeks Friday night Kiddush has been kindly co-sponsored by Eli & Gina Malka in honour of Eli's brother, Oren who is visiting from L.A.

If you would like to sponsor a Kiddush in honour of a Simcha, Birthday or a Yahrtzeit please contact Shmuly on 0401 558 223 or shmuly@southhead.org.

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JLI - "The Dilemma"
All New Lecture Series Beginning This Week!

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Shabbat Mevorchim Luncheon Feb 25
Guest Speaker: Edwin Black

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Early Years - Paris
Mr. Berel Lax

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In 1938, the last time that the Previous Rebbe visited us, I went to the train station with my father to see him off. Everybody was on the train, including my father who sat near the Previous Rebbe in his compartment while I waited outside. The Previous Rebbe motioned for me to come to him and he said, “Although pride is normally a bad character trait, you can nevertheless be proud and never forget that you are Reb Yankel Lax’s son.” These words still ring in my ears today. Read More

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Parasha Sheet
Parashat Yitro

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The Parasha in a nutshell:

• Yitro, Moshe's father-in-law, converts to Judaism.
• Moshe hires a team of judges to assist him in answering questions and settling disputes that any Jewish person may have.
• The Jewish people receive the Torah from Hashem!!

To learn about the Parasha in more detail, download our Parasha sheet!

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