Category: September 2018

Infusing our Yom Tov meals with our hopes for a sweet new year By: Avigail Goldberg With the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe) approaching and weeks ahead of entertaining, it’s easy for any host to get caught up in the preparations of elaborate meals. Although it’s very important to make sure no one goes hungry, we must try not to lose sight of the spiritual importance of these days. Based on a Talmudic teaching, there is a widespread custom to include various food types in the Rosh Hashanah meal which…

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When it comes to some things, if you have to ask, then you already know the answer By: Robert Sussman Rabbi Shimshon Dovid Pincus, ztz”l, tells (Tiferes Shimshon al HaTorah – Parshas Eikev) of a letter that he once received, in which the letter writer asked him a series of questions related to the topic of bitachon (trust) in Hashem and whether the following actions, among others, would be seen as a defect in a person’s measure of bitachon: 1. Installing a Pladelet door (the brand name of an Israeli-made…

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The idea of the King is dead. Long live the King By: Robert Sussman So much of our worship is built upon the concept of malchus (kingship). From the very moment that we wake up each day, we refer to Hashem as Melech (King): “Modeh ani lifanecha, Melech chai v’kayam.” And every bracha (blessing) that we make refers to Hashem as “Melech HaOlam” (King of the world). Our daily prayers and our holy books constantly refer to Hashem as Melech and Malkenu (our King). In fact, the highlight of davening…

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An incredible tale of forgiveness and fate. Transforming the cracks in our lives into something more beautiful By Chandrea Serebro Michael Livni was out walking one day. It was a beautiful, sunny day in one of Johannesburg’s most lush and appealing suburbs. The streets were quiet as usual, the trees shading his walk from the afternoon sun. Michael was taking full advantage of the beauty around him, enjoying the weather and the peace of his surroundings while getting in his daily exercise routine at the same time. Just around the…

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Reaching out to kids and helping them find their place By Ilan Preskovsky If there is one thing that we, the South African Jewish community, often take for granted, it’s just how rare the relatively easy interactions that we experience between different kinds of Jews – be they secular, Chabad, religious Zionist, whatever – in our small, tightly-knit community really are. This fairly unique aspect of SA Judaism only really becomes noticeable once you venture out of our cosy borders and move into the much larger Jewish worlds of places…

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Always look on the bright side of life. In search of what makes life worth living By Ilan Preskovsky Since Sigmund Freud revolutionised the fields of psychology and psychiatry in the late 19th century, the understanding and application of the mental-health sciences has almost exclusively been about curing mental illness and, in general, combating the negative aspects of the human mind: those that are destructive, dysfunctional, and debilitating. As the years passed and Freud’s theories became increasingly known for being massively influential, but inaccurate or, at the very least, incomplete…

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Maximising the Aseres Y’mei Teshuva By: Dovid Samuels The days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are referred to as Aseres Y’mei Teshuva – the Ten Days of Repentance. As the name suggests, these days are a prime opportunity for us to recognise our short fallings, change our ways, and return to Hashem. The halacha states[1], “It is a great sin if someone doesn’t repent and doesn’t increase his Torah learning and performance of mitzvos during these days, more than the rest of the year.” It is also taught[2], “It…

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