Author: Jewish Life

Forgiveness and forgetfulness By: Rabb Dr David Fox The elderly stranger sat at the far end of the table after my Talmud class. I welcomed him. “It’s too far,” he replied, sneering at me with a disdainful look in his eyes. “Too far?” I echoed, waiting for him to elaborate. “It’s too far. It’s too far for me,” he said in a mocking voice, imitating someone. I remained quiet, meeting his glare with as much warmth as I could, caught off guard by this older man’s harshness. I had no…

More thoughts on the shidduch crisis By Ilan Preskovsky Alex Cohen’s article in the previous issue of this magazine, entitled “The Shidduch Project?” no doubt struck a chord with many single people in our community. It certainly did with me. While rightly crediting the various shadchanim for all their hard work, Alex accurately identified a number of different problem points that have made finding the right person such an unending, uphill trudge for so many of us, while also offering a possible solution or two to our community’s version of…

Opportunities abound in the changing and turbulent economy By Chandrea Serebro Pivot (v): rotating, as if on an axis – and the buzz word of 2020, a year that will go down in the annals of history as a time of sickness and fear, but also of hope and change. The whole world is reeling from the Coronavirus and the economic crisis that inevitably followed. The world looks in no way similar to the way it ever did. People have lost loved ones, businesses, and sometimes all hope. But out…

Out of the COVID-19 gloom, there have been lessons to learn and gratitude for the things we have always taken for granted. Here is just a peek at what some people have learned about life in the time of Corona. By Chandrea Serebro Lindi Markowitz Katzoff  That my ex-husband and I can work as a team and still live under the same roof. And that we must wash our hands a lot! Sara Spiro Don’t procrastinate. If you can do it now, do it now. Michael Black How much I…

Why is the concluding and restarting of the Torah reading cycle celebrated on Shemini Atzeres? By: Aron Ziegler Reading through the Torah in our weekly parsha cycle is a very old custom. The Rambam codifies[1]: “The prevailing custom throughout the Jewish nation is to complete a cycle of reading through the Torah over the course of each year. Beginning on the Shabbos after Sukkos…and (ultimately) concluding on the following Sukkos.” Shemini Atzeres is the day that has become set for the celebration of our siyum (completion) of the parsha cycle.…

A unique opportunity to reassess our lives and the structures we hold dear By David Levin The period of the Yamim Nora’im (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur), far from being stand-alone times for teshuva, come at the end of an extended period of teshuva starting all the way back in Tammuz with the fast that commenced the “Three Weeks”. The seven weeks immediately preceding Rosh Hashanah are known as “shiva d’nechamusa” – the seven weeks of nechama. For each of these seven weeks, the Haftara of the week does not…

A spiritual tool to achieve lasting change, even after Yom Kippur is over By: Rabbi Dovid Samuels So Close It says in the Torah[1]: For the mitzvah that I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it far from you. It is not in the Heavens, that you say, “Who will ascend for us to Heaven and get it for us, and teach us and we will do it?” Nor is it on the other side of the sea, that you say, “Who will cross the…

Some points to ponder before making a hasty exit for seemingly greener pastures By: Robert Sussman As an American residing in South Africa, it’s certainly interesting living in a place where everyone has an “exit plan” – an idea of where to go when things reach the point that it’s “time to leave”. After nearly 14 years of living here, I still haven’t gotten used to this very foreign attitude. In America, if something’s broken, we work on fixing it, not jumping ship. Rabbi Azriel Chaim Goldfein, z”l, used to…

Menachem Begin lived by the maxim that a Jew should never hate another Jew and, the truth is, we all should live by that adage By: Robert Sussman We have certain commandments that are bein adam l’chaveiro, between man and his fellow man: to love our fellow as we love ourselves; not to hate our fellow; not to bear a grudge against him; not to take revenge against him.[1] These aren’t easy mitzvos. In fact, I once gave a series of shiurim regarding them and one of the attendees turned…

Sometimes the most important thing we can do with our mouth…is close it By: Robert Sussman There is an emphasis today in the Jewish world on learning about loshen hara, the laws related to proper speech, which include avoiding speaking slander, gossip, or in a derogatory manner about people. But there is another point that is even more important and fundamental than this. There is a general quality that’s call shtikah, silence, and not even necessarily from loshen hara, but total silence, ie. holding one’s tongue. When it comes to…

Some very special dishes to share with your family and guests this Yom Tov season By: Karen Schneid of Ooh La La Confectionery Rosh Hashanah is my favourite Jewish holiday. With jasmine in full bloom and blossoms budding everywhere, the season of new beginnings is cause for a celebration of life itself. When we created our home, I knew I wanted a long table in both the kitchen and the dining room. A long table signals that we are ready at the drop of a hat for a dinner party.…

Building our own personal Temple and living in it all year round By Dovid Samuels It’s the end of a long fast. After drinking that first cup of water and enjoying the taste of food for the first time in 26 hours, we can chalk up another successful Yom Kippur. Instead of flopping into bed, the halacha calls on us to muster up some superhuman strength and do the last thing that would otherwise be on our minds: go outside and build a sukkah! The Rema[1] notes that those who…

The unique quality of man to which so much of the Viduy – the confession that we recite repeatedly during the many days leading up to and on Yom Kippur – is devoted By: Aron Ziegler On Rosh Hashana we commemorate ‘the birthday of the world’. The first of Tishrei, Rosh HaShana, is actually the anniversary of the creation of man, who was created on the 6th day of creation.[1] The principle feature of man that distinguishes him as being in a totally unique class of creation from all of…

Reaching people through music, while empowering those with disabilities By Ilan Preskovsky Taking place in Tel Aviv this year, the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was an even more controversial, often contentious event than usual. From questions about the Jewish State hosting the competition over Shabbos to the usual brow beating by anti-Israel activists who wanted Eurovision to boycott Israel, it was a hot-topic conversation starter even for those who don’t usually care about musical talent shows in general, let alone the oft-mocked Eurovision Song Contest. With all of this going…

The incredible story of the salvation of Bulgaria’s Jews during World War II continues, this time from a more personal perspective By: Ilan Preskovsky In the last issue of Jewish Life, we featured one of the most astounding, but far too little-known story of how Tzar Boris III of Bulgaria saved 48 000 Jews from certain death during the Holocaust. But, as we quickly found out, there was much more to the story. While there is a lot to recommend about the more objective, purely historical view of the heroic…

Making the worst day of someone’s life a little bit better By Chandrea Serebro Hatzolah is one of the South African community’s greatest treasures, and when they add to their vault the entire community becomes richer. And now that Hatzolah has added the Crisis Response Unit (CRU) to its glowing chest, the community will be the one that benefits the most. Psychological First Aid is like an “emotional band aid” which helps in ways that medicine cannot, offered on-scene to the people who are the “collateral damage” at every emergency…

It’s not over…until Hashem says it is By Chandrea Serebro It was late Thursday night, filled with anticipation. Moments before the birth, the monitors started to beep and blink, going crazy. The rhythmic sound of his heartbeat began to drop and then very quickly disappeared into an abyss of silence. He was born quickly. His mother hardly saw him. All she could see was her pale, grey baby lying limp, receiving resuscitation attempts by the frantic medical personnel in the room. She didn’t see any movement. She didn’t see the…