Category: Rosh Hashanah

Realism, not just symbolism by Rabbi Moishe Schnerb It’s Rosh Hashanah night! We arrive home from shul aglow with anticipation and excitement. What an amazing way to start the New Year. The chazan was superb, the Rabbi gave a powerful and incisive drasha for which I actually stayed awake! Tomorrow I’ll be back in shul for a long service, and, of course the main attraction, the blowing of the shofar! Right now there are more important things at hand. It’s time for the whole family to gather for the traditional Rosh…

Creating light from darkness by Paula Levin Ever heard about the pseudoscience of alchemy? Practitioners used science, philosophy, and mysticism in their quest to transform base metals into precious gold. It was an obsession that began in 300BCE ancient Egypt, enduring all the way into mediaeval Europe, capturing the imaginations of people across China, India, and the Islamic world. Practitioners built complex laboratories and devoted their entire lives to cracking the ultimate get-rich-quick scheme. But no one ever succeeded. Contrast this exercise in futility with the real alchemists – people who’ve…

Tapping into eternity  by Rabbi Dovid Samuels Why an Eighth Day? After celebrating seven beautiful days of Sukkos, we gather once more for Shemini Atzeres – the Eighth Day of Assembly. The Torah tells us1: “Seven days you shall bring fire-offerings to Hashem. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and bring a fire-offering to Hashem; it is an assembly; you shall do no laborious work.” The reason for Sukkos is clearly spelled out in the Torah2: we dwell in sukkos to remember how Hashem sheltered our ancestors…

Beyond life, beyond loss  by Elka Cohen For Dikla Benloulou Naidoo and Lureshan Naidoo, the birth of their third child was nothing short of a miracle. After enduring multiple failed IVF attempts, their circle was finally complete with him. They named him Yahav – after a character from a beloved Hebrew storybook they often read to their two older children. The name, meaning “Cast your faith in G-d and He will sustain you,” reflected not only their painful journey to conceive him but also the immense joy his birth brought to…

A re-awakening   by Rabbi Dr David Fox She really was doing her best. As the clinical manager on the psych ward, it was her job to keep the treatment programmes flowing, to ensure that all patients participated in their assigned treatments and activities, and to be a supportive advocate for those patients who needed special attention. She managed to find a room for the man who was allergic to monkeys which was not near the room of the delusional man who believed his pet monkey had followed him to the hospital.…