Category: 2026

A cloaked request

Jewish Life

Picture the scene. It’s Rosh Hashanah night. The table is set beautifully, fine cutlery, round challah, and right in the middle sits a small plate of honey, apple slices, and a pomegranate. Someone passes the tray of dates and leeks. A child asks – probably not for the first time – “Why do we eat all this stuff?” The usual answer is something like: “It’s a siman – a sign for a good year.” And that’s true. But the Sfas Emes wants to take us much deeper. Because the real…

Read More

Koheles: modelling the solution

Jewish Life

How the Joy of Sukkos conflates with the message of Koheles By: Rabbi Moishe Schnerb We can fully appreciate that after the pressure cooker of Yom Kippur, we need a “chill time”. The Jewish calendar provides the G-dly version of a chill time. Four days of frenzied activity to build our Sukkos, procure our four species, and to shop, cook and bake enough food to feed an entire army, but finally we are ready to usher in the holiday of Sukkos, the time of our great joy. Indeed, that is…

Read More

Return Ticket

Jewish Life

What we can learn from Near Death Experiences By: Paula Levin Pics: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1D2hrC2DthdXxx0MERtOcSVEDinN3O4WN?usp=drive_link Optional intro box: A Rosh Hashanah Reflection Rosh Hashanah reminds us that life is not random and our choices matter. Every one of us will one day give a din v’cheshbon, a spiritual accounting, before the King of Kings (Avot 4:22). Near Death Experiences remind us to ask the same question Rosh Hashanah asks each year—not what happens when life ends, but how we should live while it lasts. In 1975, American psychiatrist and physician Dr Raymond…

Read More

Souls, Silicon and Sanity

Jewish Life

Rabbi, engineer and AI ethicist Rav Mois Navon on why Artificial Intelligence is asking questions humanity has never had to answer before By: Ilan Preskovsky Like all the best overnight sensations, artificial intelligence has quietly been toiling away in the background for years before everyone, seemingly at once, turned around, noticed it, and kicked it straight to the top of the proverbial charts – which in this case means making it the defining trend of the 2020s, bar none. And that’s really saying something when you consider all the insanity…

Read More

STICKY CHICKEN AND JEWELLED RICE

Jewish Life

STICKY CHICKEN AND JEWELLED RICE When all you want is a light chicken dish with lots of flavour, try this one. CHICKEN 1½kg deboned chicken thighs or breasts 3 Tbls sesame oil 3 Tbls vegetable oil 2 red onions, cut into eighths with leaves separated 1 red pepper, sliced into thin strips 250g mushrooms, sliced 1 tsp crushed garlic 5cm piece of fresh ginger, finely grated SAUCE ¾ cup tomato sauce (ketchup) ⅓ cup soy sauce 3 Tbls rice vinegar 1 red chilli, chopped (hot) 3 Tbls brown sugar 2…

Read More

STUFFED SIDE BOLO

Jewish Life

MAIN COURSES One of my favourite cuts of meat is the side bolo. Yes, it may be a little small, but it’s so tender and so forgiving. This recipe serves 5–6 people. INGREDIENTS 1 large side bolo, butterflied (ask your butcher to remove the sinew in the middle and to add 4 or 5 elastic cooking bands to your order) STUFFING 1 large onion, grated 250g chopped mushrooms 1 packet Ina Paarman stuffing WET SPICE RUB ⅓ cup honey or date syrup 1 Tbl coarse pepper ⅓ cup vegetable oil…

Read More

PUFF PASTRY EVERYTHING CANVAS

Jewish Life

PUFF PASTRY EVERYTHING CANVAS INGREDIENTS 1 roll puff pastry ½ cup “everything” bagel spice ½ cup of your favourite pesto (coriander and chilli works well) 1 cup firm mayonnaise (or hummus as a substitute) Fresh asparagus, blanched and cut into 2–3cm pieces 250–300g smoked salmon Handful of capers Handful of pitted olives 1 red onion, finely sliced Assorted fresh baby herbs Crushed black pepper Egg wash (for the border) METHOD Preheat the oven to 180°C. Roll out the pastry slightly to form a rectangular piece, making sure the edges are…

Read More

ONION TARTE TATIN

Jewish Life

I love onions – they just give food such a wonderful flavour. Whether raw, pickled, fried or caramelised, they taste so good. So let’s try this dish! INGREDIENTS 4 large onions, cut into 4 slices with rings intact 3 Tbls olive oil 2 Tbls non-dairy margarine 3 Tbls honey 1 Tbl balsamic vinegar 1 Tbl fresh thyme, finely chopped Salt and pepper to taste 1 roll puff pastry (450g) METHOD Preheat the oven to 210°C. In an ovenproof frying pan (a round wrought-iron or griddle pan works well), heat the…

Read More

CUCUMBER SOUP – SERVED HOT OR COLD

Jewish Life

Cucumbers were on special! “Buy them, the kids love them,” I thought. However, I had to buy a whole box. After sharing with family, I still had many left. How on earth were we going to get through them before they went soft? Here’s how! INGREDIENTS 2 large onions, roughly chopped 3 Tbls olive oil 3 English cucumbers, roughly chopped 3 large potatoes, cut into 1 cm cubes 1 tsp mild curry powder (or hot if you prefer it spicier) ¼ cup vegetable stock powder (Ina Paarman recommended) 2 litres…

Read More

CRUNCHY APPLE, MINT AND POMEGRANATE SALAD

Jewish Life

Make up the salad dressing first. This way you can place the sliced apples in half of the dressing to prevent them from turning brown. HONEY AND LIME DRESSING ¼ cup fresh lime juice 3 Tbls honey 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 clove fresh garlic, crushed ½ tsp salt ¼ tsp ground black pepper ¼ tsp cinnamon ½ cup olive or sunflower oil 2 Tbls mayonnaise SALAD 2 large Granny Smith apples, cored and finely sliced (skin on) 500g white shredded cabbage 20–25g fresh mint, finely chopped 2 sticks of…

Read More

A Sweet New Year

Jewish Life

IN-HOUSE CHEF BY SHARON LURIE AKA “THE KOSHER BUTCHER’S WIFE” Where food, family and favourites come together. There is something so magical about Rosh Hashanah. The kitchen becomes Grand Central Station. Every family member develops an urgent need to wander through, lift a lid, peek in the oven and ask, “What you making? Can I taste?” And before you turn around, your teiglach are finished, your apple cake has had a knife lift, and your fishballs mysteriously took wings. However, it’s a special time where the warmth of family togetherness…

Read More

WHAT KIND OF JEWISH FUTURE ARE WE BUILDING?

Jewish Life

Rosh Hashanah has always been a time to pause. We reflect on the year behind us and look ahead with hope, thinking about the future we are creating for the next generation. For Jewish families, those questions feel especially close to home this year. Of course, we want our children to do well at school. But we are perhaps more aware than ever of a bigger question, too. With rising antisemitism, war in Israel and rapid change, how do we raise young people who know who they are, who are…

Read More

Cognitive Education: Transforming Learning in Remedial Settings

Jewish Life

by  Andrea Ben, Principal of King David Ariel  Remedial education has long faced an important challenge: how do we help struggling learners not only catch up academically, but also develop the thinking skills they need for long-term success? Cognitive education offers a powerful response by focusing not only on what children learn, but on how they think, process information and approach learning. In a primary school remedial setting, many learners experience difficulties with attention, memory, processing, planning, problem-solving, organisation and flexible thinking. These challenges can affect academic progress and, over time,…

Read More

Building Our Home, Building Our Future

Jewish Life

Yeshiva College has always been more than a school. It is a place of learning, Torah, friendship and community, but above all, it is a home. For generations, children have entered its gates and left as confident young adults, carrying with them the values, relationships and Jewish identity that will accompany them throughout their lives. As Yeshiva College enters an exciting new chapter, Rabbi Daniel Kaplan, the newly appointed Rabbi of the Schools, and Michael Sassoon, the new Chair of the Board of Governors, share a vision rooted in the…

Read More

Making Jewish Education More Accessible and More Affordable for 5787

Jewish Life

Why Sandton Sinai is the heart of Jewish education in South Africa As the Shofar sounds and we step into the sweetness of a new year we reflect on our hopes for ourselves and our families growth, stability and a strong foundation for our children. As we approach and prepare to ring in 5787, we stand on the threshold of a new year, a time for introspection, renewal, and hope. Rosh Hashanah calls on us to look back with gratitude and look forward with vision. In Jewish tradition, the gift…

Read More

Reimagining a “Boutique” School

Jewish Life

Mark Twain is rumoured to have said, “I never allowed school to get in the way of my education.” While perhaps too harsh a critique of formalised schooling, schools have long been criticised for teaching abstract information while failing to develop some of the practical skills needed for real life. At Jewish International of Cape Town (JI) (Phyllis Jowell, Sinai Academy, Cape Town Torah High), the challenges of being a boutique school have been reimagined as strengths. The school mantra has long been, “We are not a small school; we are a very…

Read More

Holding our Breath

Jewish Life

Trauma, Faith, and the Jewish Nervous System By: Elka Cohen For generations, the Jewish people have lived with a collective memory shaped by exile, persecution and survival. Some memories are passed down through our stories, rituals, and prayers. Others are carried more quietly – in the tension we live with, the vigilance we inherit and the breath we unconsciously hold. It is a legacy forged through centuries of antisemitism, from pogroms to the Holocaust and beyond. Trauma can feel ingrained in our very being. Not every family carries these memories…

Read More

Dairy and Delicious

Jewish Life

The only excuse you need to go all-in on milchigs this Shavuot By: Sharon Lurie Greek Salad This salad served with a milchig meal is my absolute favourite. The crunch of the cucumber, the saltiness of the feta, and the traditional dressing somehow make this such a refreshing salad. Ingredients 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced into half-moons 250g baby tomatoes, halved 6-8 Israeli cucumbers, sliced into half-moons 1 green bell pepper, cored and sliced into rings 1 handful pitted olives 1½ tsp dried oregano Pinch of salt ¼ cup…

Read More

Gift of Hard Things

Jewish Life

On raising children who don’t just survive difficulty, but grow stronger because of it. By: Ashleigh Sacks “Not hands-off. Not hands-on. Hands nearby.” Ashleigh Sacks is an Educational Psychologist and Head of Wellbeing at Yeshiva College, with thirteen years of experience across schools and private practice. She works with children, families and educators to build emotional resilience, self-regulation and wellbeing from the inside out and considers herself a fellow traveller, continuously learning and growing alongside the families and children. My daughter was two years old when she decided the monkey…

Read More

“Home Schooled”

Jewish Life

Why good parenting is the best education By: Paula Levin If I had a rand for every time I’ve lamented that my children didn’t come with a manual, I’d be a wealthy woman. As much as parenting experts, books and influencers might tell you it’s “5 steps to this” and “6 weeks to that”, we’re all just winging it (don’t tell my kids). Born into parenthood about 20 years ago, I’ve often wondered why there aren’t more guidelines for raising a new generation. Surely there should be some entrance exam,…

Read More

The Source of Everything

Jewish Life

Revealing the foundation of all existence By: Rabbi Dovid Samuels The Yom Tov of Matan Torah was given two distinct names in the Torah – ‘Shavuos’ and ‘Bikkurim’. As it says[1]: “And on the day of the Bikkurim (first fruit offering), when you bring a new mincha offering to Hashem on your Shavuos.” Similarly, the Torah describes the omer-count leading up to the Yom Tov and culminates with the commandment to bring “two loaves of bread… the first-fruits to Hashem”.[2] Now, one can certainly understand why Shavuos is called ‘Shavuos’.…

Read More

The Sea That Split Within

Jewish Life

Two Pillars of Geulah and Emunah When Bnei Yisroel walked into the raging sea, they were not merely crossing a body of water. They were crossing a threshold of emunah – one that would define the Jewish People for all generations. By: Rabbi Dovid Samuels Pesach in Two Acts Most of us think of Pesach as a single event – the night the Jewish People left Mitzrayim. Yet the Yom Tov itself tells a different story. Pesach spans eight days, and those eight days commemorate two distinct pillars of our…

Read More

After October 7

Jewish Life

Post-Traumatic Stress and Post-Traumatic Growth in Israel By: Paula Levin On 6 October 2023, Adir* was a loving husband and father of four. On the afternoon of 7 October, he joined his commando unit and remained on active duty for 487 days, fighting Hamas and Hezbollah in hand-to-hand combat. When he returned home, his children barely remembered him. He struggled to tell his wife what he had seen and experienced, and decided to move forward and put the war behind him. After lashing out violently in his sleep on two…

Read More

When Persia was home

Jewish Life

The “special relationship” between Jews, Iranians, and the Iran that once was By: Ilan Preskovsky It’s genuinely been quite astonishing to see the way the anti-Israel crowd is able to twist and distort any argument you throw their way. It’s almost always illogical, ignorant, and frequently outright nonsensical, but it’s impressive in a mental-contortionist kind of way. One of the more memorable recent examples of this is when, confronted with the – I would think – reasonable question of where all the “pro-Palestinian” activists and celebrities have gone in the…

Read More

Moshe Rabbeinu

Jewish Life

The Lamb Leader By: Rabbi Moishe Schnerb As we array ourselves around the Seder table on Pesach night, we open our well-worn, wine-stained and crumb-littered Haggados to once again read and discuss the account of our forefathers, and indeed our sojourn through the trials and travails of our Egyptian exile. After the opening preliminaries of Kiddush, and the tiniest sliver of food – just enough to remind us how hungry we actually are – we begin the recital of these time-honoured paragraphs. Ma Nishtana piques our curiosity as to what…

Read More

The Bread of Affliction

Jewish Life

…and Affection By: Rabbi Dr David Fox When my great Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Simcha Wasserman ztz”l, finally left Los Angeles for Jerusalem, I missed his warmth and guidance. My parents a”h too had a close relationship with him, and it was hard for us to accept that Los Angeles no longer had his presence in our midst. He had been our role model for the breadth of Torah Judaism: in his scholarship, his communication skills, his teaching, and in the ways in which he interacted with everyone who turned to…

Read More

Monkey’s uncle

Jewish Life

The de-volution of man By: Rabbi Dr David Fox Summer in California was from June through August, school was out, and we had three months to holiday or take it easy. I would spend much of my summer in the yeshiva although it was not in session, and would have more time to interact with my great mentor, Rav Simcha Wasserman ztz”l. Meanwhile, after summer holiday we would all reunite once yeshiva was back in session, comparing notes about what we had accomplished during our long break. During those years…

Read More

Jewish Education

Jewish Life

Education feature Let’s start with why By: Paula Levin “Mom, exams are over, why do I still need to go to school?” my 12-year-old daughter recently asked me, with a week of school still to go. And it seems like a fair question – if school is about grades and reports. Somewhere along the line, for many children, teachers and parents, school has become conflated with academic outcomes. So what is school for? One young adult I know once told me that school is basically babysitting – so parents are…

Read More

The greatest miracle

Jewish Life

Purim’s eternal message By: Rabbi Dovid Samuels There is a well-known but difficult teaching from Chazal[1] that all the festivals are destined to be nullified in the World to Come – all except Purim, which will endure forever, as it says[2], “And these days of Purim shall not pass away from among the Jews.” But what makes Purim so special? Is the miracle of Purim somehow greater than the Exodus from Egypt or the Splitting of the Sea? What’s more, the miracle of Purim occurred in a hidden manner, unfolding…

Read More

Looking back at what was, and what will be

Jewish Life

Matric 2025 in Review Ilan Preskovsky Aharon Joffe  Mesifta Shaarei Torah What are the most important things you learnt at school OUTSIDE of class? Hard work and consistency will always lead to a desirable result. I learnt a valuable lesson for life. Hard work always pays off. Knowing that the result is not actually the achievement, rather it is the act of pushing oneself to great levels of hardship, towards things that seem impossible to overcome and just trying one’s best in those circumstances whether one overcomes them or not.…

Read More