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The 2025 World Happiness Report found that almost one in five young adults around the world had no one they could count on for support. A...
It’s fascinating how much we know about everybody else’s life. We know which minister is in trouble, which footballer moved where, which celebrity marriage is falling apart,...
There is a well-known Chassidic parable about a rabbinic master who said that he’d learnt three lessons from an infant and seven lessons from a thief. From the baby he learnt to...
We find ourselves in the midst of an extraordinary election season. The result of this election will determine our fates for the months and years ahead. Understandably, much thought and energy are...
Rosh Hashanah is a time of reflection, prayer, and hope for the year ahead. As we stand before Hashem and ask to be blessed with health, security, and...
I was born and raised in a small town in South Africa named Benoni. At its height, Benoni was home to more than 600 Jewish families....
The past year has been one of the most significant periods of change in King David Schools’ history. The closure of King David Victory Park could easily have...
I remember it as though it were yesterday. It was Monday 10 September 2001. My cousin, visiting from Israel, and I had spent the day doing...
The Mishna teaches that “If I am not for myself then who is?” and “If I am for myself then what am I?” Is that not a contradiction? Each of us is an individual...
Having just moved to Johannesburg, I have found here many of the aspects that made me deeply love Brazil, my home country, and its people: the...
As we approach Rosh Hashanah, there’s the impetus to do our personal cheshbon nefesh, an audit of our shortcomings, achievements, and areas we want to improve going into a new year. The timing couldn’t be more apt for...
Every Rosh Hashanah, we wish one another Shana tova. A good year. It is such a simple wish. Two words we have said to one another for generations, often...
A friend once told me a story about his father. My friend is observant; his father is a committed, self-proclaimed atheist. One day, after he’d proudly announced his non-belief to a...
From the apples, honey, and herring to the vibrant tables and the people in the seats around them, there’s something special about continuing family traditions when hosting yomtov meals. Three women discuss how they’re bringing their Rosh Hashanah memories into the hearts of a new generation. Romy Waters has been hosting Rosh Hashanah dinners ever since she got married 13...
Rosh Hashanah 2026 means different things to people in our community. At the SA Jewish Report, we try to show what this means. So, we asked King David High...
The sweet aroma of challah, round and full. The sticky honey dripping off the apple. The carrots. Black-eyed peas. Leek patties. Tzimmes. The red juice of...
Apples and honey may symbolise a sweet new year, but there’s nothing particularly sweet about the bill at the supermarket checkout. With Rosh Hashanah bringing family,...
Looking for something to serve vegetarian guests, or as a light lunch over the chaggim? Here’s an idea from Cape Town food supplier The Sephardi Chef. Spinach quajado The spinach quajado is great for either...
Keeping meals healthy around Rosh Hashanah is not that simple. Lauren Boolkin gives us her delectable offerings. Tabbouleh alla Simanim My quest for a different salad led me back to...
For many married couples, planning Rosh Hashanah comes with a question trickier than deciding who’s hosting or what to serve: whose family gets us for yomtov? Two nights may sound like plenty of...
For some Jews, the sound of the shofar at Rosh Hashanah is woven into childhood memories. For others, this year will be the first time they...
Rosh Hashanah signals the beginning of a new year. For those who’ve recently made aliya, it marks their first Jewish New Year in a new country, a new home, and...
Every Friday, they arrive. A colourful bouquet. A sunset over Jerusalem. A Shabbat table glowing with candles. During Elul, the Hebrew month preceding Rosh Hashanah and Yom...
For many Jewish families, the high holy days mean crowded dining tables, packed synagogue services, familiar rituals, and generations coming together. But for others, those traditions can make the yomtavim difficult. Some find large gatherings overwhelming....
When my recruitment business failed after three years, I returned to the corporate world carrying more than disappointment. I felt ashamed. I had invested my hopes and...
For the judges of the 2026 Investec Jewish Achiever Awards, judging day was about far more than names, CVs, and lists of accomplishments. It was an opportunity to meet...
The image of Rosh Hashanah is often of a packed table, with family squeezed together, familiar foods being passed around, and the noise that comes with...
South Africans rightly remember the SS Mendi. During World War I, the troop ship carrying members of the South African Native Labour Corps sank in the English Channel...
I had put a visit to the holy land at the top of my bucket list when I’d left full-time employment to start writing books three years ago. I had every intention...
For Wayne Duvenage, the fight against corruption isn’t separate from business. Rather, it is a condition for business to function. The chief executive of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA)...
What was meant to be a few months in South Africa turned into three years, a marriage, and a connection to the country that Rabbi Yisroel Binstock...
Booking the flights, packing the bags, and planning the itinerary may be the easy part of going on holiday. For pet owners, there’s another important question to...
When a family is confronted with a serious illness or an end-of-life diagnosis, there is often a scramble to work out what help is available. A recent webinar organised by wellness network...
French Jewish tourists leaving a Barcelona synagogue chased by an angry mob, an Australian Jewish couple threatened with death at a French supermarket, countless Israelis targeted around the world. In the face of heightened risks to Israeli and...
“Never Again” has become one of the most recognisable phrases associated with Holocaust education. But what does it mean when antisemitism continues to evolve? This is what...
At 55, Paul Koffler never expected to represent South Africa on a world sporting stage. Yet this month, he was in London wearing the green and gold, competing at the...
In July, a political commentator on Power FM stated that the Democratic Alliance had chosen Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille because “the Jews” were unhappy with Johannesburg. The...
If the tortoise from The Tortoise and the Hare were alive today, he would be unbearable. He wouldn’t simply enjoy his victory. He would turn it into a speaking career. ...
Our New Year, Rosh Hashanah, isn’t a festival of pure, unadulterated celebration, like the one many of us mark on 31 December in the Gregorian calendar. It is a deeply introspective time, filled...
There is so much noise we create within ourselves – our worries, expectations, fears, and ideas about how life needs to be. Rosh Hashanah invites us to take...
