Religion

Torah stories for grown-ups

Feb 21, 2019 Go comment!

It boggles the mind. Why is so much Torah-coverage given to the subject of an elaborate tent-structure called the tabernacle? The verses that relate to the tabernacle’s construction seem to go on and on. They fill not one, but four weekly portions.
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Ain’t it a joy to complain?

Feb 14, 2019 Go comment!

Sol visits his old friend, Abe, who has recently acquired a new dog.
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Make 2019 a year of reconciliation and celebration

Feb 07, 2019 Go comment!

Last year, 2018, was an important year, because of the many historic milestones that were commemorated. The end of World War I, the 80th anniversary of the “so called” Kristallnacht – the night of the broken glass – in 1938, which marked the beginning of the Final Solution of Nazi Germany. And, on a more positive note, there was, of course, Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday.
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Is religion still relevant?

Jan 31, 2019 Go comment!

Cyberspace, outer space, inner space. Smart cards, smart bombs, stem cells, and cell phones. There is no denying it. We live in a new age. Science fiction has become scientific fact. And the question is: in this new world order, with science and technology changing the way we live, is religion still relevant? Do we still need to subscribe to an ancient and seemingly long-obsolete code of laws when we are so further advanced than our ancestors?
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Emerging from darkness – Yitro’s legacy

Jan 24, 2019 Go comment!

In the portion we read this week called Yitro, the most significant historical event of all time takes place: G-d’s revelation at Sinai; the giving of the Torah. The portion is named after Moses’ father-in-law, Yitro.
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Sticking to tradition

Jan 17, 2019 Go comment!

How important is tradition in Judaism? Obviously, very important. There is even a major song in the musical Fiddler on the Roof devoted to tradition!
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The relevance of Tu B’Shvat for the youth of SA

Jan 17, 2019 Go comment!

The Mishna in the tractate of Rosh Hashanah teaches us that there are four New Years in the Jewish calendar.
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I say tomato, you say cherry… It’s Tu B’Shvat

Jan 17, 2019 Go comment!

The Jewish National Fund of South Africa (JNF) will this coming week give South African Jewish scholars 6 000 packets of tomato seeds from Foods and Trees for Africa to celebrate Tu B’Shvat.
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Insular or involved: the two ways of being Jewish

Dec 13, 2018 Go comment!

“And Yehudah approached him [Yosef] ...”
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Brighter than Chanukah candles

Dec 06, 2018 1 Comment

This weekend is one of the busiest on the Jewish calendar. It’s called Shabbos-Rosh Chodesh-Chanukah. On Friday afternoon, we will light two sets of candles, the Chanukah menorah with its six burning candles, followed by the regular Shabbos candles. On Shabbos morning, we will read from three Torahs in shul, compared to the regular Shabbos, when we read from one and sometimes two Torahs.
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Heavenly multiplier effect found in a jar of oil

Nov 29, 2018 1 Comment

One of the great heroes of the Holocaust was Rabbi Avraham Grodzinsky, the spiritual leader of the Kovno ghetto. Until the outbreak of the war, he had been Rosh Yeshiva of the famed Slabodka Yeshiva and one of the leading sages of his generation.
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Low GI inspiration

Nov 29, 2018 Go comment!

Either I am a very good mother or a very bad one.
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What do we want our children to know about Chanukah?

Nov 29, 2018 Go comment!

Let’s start at the beginning. The story of Chanukah in a nutshell. During the time of the second Beit Hamikdash (Temple) the Holy Land was ruled by the ancient Greeks. They were not very kind to the Jewish people, they stole their property, and even set up idols in the Temple. No one could stand up against them, until Mattityahu and his sons rose up, together with a small army of Jews called the Maccabees. They managed to overcome the Greek army, and drove it from the land.
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Chanukah – the battle for Jewish identity

Nov 29, 2018 Go comment!

How quickly the Jewish year slips by! One minute we are enjoying Purim; next we are agonising over Pesach; suddenly, the frantic timetable of the Yamim Noraim (the High Holy Days) and Sukkot is upon us!
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The ultimate Jewish symbol

Nov 29, 2018 Go comment!

Religion and religious practice is studded with symbols – and Judaism is no different. For millennia, these symbols have been used to convey meaning, build identity, and declare faith to outsiders.
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Shining light on Chanukah’s ‘love me’ message

Nov 29, 2018 Go comment!

One of my favourite bedtime stories for my children is The Love-Me Bird by Joyce Dunbar. It’s a wise tale about a little bird who longs for someone to love her, and so she coos, over and over, “Love me, love me”.
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The big power of small stories

Nov 29, 2018 Go comment!

Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi famously speaks of the “danger of a single story”, in the TED talk by the same name.
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The mist and the snake

Nov 29, 2018 Go comment!

Jerusalem has always been the eye of the universe. Since time immemorial, the city, and particularly, the Temple Mount, has always been a place of profound spirituality and prophecy.
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How to be Jewish in a non-Jewish world

Nov 29, 2018 Go comment!

Unlike a generation ago, the walls of the ghetto no longer sequester us from the rest of society. We fraternise, shop, and do business outside our own immediate community all the time. We are all part of the dominant western culture. The contemporary question, then, is how do we strike a balance between retaining our Jewish identity while being citizens of the world, especially when that world may be indifferent or even hostile to our Jewishness? Especially at this time of year, when trees are dwarfing menorahs, and Santa Clauses outnumber rabbis.
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Menorah miracle lights up endless debate

Nov 29, 2018 Go comment!

Chanukah! Can you smell the latkes? Can you hear the faint echoes of Moaz Tzur? Do your fingers already feel a little slippery in anticipation of the impossible-to-remove olive oil? (Or hot from candle wax, if that’s your vibe!)
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