THE SCHOLAR, THE LEADER AND THE PARENT “This is the craftsmanship of the menorah: Hammered gold; from its base to its flowers it is hammered. Like the vision that the Lord showed Moshe, so he crafted the Menorah.” (Bamidbar 8:4) The Menorah in the Tabernacle was an...

STRIVING TOGETHER It is somewhat of an understatement to say that South Africa is in the midst of a leadership crisis. With all of the shenanigans going on following the recent watershed elections in which the ANC lost 17% of their support, the average citizen might...

JERUSALEM, OUR HEART “The Children of Israel shall encamp, each man by his banner according to the insignia of his father’s household, at a distance surrounding the tent of Meeting shall they encamp.” (Bamidbar 2:2)  Rashi explains that each banner was dyed a particular colour, corresponding to...

THE ENEMY FROM WITHIN “We don’t need or want the false idol of Zionism. We want freedom from the project that commits genocide in our name. Freedom from an ideology that has no plan for peace other than deals with murderous theocratic petrostates next door, while...

GIVING IS THE GREATEST GIFT “When your brother becomes impoverished and loses the ability to support himself in the community, you must come to his aid. Help him survive, whether he is a proselyte or a native [Israelite].” (Vayikrah 25:35) The verse above is one of several...

WHO IS A JEW? One aspect of my job as the registrar of the Cape Town Beth Din is to provide certificates of Jewish status, teudot yahadut. These certificates are required when someone applies to make Aliyah or to get married abroad. In the case of...

TOGETHER WE WILL BE VICTORIOUS “You shall not take vengeance; you shall not bear a grudge against members of your people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” (Vayikrah 19:18) “Rabbi Akiva says: This is a great principle of the Torah.” (Sifra) The commandment...

OLD ENEMIES, NEW CONFLICTS The Lord spoke to Moshe, saying: Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: I am the Lord your God. You shall not follow the practices of the land of Egypt in which you lived, and you shall not follow...

GONE UP IN SMOKE The Shabbat that falls during the festival of Pesach has long been associated with King Solomon’s Song of Songs which is read during the morning service. This masterpiece, a cleverly written love poem, is a metaphor for the relationship between the Nation...

THE END OF DAYS Malachi was the last of all the prophets. His short book consists of three chapters, the last of which is the haphtarah for Shabbat HaGadol. It is unclear if Malachi is the actual name of a prophet or a title, meaning “My...