I LAMENT “Over these do I weep; my eye continuously runs with water because a comforter to restore my soul is far from me. My children have become forlorn, because the enemy has prevailed.” (Lamentations 1:16) The service of the Fast of the Ninth of Av is...

NO PLACE LIKE HOME I recently returned from a short visit to Johannesburg (my third time this year!) to attend the wedding of a good friend’s daughter. The ‘golden city’ is a very different place to Cape Town. It’s dusty, crowded, and fast-paced, and almost every...

SHEPHERD OF THE FLOCK Political leadership around the globe is in shambles. This week, President Joe Biden informed the citizens of the United States that he is pulling out of the upcoming presidential election. The announcement came as no surprise to many considering that Biden has...

THE KING’S HEART “A king’s heart in the hand of the Lord is streams of water. To wherever He wishes He turns it.” (Proverbs 21:1) King Solomon reveals in this verse that the heart – the desires, decisions and actions – of a king is in the...

HASBARA The Israelites have almost completed their forty year journey in the wilderness. They are close to the borders of the land of Canaan. In their path, stand a number of fearsome warrior nations, including Moab and the Emorites. The first such nation they encounter is...

THE DRAFT In mid-1991, while I was in my matric year, I received call-up papers to serve in the South African Defence Force. I obtained a deferment while I was studying in yeshiva and by the time I graduated as a rabbi, obligatory military service had...

FREAKY FRUIT The images above are iconic symbols of the Land of Israel. The first is the logo of the Carmel Winery, established in 1882 by Baron Edmond James de Rothschild in the northern Israeli town of Zichron Yaakov.  The second is the (updated) emblem of the...

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...