Category: August 2024

Jewish Education’s response to anti-Semitism By: Paula Levin “I believe in the sun even when it is not shining; I believe in love even when feeling it not; I believe in G-d even when He is silent.” “Why do people hate us?” my ten-year-old daughter asked a few months ago. As much as I try to shield her from the bad in the world, clearly it had filtered through – in adult conversations about October 7 within earshot, Tehillim for the hostages and injured soldiers recited at assembly, dinner table…

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ADVERTORIAL  An Essential Guide for Parents and Teachers in the Age of Misinformation By: Ariellah Rosenberg “In a world where misinformation can spread rapidly and influence public opinion, critical thinking is a vital tool for maintaining a healthy democracy.” As a child, I remember the excitement of discovering new things and the total curiosity that drove me to ask endless questions. One day, a neighbour told me about a tree that supposedly grew sweets. Fascinated, I immediately shared this discovery with my friends and family and started searching for this…

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feature Pioneers of Torah education in South Africa By: David Saks “SA Jewry may then have been largely unobservant in the strictly Orthodox sense, but it was nevertheless deeply traditional, and manifested a deep sense of loyalty to their religious heritage.” Rabbi Michel Kossowsky giving a shiur to the Yeshiva Ketana. Rabbi Kossowsky would become the first Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva College. Following his untimely death in 1963, he was replaced by Rabbi Avraham Tanzer, who would serve in that position for over fifty years. This photograph, at once prophetic…

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Confluence ACADEMIC INTEREST The student knowing, or knowing the student? By: Rabbi Dr David Fox “In Europe before the war, no one would have let food go to waste. The affluence of America allowed disregard for such things.” Having graduated yeshiva high school in LA, I went east to study Torah in a higher-level Torah institution. I had spent my youth at the feet of my rebbe, my mentor and guide, Rabbi Simcha Wasserman, ztz”l, who was a luminary Torah leader and teacher. He considered his students to be his…

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Israel in Context The Axis of Evil By: Bev Goldman “But with all this, the differences among the three organisations are secondary to what unites them…” Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis… Is it coincidence that all three terrorist bodies begin with the letter “H”? I wonder. Among all the words in the Koran beginning with “H”, three stand out as particularly anti-Semitic. Haram, or “prohibited”, means that which is unlawful, ie. anything done by the Jews. Hasad, meaning “envy, malevolence, malice”, is used in the Koran as follows: “Many of the people…

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Kosher Gourmet Great breakfasts to get you going By: Sharon Lurie Would you believe that only about a third of adults regularly eat breakfast, and over 50% skip breakfast at least once a week. Mornings can be hectic, but what’s even more hectic is getting ravenous at about 10 and grabbing a slice of chocolate cake or a donut to satisfy the craving. Science has proven that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Whether it’s a full-on meaty breakfast, a healthy yogurt and stewed fruit, or a…

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What goes up… By: Ilan Preskovsky “The health of the stock exchange frequently has less than nothing to do with real-world personal finances.” This article, I must warn you in advance, is going to be something of a bummer. Considering the subject matter and how it negatively affects the vast, vast majority of us, this is pretty unavoidable. It will also, I hope, offer at least some rays of, well, hope – or at the very least some idea of practical steps that can be put in place to improve…

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