Leaders worth following
By: Paula Levin
“Every human being has the right to clean water, food, and dignity. We have to make sure there’s an even playing field for everyone to have the chance to succeed and reach their potential.”
– Shira Bar Chaim
I’m fascinated by people who see the same problems as everyone else, but instead of ignoring, complaining, accepting or raging against reality, actually do something to solve them! The thought struck me while driving through my suburb recently. There was a CAP Green Team van, with a crew hard at work cleaning up a littered, overgrown and unkempt roundabout. If it were up to me, I would still be railing against the government, corruption, and lack of service delivery. Why should I do something my taxes are already paying for? I would be right, but the roundabout would still be an eyesore. Living among us are leaders of all shapes and sizes, fellow humans with remarkable energy, resilience, and drive to find solutions. They are modern-day Maccabees, and when you open your eyes, you’ll find they are everywhere, behind every institution, gemach, or chesed project. They’re the ones who refuse to accept the status quo and quietly go about starting revolutions.
The original Maccabees, Yehuda and his brothers, were stirred to action by their father Mattisyahu, during the time of the Syrian-Greek occupation of Judea. While everyone else accepted the draconian laws, (justifiably) afraid to take a stand, Mattisyahu drew a line and ignited a rebellion. Their name is an acronym of the words, “Mi Kamocha Ba’elim Hashem” – who is like You among all powers, G-d? This sentiment is exactly what drives the leaders I spoke to for this article.
Paul Bacher – Wholesome Spaces
When Paul Bacher found himself alone, after 18 years of marriage and a house full of four children (two had made aliyah previously), he broke down. For 18 months he grappled with trauma, pain, shame, and isolation. Then, after becoming aware of a universe of lonely singles going through divorce or the loss of a spouse, he did something unprecedented. “I decided to create an initiative to bring mature singles from their 30s to 50s into a space where they would be likely to find wholesome connection, meaning, and fun, where they could reduce those feelings of emptiness, be less isolated, and try new things,” he explains. Wholesome Spaces was born, attracting 300 members in a short amount of time. “100 of those people who signed up have yet to attend an event,” Paul reveals. “Social anxiety can be paralysing.” That’s why Paul often takes people out for a coffee if they seem uncomfortable with the idea of joining an event for the first time, to explain what to expect. Often, he’ll fetch the new member and drive them to the event, so they don’t need to face the anxiety of arriving alone. But beneath this Maccabee exterior, Paul admits he has struggled mightily in creating this space. “The first event, which was at my house, I was overwhelmed with grief and loss. Being around singles was a mirror for everything I had lost, and so I quietly disappeared, ending up in a crumpled heap, sobbing on my bedroom floor.” Instead of giving up and prioritising self-preservation, Paul found the grit within to keep creating events – up to five every week!
“My experience of loneliness and isolation drove me to do something positive with my pain.” – Paul Bacher
– Paul Bacher
Asked why he decided to take the lead and create this initiative, Paul explains that during the 18 months of breakdown, he embarked on a spiritual journey, asking what G-d wanted of him. “In my years of going to shiurim, and learning with my rebbe Rabbi Tatz, I’ve discovered five reasons why a Jew goes through a nisayon, and I worked through all five on my journey. The first is to draw closer to G-d. The second is to develop your middos, like becoming more compassionate or resilient. The third may be to achieve a tikkun of the soul; the fourth is to do teshuva by healing the hurts you have caused in the past. The fifth reason brought me to creating Wholesome Spaces. We may go through suffering to experience something we can then use to do good in the world. Rabbi Eckstein, who started Dor Yesharim (genetic testing), did so because he had the experience of losing six children to Tay-Sachs. He used this pain to create a project that would save others from heartbreak. Mervyn Serebro started the South African Bone Marrow Registry because he lost his son to leukaemia, with no registry yet in existence. My experience of loneliness and isolation drove me to do something positive with my pain.” Having hosted 320 events in the last two and a half years, Wholesome Spaces is not about dating or finding your soul mate – although there have been a few marriages and couples dating as a result. “I tell people not to set themselves up for disappointment and failure with unrealistic expectations. It’s about getting out, meeting people, connecting, and not isolating.”
Digging a little deeper, I discovered that this is far from Paul’s first exercise in leadership. “Wholesome Spaces is the first initiative I can say is solely leshem shamayim (for the sake of Heaven).” He has started 23 initiatives or community projects, including ORT JET and the National Mentorship Movement, which has assisted 2 500 small black businesses. Paul has also been involved in 19 startups since the age of 16! Leadership, it seems, is in his blood. But there’s more to the story than nature. “I’m a fixer, saver, solver,” he reveals, “which is not always a good thing as it sometimes implied stepping into people’s private lives uninvited. My parents went through a separation (and then a divorce later on) when I was 17, and I took over managing the family’s finances, taxes, home maintenance, and raising my younger brothers. I am not sure what made me take the lead. I do come from a family of serious community contributors. My grandmother ran the Jewish Women’s Benevolent and The Home Comfort Fund during the war and was awarded medals by King George VI, Jan Smuts, and PW Botha for helping soldiers around the world. Also, my mother used to drive into Soweto on her own in the 1960s to teach women how to be nursery school teachers – and was threatened by the police with arrest on a number of occasions. She never stopped. She was also part of many other community projects. Closer to home, my grandfather Barney Jacobson planted all the trees on the Houghton Golf Course and was the honorary greenkeeper. I’ll never forget asking him why he always brought breakfast for the golf caddies who would carry his bag when he played golf. I said, ‘You give them lunch, you give them a generous tip, why also breakfast?’ His answer still lives with me. He said, ‘How do you know they’ve eaten breakfast? How will they have the strength to carry my bag? This may be their first job in days.’ It was his grandfather’s deep empathy that also inspired Paul’s decades of leadership – seeing problems that everyone sees, yet feeling such unusual empathy and responsibility that he cannot rest until he has found a solution. ‘I believe I am here to serve and that it’s only a privilege to be in a space to be able to devote time to community stuff.’ Paul is currently on a mission to take Wholesome Spaces global and is looking for volunteers to run more age groups, 18-25 and 25 to late 30s. If you’re a modern-day Maccabee, join him!”
Shira Bar Chaim – Sustainable development
Shira Bar Chaim immigrated to America when she was just six years old, but the ubiquitous beggars she saw on every corner remained etched in her mind. “I remember noticing that there was much less poverty in America and wondering why G-d had put me in such a privileged position,” she says. “I decided that it must be because I have the power to make a difference. So, when all my friends went to Israel in high school, I chose to spend 12 days volunteering with the homeless community in Washington. After school, they were all going to seminary, but I didn’t want to sit in a classroom, so I spent hours during COVID researching options and found that the Jewish Agency was running an informal education programme in Uganda to supplement the school system. The UN had identified a critical knowledge gap in cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal skills, and without investment, these children would find it very difficult to gain employment. My three months in Uganda at age 19 were the hardest, but maybe the most important of my life. Every day was filled with purpose. I knew I was having an impact. But it was incredibly painful seeing such poverty. I remember a 14-year-old boy who came up to my waist due to malnutrition. Another member of the group told me she was trying to teach an eight-year-old girl who just couldn’t concentrate. She asked her why, and she said, ‘Sorry, I haven’t had anything to eat in a few days.’ That’s when I realised that there’s no chance of development without food. I resolved to find a sustainable way to help.” While most people would feel the heartbreak and desperately want to find a solution, leaders actually follow through — and that’s what Shira has done. “In Uganda, I came into contact with the Orthodox Union, who were running relief missions, so I volunteered to help. This has since led to an internship.”
Shira spent time volunteering at a Jerusalem-based African community centre for refugees and has since completed six missions with the OU. Three were at a Jewish orphanage for refugees of the Russia-Ukraine war, one in Houston, one in Israel, and one doing long-term hurricane relief for poverty-stricken areas of New Orleans still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Additionally, Shira volunteers at a local food bank, has travelled independently to help in Israel, and is completing a degree that will help her go into international development and humanitarian assistance with a focus on poverty. “I don’t want to spend any more time in a classroom. There’s too much to do. I believe every human being has the right to clean water, food, and dignity. We have to make sure there’s an even playing field for everyone to have the chance to succeed and reach their potential.” Having just spent four weeks teaching English and economics for Tevel B’tzedek in a rural village in Zambia, Shira is truly a modern-day Maccabee.
Rabbi Moshe Eckhaus – the Jewish Community Restaurant
Rabbi Moshe Eckhaus is the rabbi of Keter Eliyahu, a Sephardi shul in Johannesburg. After completing his army service, he devoted himself to learning Torah and, together with his wife, enrolled in an Ohr Somayach-run school in Jerusalem called Ohr Lagola, a rabbinical training programme that insists participants leave Israel to take up leadership roles in diaspora communities. Already passionate about Torah study and dreaming of expanding its reach, Rabbi Eckhaus was asked by Rabbi Avigdor Blumenau to join the Toras Chaim Kollel in Johannesburg ten years ago. After two years of full-time learning, the Ashkenazi but Israeli rabbi was asked to lead the Sephardi congregation.
“Coming from Israel, where it is the norm for tens of thousands of men to learn Torah full-time in Kollel, I felt that we could encourage more married men to devote themselves to learning Torah. Some congregants offered to fund a small night Kollel, and before long, we had one hundred men learning every night! That reality meant I needed to travel the world to raise funds for the Kollel. This was my first time confronting the necessity of money, as I had been sheltered from its practical realities while in full-time learning,” explains Rabbi Eckhaus. “We also started an afternoon Kollel for about 20 rabbis, and these programmes needed funding,” he adds. “In the beginning, it was very difficult, and I travelled to Brazil, Panama, and Europe to share our mission with donors. There were huge challenges, and often we seemed to be at the end of the road, but every single time, we merited siyata dishmaya (heavenly assistance) that came out of nowhere. It was enough to keep me optimistic and keep trying to grow Torah learning in Joburg. During COVID, we were forced to close the night Kollel, but we continued the afternoon one on Zoom. After COVID, we started two morning kollelim. Our three roshei kollel are Rabbi Aran Cohen (gemara), Rabbi Ofer Tzvi Pelled (halacha), and Rabbi Daniel Altshuler (halacha). I spend a lot of time teaching Torah and also doing fundraising, so I leave the running of these kollels to their leaders.”
But this wasn’t enough. “At the same time, while serving as the rabbi of the community, I saw that some people had money and some people needed money, and I saw my role as making the wealthier members aware of their brothers so they could help. People would sometimes confide in me that they hadn’t eaten a meal that day. On one of my fundraising trips to São Paulo, I was invited to eat for free at a restaurant that supported meshulochim (fundraisers) in this way. I had the idea to open a nice restaurant where people could pay what they could or eat for free. No one would know the difference, and so everyone would have the dignity of a nice hot meal every day. I partnered with Mark Eilim, who had experience running this kind of organisation, and we have been going for nearly two years, serving an average of 80 people a day between 2 and 6pm. I think the reason these initiatives have been successful is that I have not lost the ability to dream of a better future. Sometimes, as we get older, we accept the way things are and work within the system. Rosh Hashanah teaches us that the world is created anew, and we have the opportunity to make changes. Each person is here with a mission and a purpose. It all starts with a vision.”
Rabbi Shaun Wingrin – SOSA
Growing up in Pretoria’s small religious community, Rabbi Shaun Wingrin often struggled against social norms to do what was right. He paid close attention to his parents’ devotion to the elderly, which included regular visits to elderly relatives living alone and even sharing their home with them. “We grew up with old-school values that went beyond what was convenient,” Rabbi Shaun explains. “We spent hours learning about our past from the elderly and hearing their stories. I also saw the great respect my parents gave them, ‘v’hadarta p’nei zakein’ – ‘and give honour to the elderly’ (Leviticus 19:32).”
At just 22, Rabbi Shaun’s father passed away suddenly. An electrical engineering graduate and student at Rabbi Azriel Goldfein’s Yeshivah Gedolah of Johannesburg, he found himself supported by the Rosh Yeshivah, zt”l, who became like a father to him. “I was at the Yeshivah for seven years, at one point while holding down a job in engineering. I was surrounded by people who were born leaders, like Chief Rabbi Goldstein, but every student there was expected to be independent, stand on his own two feet, and be ‘a soldier in the Telze Derech’. The Yeshivah produces leaders for the South African community who are tough and strong.” These formative experiences led Rabbi Shaun to become involved with the Pembury Melrose retirement home. He started by making Kiddush on Friday nights and sharing the weekly Parsha with 70 Jewish residents, bringing them a taste of Judaism that may have been forgotten. “Perhaps it’s my family’s Chassidic origins and the exemplary role model of chesed (kindness) embodied by the late Rosh Yeshivah’s wife, Rebbetzin Goldfein, but I truly felt I had to do something to fulfil our senior citizens’ spiritual needs.”
“I want to fix what’s broken, and if I see a hole in a system, I want to fill it.”
– Rabbi Shaun Wingrin
This drive led to initiatives such as distributing thousands of Purim and Chanukkah packages and finding innovative solutions like a Shabbat-friendly pedal cab to help the elderly attend Shul for the Shabbos Project. Together with his wife, Charlene, Rabbi Shaun invested in the greater Illovo-Melrose area, eventually establishing a shiur (study group) called Shiur on Sally’s Alley (SOSA). This initiative evolved into a broader project under the banner SOS for the Aged (SOSA), a registered non-profit organisation aimed at helping those on ‘the wrong side of 60’ both spiritually and physically. SOSA’s programmes include offering panic buttons to isolated elderly individuals, providing kosher meals for patients in public hospitals, and, together with Rabbi Ari Hoppenstein, establishing SOSA Medical. This organisation provides basic medical aid to Jewish people unable to afford it and helps alleviate medical crises for the many still without cover. “We have 120 recipients and over 100 people on our waiting list – not all of them elderly, some with complicated medical situations. I’m an engineer by training, which is all about finding solutions to problems. Now, along with my small engineering consultancy, I’m focused on social engineering. I want to fix what’s broken, and if I see a hole in a system, I want to fill it.”
Astonishingly, Rabbi Shaun considers himself lazy! “I’m always trying to find shortcuts and better, more efficient ways to do things,” he shares. “In my career, I often had the privilege to work closely with CEOs, so I learned by osmosis. I’m driven by the passion and willingness to go the extra mile to try to make life easier and more meaningful for people who can no longer do it all themselves.” Rabbi Shaun also offers a crowdfunding platform through SOSA for people dealing with financially prohibitive medical crises. He reflects that leadership begins by choosing role models who have integrity and then striving to live up to their example.
