Category: November 2020

Practical steps to transform your life during these difficult times By Richard Sutton This year started much the same way as previous years. I had established goals, aspirations, defined projects, and I believed that anything and everything was possible in the coming year. I was excited. But, then, in a moment, everything changed. If you think about it, it sounds very much like a science fiction series that you would find on Netflix: A deadly virus crosses the species barrier. Within months, more than three billion people are forced into…

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Using EMDR to process traumatic experiences and make them more manageable By: Dr Aliza Bilman Pesach 2016 was a chag I will not soon forget. I was in the third trimester of my first pregnancy. I had heard that first time mums are often overdue, so I expected that I would be too. I had packed a bag just in case, but I had no intention of using it. On the last day of Pesach, my husband and I joined a family for a lovely lunch and then went home…

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The blessing of being tongue-tied By Chandrea Serebro Being tongue-tied is generally a sure way to lose an argument, but sometimes it can prove to be a matter of Divine intervention. Which is not to say that Hashem isn’t on your side, G-d forbid, but rather that it is a chance for Hashem to bring you to the place where you were always meant to be. And it is a win-win scenario. It starts in an ordinary doctor’s room. And while the place may be mundane when considering fate and…

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But you don’t have to By: Aron Ziegler “They tried to destroy us, we survived, let’s eat” – has become a commonly heard joke to sum up Jewish celebrations. Lavan, the Egyptians, Bil’am, Haman… ‘In every generation they rise up against us to destroy us, but Hashem, The Holy One Blessed Be He, saves us from their hand’[1]. It is not at all difficult to see why this one liner came about, as we eat festive meals on all of the yomim tovim – each with its own special foods,…

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Builder, developer, and nurturer of the South African Jewish community for over 50 years By Ilan Preskovsky With the spiritual cleansing of Yom Kippur just behind us and with Sukkot mere days in our future, most of us in the South African Jewish community probably barely even registered the date of 29 September 2020 (11 to 12 Tishrei 5781), so busy were we with the usual hustle and bustle of the festive period that begins every Jewish new year. In an instant, though, the ground disappeared beneath us and we…

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Chanukah’s message of thanking Hashem for our soul Rabbi Dovid Samuels One of the most obvious difficulties with the festival of Chanukah is the emphasis placed on the miracle of the oil lasting for eight days, whereas the supernatural defeat of the Greeks at the hands of the Chashmonaim seems to be largely ignored. When we think about it, surely we would see our victory over an evil army to be more of a cause for celebration than a jug of oil lasting longer than expected. Why, then, when Chazal…

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