Help! I Don’t Have ADHD

…But It’s Affecting Me Anyway! A light-hearted, quick-start guide for living, working, and being social with people who’ve got ADHD. By: Michael Sher Chances are, you’ve met someone with ADHD – let’s call her Andy. Her energy and enthusiasm are infectious, her ability to lose track of tasks (and time) is legendary, and her meticulous plans are a slightly tidy, ever-growing pile on her desk. She’s charming, caring, and can make you want to pull your hair out faster than she can lose her keys! In this article, we’ll use…

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Modern Day Maccabees

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…

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Breaking the Silence

Highlighting the urgent need for mental health education By: Ilan Preskovsky “Had I been educated, I am almost 100% convinced I could have saved her life.” Between the COVID-19 pandemic, an economic near-recession and, of course, the horrific events in Israel on 7 October last year and the ensuing fallout, the mental health crisis in our community and in communities across the world (though most especially, obviously, in Israel) has reached something of a breaking point. This year, in particular, our community has been racked by a shocking number of…

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Trading in futures

: Seeing through the now By:Rabbi Dovid Samuels Pullquotes: “Chanukah comes from the word chinuch which means both education and inauguration. These two definitions show us that Chanukah was going to prepare us for a new era.” Looking at the festivals we celebrate, we notice a common theme. The Jewish people is about to receive a tremendous revelation of Hashem, and He will bend or even break nature to show His involvement. But each time, something is expected from us; we need to do something to warrant the revelation. At…

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Faking it

Yomim Noraim …or making it By: Rabbi Dovid Samuels “This act of disconnecting from our sole dependence on the physical and attaching to our spiritual source is the process through which we can achieve full repentance and forgiveness.” Men with white kittels, women without their finest jewellery, no festive meal…no meal at all! A day spent almost entirely in shul. Angels neither eat nor do they drink. We imagine them in pristine white garments. I suppose we are trying to show Hashem that we are like angels. Yom Kippurim does…

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Redefining Rosh Hashanah

Yomim Noraim Upgrading our dictionary for the new year By: Paula Levin “To change our actions from negative to positive, we only have to come back to who we really are!”   Many people believe that the judgement of Rosh Hashanah, sealed on Yom Kippur, is based on our deeds from the previous year. A sort of “naughty or nice” consequence for deeds already done. Does this sound Jewish? Well it’s not! Think you know what prayer, judgement, sin and many more terms from the High Holy Days mean? Think…

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Valuable, Vital Vidui

Yomim Noraim feature Making worlds out of words By: Rabbi Moishe Schnerb “Each vidui purifies the sin, downgrading its severity continuously, until it becomes something so great that we are worthy of receiving reward for it in this world.” The shul is crowded, The lights are dim. All have gathered for the Yom Hadin. People stand and even pray, Tears keep flowing as they sway, And they say Their confessions Their commitment to be better, So much better. Mordechai Ben David so beautifully sets for us the scene of yet…

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Distress Call

Through Different Eyes Unsophisticated, yet powerful By: Rabbi Shishler  “The shofar stirs us to compose a terse, heartfelt message to our supernal father.” How do you send a distress signal? Native Americans used clouds of smoke and WWII soldiers Morse Code. Shaina uses WhatsApp. She always has a trick up her sleeve. A few weeks ago she proved that, despite her verbal limitations, she is a communications whizz. We are fortunate to take our granddaughter to school in the mornings with Shaina. They both insist we play the same kiddie…

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CLERGY DISCOUNT

Strap: Confluence You can ’t hide By: Rabbi Dr David Fox “No rabbi. No Torah scholar. No sermon.” Pics: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uJVNLVCbWjmswQZ_ABjNHxivLbEUgn0Z/view?usp=drive_link I was the stranger in town. Having relocated in order to complete my clinical training at a noted hospital. I had left behind familiar faces, comfortable climate, and my position as a congregational rabbi in a small community. Moving to a major centre of religious Jewish life, I was unknown to literally everyone in the area and began to enjoy some of the anonymity, which allowed me to pursue my…

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Two-State Solution

Israel in Context Is it possible in the Middle East? By: Bev Goldman “Maintaining control over millions of Palestinians without granting them full rights undermines Israel’s democratic character and could lead to international isolation.” “Perhaps the October 7, 2023, catastrophe will lead to new thinking about peace plans. The Austrian Jewish philosopher Martin Buber considered a binational state in 1946. Palestinian and Israeli thinkers, among them Bashir Bashir, Leila Farsakh, and Avraham Burg, have recently picked up these ideas and considered alternatives to partition. What, they asked, if self-determination for…

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Recipes

​ COOL IT! When expecting a larger crowd than normal, I like to place my bottled fruit juice, white wine and water into a silver champagne cooler surrounded by ice blocks, to keep them cool. Yes, those little blocks do melt quickly and when you forget to buy large packs from the bottle store and have to start collecting packets of homemade ice, it becomes a real pain! However, all this changed for me after watching a TikTok clip on how to make ice balls with balloons. It was so…

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After 7/10

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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Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Children

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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The Trailblazers

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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ACADEMIC INTEREST

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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Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis

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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Morning Sunshine!

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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The Rising Cost of Living

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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The Fire from within

…and even without By: Rabbi Dovid Samuels “If you accept the Torah, then good. But if you don’t, your burial will be there.” We are approaching Shavuos: the greatest moment in Jewish history – the day we received the Torah. The exodus from Egypt was for a specific purpose: for the Jewish people to serve Hashem on the mountain. It was this great moment upon which the fate of the entire world depended: would the Jews receive Hashem’s Torah, or will everything revert to void and nothingness? Jews know that…

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Smile

Shavuot feature By: Rabbi Moishe Schnerb “Hashem told Moshe to instruct the women that they must give over the message to the men.” From the get-go, it’s really not easy to get our teeth stuck into what the actual holiday of Shavuot is all about. This is partially due to the fact that there is so little ceremony connected to it. It is bereft of the hectic preparation, and the millions of laws that accompany our other holidays. We don’t have to scrub our houses and turn them upside down,…

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Is Trust Enough?

 Money Feature How to be religious with your money By: Paula Levin “Successful people set the norms that most people cannot afford yet try to emulate.” Our communities are in financial crisis. The cost of living for the average Jewish family seems to require far more money than we earn, as school fees, medical aids, kosher food, and the need to fund private utilities like water and electricity take big bites out of our income! Some families are reliant on welfare or subsidies, many have ballooning debt, and most are…

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Milchik Musts!

Kosher Gourmet In honour of Shavuot By: Sharon Lurie Traditionally, milchiks are served on Shavuot. But let us not forget that it’s Yom Tov and meat should still be served as a main dish. However, I’ve been dying to share some of my mother’s favourite milk dishes and Shavuot just seemed to be the perfect opportunity. I love soup! Especially as a meal! In winter I could eat a bowl of soup every day and never tire of its warm, comforting “yum”. Whether it’s chicken soup with kneidlach or perogen, or a hearty minestrone…

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LEAST LIKELY SUSPECTS

Airborne allies By: Rabbi Dr David Fox “I went last week to my doctor. You probably know him because he is one of you guys, same little hat, same religion.” With a busy week behind me and more awaiting me once I landed, I slept deeply in flight until the announcement came that we were making an emergency stop midway across the country. As I slowly awoke, the captain’s stern voice announced that no one should move or leave their seat. Apparently, someone did stand up and the flight attendant…

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The Beth Din of Johannesburg

The Heter Iska Agreement By:Dayan Yoel Smith In the vast tapestry of Jewish legal tradition, the prohibition of charging and accepting interest – ribbis – stands as a testament to the ethical and moral underpinnings of economic transactions within the Jewish community. At its core, the prohibition of ribbis is derived from several biblical injunctions[1] which forbid the charging of interest on loans made to fellow Jews. The rationale behind this prohibition is multifaceted, encompassing both ethical and economic considerations. Sefer Tehillim reveals the intent with which Hashem created the…

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Price is what you pay, value is what you get

By Alan Yates, Head of Distribution at Peregrine Capital My father is a committed Toyota Land Cruiser man. He’s owned a Toyota 4×4 for as long as I care to remember. There was the Land Cruiser bakkie with the mattress in the back for us kids to sit on when we went on holiday. Then there was the Land Cruiser GX; while a significant upgrade in comfort for us kids, it was also a very unfortunate shade of brown that resulted in much toilet humor from my friends. And currently…

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On a Mensch You Can Rely!

Getting it done, not for the honour By: Rabbi Yossy Goldman “Sadly, too many of those volunteering to serve the community are themselves less than competent.” So, what’s the difference between a shlemiel and a shlemazel? Everyone knows the shlemiel is the inept fool who never fails to spill the soup. And the shlemazel? Why, he’s the born loser who, somehow, always gets the soup spilled on his lap. And then there’s the nudnik who insists on knowing what kind of soup it was, but that’s for a different essay.…

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Bitter Herb

The curse of comparison By: Rabbi Dr David Fox “He sensed that he, as their oldest shared child, had been doomed to be ‘the Contrasted Kid’.” A reserved adult, he surprised me during his therapy session when he finally discovered the roots of his chronic depression. “I never felt special. Since I was young, I sensed that my parents were disappointed in me. They would compare me with other children, and I was never good enough.” This intrigued me, for I knew him to be an accomplished rabbinic scholar and…

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Defending Israel

Who, what, where, and how By: Ilan Preskovsky “When dealing with antisemites, engaging with any more than a couple of choice words is a complete waste of time.” Since the horrific massacre of October 7th and the explosion of antisemitism of October 8th, it’s hard to imagine any Jew with even the slightest connection to their Jewish identity not having spent the past four months feeling, quite literally, under attack. As both our homeland and we as Jews have come under fire from far-left academia, far-right white supremacists, Islamists, relatively…

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Don’t Panic

Kosher Gourmet Pesach made easy…and tasty By: Sharon Lurie PRETZEL CHICKEN AND CHIPS 8 chicken schnitzel  (skinless, deboned breast, butterflied, then cut in half along the dividing seam) 1 cup KLP Italian Salad dressing (I used Tonelli Italian salad dressing) ½ cup KLP mayonnaise 2 eggs 2 cups Hadar* honey pressed KLP pretzels or fine matzah meal Crush the pretzels really well. Not as fine as powder, a little more texture. Combine the salad dressing, eggs, and mayonnaise and pour over chicken breasts, ensuring they are well coated. Marinate for 2 to 3…

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Room for All

Finding space in a world of holiness By: Rabbi Dovid Samuels “Where there is holiness, there is space!” The Yomim Tovim are not, for us, a mere recollection of past events. The times on the Jewish calendar have within them great spiritual potential, and through our observance of the laws and customs of that particular day, we can unlock and download much of this wealth. Our holy books are full of ideas that help us to connect to the spirit of the day, so that the opportunities available to us…

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Justice

Fixing the world, and fixing ourselves By: Bev Goldman “Only those who think out of the box can pull this looming disaster together.” “I will not let anything stand in my way to obtain justice for those most deserving of it.” “The lack of real ideological support from the USA is creating an existential threat to the survival of Israel. The country is facing a catastrophic monsoon both now and in the immediate future, but is there a solution, and if so, what is it?” Very powerful words from a…

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Jewish Unity

The Key to Peace in the Middle East By: Paula Levin “Only one nation is capable of destroying the Jewish People – and that is the Jewish People.” Mark Twain once said that “History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme”. And the song that was playing before October 7 was eerily familiar – the chords of discord. Before the destruction of the Second Beit Hamikdash, with Jerusalem besieged, factions within the city were fighting… each other! The city had enough food in storage to withstand years more, but…

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Confluence: Without a leg to stand on

…but yet, uplifted By: Rabbi Dr David Fox “…beyond that is my way of serving G-d by serving those in need.” Having said farewell to her children and leaving them some cash, she made her way to the airport in a cab, unable to drive after breaking three toes from falling during her visit. A heavy boot braced her foot and her leg but made it impossible to operate a vehicle’s accelerator or break pedals. She had called the airline and ordered a wheelchair to take her to the plane…

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Israel In Context: Silence!

Where are the Women’s Voices? By: Bev Goldman “The UN’s disregard and tone deaf response to Hamas’s attack is woefully unsatisfactory and consistent with the UN’s longstanding bias against Israel.” Rape and other forms of sexual violence are prohibited under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in international and non-international armed conflict. Humanitarian law clearly prohibits rape in internal conflicts. Rape committed or tolerated by any party to a non-international conflict is prohibited by Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions insofar as it constitutes “violence to life and person”, “cruel treatment”,…

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Kosher Gourmet

For the Purim Palate By: Sharon Lurie …a pinch of Persia FRESH BASIL INFUSED TOMATO SOUP AND KREPLACH Kreplach are traditionally eaten 3 times a year: Yom Kippur, Hoshana Raba, and Purim. After many a frustrating attempt at making kreplach, I now purchase them from my favourite Butcher or Kosher supermarket! I suggest you do the same… it just makes life less stressful! As with the symbolic secret little pockets of meat hidden in the dough representing the unrevealed secrets of Purim, so too there must be a secret to…

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Pause!

…and notice the miracles By: Rabbi Dovid Samuels “She hesitated, she contemplated, she sought advice, she prayed. That is how a righteous person responds. Slowly, carefully. Pause.” Printed with the Vilna Gaon’s commentary on Megillas Esther is a sefer called Yosef Lekach. Written by Rabbi Eliezer Ashkenazi in the 1500s, he goes through each and every verse in the Megillah and explains how every detail played a part in the great miracle that was the Purim Story. Besides for being a phenomenally enlightening work, it serves as a lesson for…

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Young blood

Israeli youth making a difference By: Paula Levin “Ordinarily, specific government departments would tackle each of these challenges and deploy the necessary resources – but this is no ordinary time.” Who said youth is wasted on the young? Israeli teens and adolescents are stepping up in a big way to make a real difference in a country at war and still reeling from October 7th’s devastating attacks. The need is seemingly endless, with humanitarian challenges on all fronts, but young people are using their idealism, ingenuity, and (much coveted) energy…

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Matric Feature

Final Thoughts Matrics reflect on the past and look to the future By: Ilan Preskovsky “What school has done for me is equip me with skills that I can use when I enter the ‘real’ world, but the rest is up to me to figure out.” King David Victory Park: Erin Wasserman: What are the most important things you learned at school outside of class? My time on the Johannesburg Junior Council showed me the importance of creating connections with people from completely different backgrounds. I realised that it is…

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