Category: February 2024

…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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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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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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…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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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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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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