Rosh Hashanah – Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein
Transcripts 5
1. Preparing for Rosh HaShana 5
2. The Central Idea Of Rosh HaShana 9
3. The Birth of Freedom 13
4. What is the Difference Between Hearing and Listening? 17
Rosh HaShana Articles 2006 – 2008 19
1. Article Published in Shul Magazines 2006 19
2. Article Published in Jewish Tradition 2007 21
3. Article Published in The Star 2007 23
4. Article Published in The Star 2008 25
5. Article Published in Jewish Report 2008 27
6. Article Published in Shul Magazines 2008 – Changing Decrees in Heaven and Hearts on Earth 28
Rosh HaShana Articles 2009 / 5770 30
1. Article Published in Shul Magazines 30
2. Article Published in Jewish tradition – A Community Which Has Spanned 3 321 Years 32
3. Article Published in Caxton 34
4. Article Published in Jewish Report 35
5. Article Published in Jewish Tradition – Together We Stand 36
6. Article Published in The Star 37
Rosh HaShana Articles 2010 / 5771 39
1. Article Published in Shul Magazines 39
2. Article Published in Jewish Report – Together We Stand 41
3. Article Published in The Star 43
4. Video Message to the Community 45
5. Article Published in Jewish Tradition – The Book of Life 47
Rosh HaShana Articles 2011 / 5772 48
1. Article published in ‘The Star’ 48
2. Article Published in Jewish Tradition 50
3. Article Published in Jewish Report 51
4. Article Published in Cape Jewish Chronicle 53
5. Article published in Shul Magazines 55
Rosh HaShana Articles 2012 / 5773 56
1. Article published in Jerusalem Post 56
2. Article published in Jewish Tradition 58
3. Article published in Jewish Life 60
4. Article published in Jewish Report 62
5. Article published in Shul Magazines 64
6. Article Published in Sunday Times – Covenant of the Rainbow 65
7. Article Published in Caxton 67
8. Article Published in Jewish Observer – Israel’s Foreign Policy: Towards a Torah Approach 68
Rosh HaShana Articles 2013 / 5774 70
1. Article Published in Jewish Tradition – The Power of Connection 70
2. Article Published in Jewish Life – The ”New Face” of Shabbos 72
3. Article Published in Jewish Observer – The Energy of Creativity 75
4. Article Published in Jewish Report – The Shabbos Project 77
5. Article Published in Cape Jewish Chronicle – A Year of Physical and Spiritual Pleasure 79
6. Article Published in Shul Magazines – Refreshing our Lives 81
7. Article Published in Paarl Post 82
8. Article Published in The Star – Family First 83
Rosh HaShana Articles 2014 / 5775 85
1. Article published in Jewish Tradition 85
2. Article published in the Jewish Report 86
3. Article published in The Star and Independent Newspapers 87
Rosh HaShana Articles 2015 / 5776 89
1. Article Published in Shul Magazines – Unadorned 89
2. Article Published in Shul Magazines 2 – True Freedom 90
3. Article Published in Jerusalem Post – The Message Of The Shofar 91
4. Article Published in Jerusalem Post – The Call Of The Shofar 93
5. Article Published in Jerusalem Post – A Time To Regain Lost Vision 95
Rosh HaShana Articles 2016 / 5777 96
1. Article Published in Cape Jewish Chronicle – Small Change Big Difference 96
2. Article Published in Jewish Report – The makings of a great Jewish home 97
3. Article Published in Paarl Post 98
4. Article Published in General Media 99
5. Article Published in Jewish Tradition 101
6. Community Message 1 102
7. Community Message 2 103
8. Community Message 3 104
9. Community Message 4 105
10. Community Message 5 109
Rosh HaShana Articles 2017 / 5778 114
1. Article Published in Jewish Report – A community that prays together 114
2. Article Published in Cape Jewish Chronicle 116
3. Article Published in Jewish Tradition 118
4. Article Published in Shul Magazines – Be Bright 119
5. Article Published in Jewish Observer 121
Rosh HaShana Articles 2018 / 5779 123
1. Article Published in Jewish Observer – The Power of Humility 123
2. Article Published in Shul Magazines – Service of the heart 125
3. Article Published in Cape Jewish Chronicle – Speaking from the Heart 127
4. Letter to Amsterdam Community 128
5. Article Published in Paarl Post 129
Rosh HaShana Articles 2019 / 5780 130
1. Article Published in Jewish Observer – How do we move on in life 130
2. Article Published in Jewish Report – Kindness changes everything 132
3. Article Published in Shul Magazines 134
4. Article Published in Cape Jewish Chronicle 136
5. Article Published in Cape Jewish Chronicle 137

Shiurim
1. Mindset for Rosh Hashanah

Our Sages teach us that before every festival, we need to prepare and get into the right frame of mind. We cannot just walk into shul on Rosh Hashanah night and expect to be inspired. We need to prepare in advance, to think about what we are meant to be doing on Rosh Hashanah; to go through the Machzor and review the prayers to get the maximum meaning and power from the day and from our time in shul.
Getting back to basics
One of the most important things we can do to get ourselves into the right mindset for these times is to go back to the basics and core principles of Judaism by uncluttering our lives. The Talmud says that the best time of our lives is when we are foetuses in the womb, as all of our needs are taken care of there. We have safety, security, food and drink and all our needs are met. But there is a passage in the Talmud (Tractate Niddah pg 30b) that says the foetus inside the mother’s womb looks like a folded over account book; a candle burns above the foetus’ head so it can see from one side of the world to the other during this time. An angel teaches the foetus all the principles and laws of the Torah; but as the foetus emerges into the world, the angel touches the foetus on the mouth and the newborn baby enters the world having forgotten all the Torah wisdom it had learnt.
On Shabbat Shuva, the Shabbat of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Maharal of Prague – one of our great philosophers who lived in the 1600s – quoted this passage in his sermon. He interpreted it by saying that the foetus represents the essence of the human being. It is described as a folded over account book showing that we are accountable for all our deeds and that our deeds are ‘written’ on our souls because we are like a book. G-d does not write our deeds in some remote book; they are written on us, because our actions influence us, and we are ultimately judged and held accountable for our choices.
Taking responsibility
A core principle of being human is accountability and responsibility. It is in this area that the first human being stumbled so badly. When Adam and Eve sinned, they did not take responsibility – Adam blamed his actions on Eve, and Eve accused the serpent. This was the birth of our humanity and it became part of the human condition to avoid taking responsibility.
The Sforno, one of our perceptive commentators of the Middle Ages, points out the contrast between Adam avoiding responsibility, and King David – when he sinned and was approached by the Prophet about his wrongdoings, King David immediately admitted to them. And that’s what Rosh Hashanah is about. We need to be honest and to accept the responsibility to say that we have done something wrong and are prepared to be accountable before G-d, and begin the process of repentance.
Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Judgment, but it’s also the beginning of the ten days of repentance, which climax in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. That atonement is dependent on our repentance, which is dependent on our accountability and responsibility.
The Maharal says that the foetus’ hands are by his temple, symbolising the fact that human beings must think. He says that emotions are the most powerful force within the human being, but we should strive to rise above them and think clearly about life and our purpose in this world.
There is the famous image used by the Prophet Jeremiah. He says people act as if they are horses in a cavalry charge. These horses are not thinking about the reason for their charging; they are simply doing so because they are driven to do so, even if it is to their detriment. Similarly, in modern day horse racing, the horses don’t know why they must run to the finish line or the purpose of the race; they run because they are forced to. In life, the Prophet says, we must not simply charge ahead and run because everyone else is doing it. Rosh Hashanah is about stopping and asking what the purpose of our lives is and whether we are, in fact, fulfilling that purpose.
The Maharal explains further that the foetus is in a bowing position, with its heels tucked underneath it as if it is bowing before G-d and submitting before His authority. A major theme of the prayers on Rosh Hashanah is the Kingship of G-d, because Rosh Hashanah is the anniversary of the day that G-d became King. This is because, prior to the creation of Adam and Eve, there were no beings in the world who could freely choose and acknowledge G-d as King. By recognising G-d as King, we are acknowledging His authority over our lives and submitting before His Will.
Seeing the bigger picture
Although the foetus is folded over, it still has great vision and can see from one side of the world to the other. The Talmud compares this to a person who, while sleeping in one place, can dream and see things in a completely different world. The Maharal explains that this image of the Talmud refers analogously to the human capacity for vision and for understanding life’s bigger picture. Often in life we get entangled in details and become distracted. Distraction is one of the enemies of leading a great life. The Ramchal, Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, explains that one of the greatest threats to growing and becoming a great person is busyness. The Ramchal is one of our great Jewish philosophers who lived in Italy in the 18th century. He writes this in one of his classics of Jewish philosophy and ethical conduct – The Path of the Just. He says that people get so busy with life that they forget about the bigger picture. He brings the example of Pharaoh when Moshe and Aharon came before him, saying let our people go. Pharaoh’s immediate response was that the people were thinking about freedom and liberation, so he made them work harder so they would be distracted and wouldn’t have the time or the headspace to think lofty thoughts of liberation. So too, in our lives, the busier we get, the more cluttered our vision becomes until we are unable to see the bigger picture.
Rosh Hashanah is about clearing the space in our lives to see the bigger picture and where we should be headed. According to the Talmud, that bigger picture should be influenced by two things. It says that “the flame of G-d is the soul of man”, and that a flame burns above the head of each child. This flame represents the neshoma, the soul of man which is given to us by G-d. The Talmud explains the comparison between the soul and G-d by saying that we can sense the spiritual reality of the world – G-d’s presence. One of the most powerful factors we have access to when it comes to the presence of G-d in the world is our own soul. When the foetus is in the womb, the soul within the foetus is the light that burns. The big picture connects us to the depths of our soul, which is why it must be clear and uncluttered as it is the soul that guides us and tells us when we are doing right and wrong.
Why would an angel teach a child the entire Torah and then, as they are leaving the womb, cause them to forget it. The Maharal explains that this is not literally about being taught every line of the Torah, but rather that the Torah is the blueprint for our lives and that that blueprint is placed in the heart of who we are. Who we are and the way we live our lives is the very blueprint of our souls and is in our subconscious.
As the foetus is being born, the Talmud says it takes an oath to be righteous and not wicked. The child then goes out into the world and tries to maintain loyalty and commitment to the original oath that was taken when that child entered the world.
Another passage in the Talmud says that one day when a person leaves this world, the same angel will come to call them to give an account of their deeds before G-d.
Taking account
That is what Rosh Hashanah is all about – understanding that we came into this world to do good according to G-d’s Will and are now accountable for our actions. We have to review our lives, have broad vision, submit before G-d and stay loyal to Judaism’s core principles.
As we look to the year ahead, we acknowledge that along with the changes in the world, we too are physically changing. As a person grows, they enter different phases of their lives. They are either growing and getting stronger and bigger, or they are deteriorating. We cannot alter this as change is part of life. But what we can do is ensure that our lives are anchored to the fundamental core, unchanging principles that G-d created within us. When we connect to those fundamental core principles, then we transcend all of the changes of this world, and that’s part of what Rosh Hashanah is about. We go back to G-d and we clarify, we take responsibility for our actions, we submit before G-d and we say let’s get back to the basics.
As we head towards Rosh Hashanah, we can all use the time to introspect, to reflect and to realise that Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the ten days of repentance, which will reach its climax and high point on Yom HaKippurim, the Day of Atonement. This is a gift from G-d. It is an opportunity to reflect, renew and refresh ourselves to enter the new year with the confidence of being anchored to our core principles.

2. The central idea Of Rosh Hashanah

G-d’s kingship and judgment
What is Rosh Hashanah really about? On the one hand, it is a Day of Judgment. On the other, there is a major theme that begins with Rosh Hashanah and runs through Yom Kippur: the Kingship of Hashem. If you look through the prayers of the Machzor, the translations and the commentaries thereon, you will see that the Kingship of Hashem takes centre stage. What does it mean that G-d is King, and why is Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Judgment, designated as the day for proclaiming G-d’s Kingship?
Rosh Hashanah actually commemorates and celebrates a certain day in history. It is, as we say in our prayers, “the day the world was created”. But our sages explain more specifically that it is the anniversary of the creation of human beings. Rosh Hashanah is celebrated every year on the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, on the sixth day of creation. When we say “today the world was created”, we are referring to the world of human beings; each person is an entire world – as the Mishnah says, to destroy one life is to destroy a whole world, and to save one life is to save a whole world. What does Rosh Hashanah, as the anniversary of the creation of the first human beings, have to do with the kingship of G-d?
There is no king without a nation
The Maharal of Prague explains that G-d only became King on the day that Adam and Eve were created. Hashem has many attributes; He is the Creator, all-powerful, all-knowing, eternal. All of G-d’s attributes – which, of course, are beyond our comprehension – are not dependent on us. But there is one dimension of Hashem that is dependent on us, and that is His kingship; as the Talmudic sages put it: “There is no King without a nation.” A king cannot be king unless there are people who recognise him as king. Thus G-d was the Creator, the all-powerful and all-knowing – he was all of these things before Adam and Eve were created, but He was not King. Only when Adam and Eve were created, as human beings with free will to choose to accept Hashem as their King, did G-d become King.
Rosh Hashanah is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, but it is also the anniversary of when G-d became King. This is why, says the Maharal, it is a Day of Judgment. Obviously, being the day of creation of human beings, it is a good time to reflect on humanity and an appropriate time for judgment. But justice and judgment are part of the manifestation of G-d’s Kingship; they are part of a king’s tasks, the judiciary branch of the government.
Furthermore, says the Maharal, to forgive and to pardon is also part of G-d’s Kingship because only the king can grant a royal pardon. This is what Yom Kippur is about, when we ask G-d for forgiveness. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are about judgment and forgiveness, but the uniting theme of these ten days is the Kingship of Hashem, when we crown Him as King of the world.
G-d’s authority is a prerequisite to keeping the commandments
Rosh Hashanah is the day we coronate Hashem. What does it mean to crown G-d as King?
The Shema, which we say twice every day, has two main parts: the opening verse, Shema Yisrael – “Hear O Israel, the Lord our G-d, the Lord is One” and the first paragraph; and then we have the second paragraph, Vehaya im shamoa – “Behold if you will listen to My commandments,” which sets out the principles of reward and punishment. The Mishnah in Berachot (page 13a) says that these two paragraphs represent two concepts and the one must come before the other. In the first paragraph, we accept Malchut Shamayim – the Kingship of Heaven, upon us. In the second paragraph, we accept responsibility to keep His commandments. The Mishnah says this is why the first paragraph comes before the second; before we can talk about His commandments, we have to accept the authority of the One Who commands.
Keeping Torah means not only keeping the 613 commandments, but more than that, it is about acknowledging that Hashem is King and that He has authority over our lives. There is a relationship we have with G-d that is outside of the commandments. The commandments are obviously very important – in fact, on Rosh Hashanah we’re judged on whether we have been observing them. But equally important is the acceptance of the authority of Hashem and the fact that He is King. This concept stands independently, not just as the logical prerequisite to keeping the commandments. On the very first commandment, Anochi Hashem Elokecha – “I am the Lord your G-d,” Maimonides comments that it is a commandment to believe in Hashem. There is a famous debate between him and Nachmanides, who says it is actually not a commandment but a statement of fact; if you believe in Hashem, you don’t need to be commanded, and if you don’t believe in Him, how can you be commanded to? Either way we interpret this verse, it is establishing a concept that goes beyond the level of commandment, even according to Maimonides. The fact that Hashem is King is the foundation on which the Torah stands.
Acknowledging Hashem as King is the foundation of everything
The longest Amidah we have is the Mussaf service of Rosh Hashanah, which has three components, one of which is Malchiyot, kingship, referring to the Kingship of Hashem. In the Malchiyot section, there are ten verses about the Kingship of Hashem quoted from different books in the Bible. The Gemara in Tractate Rosh Hashanah (page 32a) asks why specifically ten verses are quoted. Three answers are given, and from these answers, we can better understand Hashem’s Kingship.
The first answer is from Rav Levi, who says that the ten verses referring to the Kingship of Hashem correspond to the ten praises that King David said in the well-known chapter in Psalms – haleluhu b’teka shofar – which contains ten praises of Hashem. Rav Yosef says the ten verses correspond to the Ten Commandments, whereas Rabbi Yochanan says that the ten verses correspond to the ten statements with which the world was created. In these three opinions lies the answer to the question of what Hashem’s Kingship means.
The answer corresponding to the Ten Commandments represents the fact that we have to keep His commandments because He is the King and He has given us commandments to fulfil. The other aspect of Hashem being King goes beyond just the commandments and that is the fact that, as King, He governs this world and is intimately involved with this world and how we lead our lives – what is called hashgacha pratit, which means personal supervision. G-d is interested in what happens to every one of us, every single day; he guides events even down to the smallest detail. Hashgacha pratit is beyond our comprehension; Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan once gave the following analogy by way of explanation: it is like a grandmaster playing chess, for example, in chess exhibition matches where he can be playing 50 people or 100 people at once, and is moving from board to board, moving all the chess pieces. So too, G-d, so to speak, is playing billions of chess games all the time and all over the world (obviously, we are only using human analogies to get some sort of comprehension, though it is something beyond our human understanding), so even though we have free choice, nevertheless Hashem is watching every board and every piece and every move.
This idea is reflected in Rav Levi’s opinion that the ten verses correspond to the ten praises that King David sang to Hashem. King David had a hard life and had many trials and tribulations. He had to run away from King Saul, he lost a child, and he had another child who staged a rebellion against him; he had to fight many battles for the Jewish People. He had a very difficult life and yet he was so bonded to Hashem that he sang praises to him – in fact, King David wrote the Book of Psalms, where he pours out his heart to Hashem with complete faith and belief in Him. King David always maintained an emotional and spiritual connection to Hashem, no matter what was going on in his life. The ten verses of kingship corresponding to the ten verses of praise in that chapter of Psalms represents that G-d being King means not just that we fulfil His commandments, but that He is involved in our lives and that He watches everything that happens. We praise Him for the good and for the bad, for the sweet and the bitter, because we know that, ultimately, everything is for the good and He is governing this world with justice and goodness.
Rabbi Yochanan’s opinion is that the ten verses referring to G-d’s kingship correspond to the ten statements with which He created the world. If you look in the beginning of Genesis, you will see many statements with which Hashem created the world: “And G-d said, ‘let there be light,’’’ etc. These ten statements are actually part of the blueprint of creation. The Mishnah in Pirkei Avot in the beginning of chapter five says that He created the world with ten statements to reward the righteous who sustain it and to punish the wicked who destroy it. What does this mean?
Torah is a unifying force
The Maharal explains that the number ten represents two concepts: unity and disparity. Number ten is not a new number, but a number that brings together the other nine. There are only nine unique numbers; eleven is just ten plus one. Ten represents the unity that G-d brings to a world of disparity. G-d’s Torah – the blueprint – is what unifies the world. When we look at the world, it seems to have so many disparate, separate elements; it is often fragmented. But there is one unifying force in the world and that is Hashem and His Torah, which is the blueprint. His kingship means that every aspect of creation fits into His blueprint. The Torah is not a religion that is divorced from our everyday lives, that only occupies a certain part of our world. It contains everything. To acknowledge that G-d is King of the world does not mean simply to acknowledge that we must keep His commandments or that we see His hand in our daily lives. It means that His will and His thoughts expressed in His Torah actually have relevance and application to every aspect of creation. This is what it means to be a King. Sovereignty is not divisible; a sovereign government means they reign over every aspect of what takes place in the country. Hashem has sovereignty over every aspect of what takes place in the world and His Torah is the blueprint that holds it all together.
The Kingship of Hashem is a broad and fundamental concept on which Judaism is premised. On Rosh Hashanah, we stand before Hashem in judgment. From Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, we are introspecting, trying to look at what we have done wrong and how we can do right, how we can fix our sins – between us and our fellow human beings and between us and Hashem. We look for ways of fixing and improving, but the whole time, the overarching theme is that we do so under the Kingship of Hashem. Rosh Hashanah is about crowning G-d as King over every aspect of life.

3. The Birth of Freedom
The key to understanding the themes of Rosh Hashanah is the date. The Day of Judgment for the world was not chosen arbitrarily, but is specifically on this date – not because it is the first day of the year (in fact, the Mishnah mentions four different kinds of new years), but because it is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve. As we say in the Rosh Hashanah davening after each time the shofar is blown, “Hayom harat olam– Today the world was created.” This is because human beings are the reason for Creation. As the well-known Mishnah (Sanhedrin 4:5) says, “He who saves one life is considered to have saved an entire world; and he who destroys one life is considered to have destroyed an entire world.”
We understand that Rosh Hashanah is the day Adam and Eve were created. But what is the connection between this and judgment?
To answer this, we must first take a look at what makes the human being unique. G-d created many things in the world; why is the human being considered to be “an entire world” unto himself?
Man’s uniqueness
The Rambam (Laws of Teshuva ch. 5) explains that what makes human beings unique is our ability to choose between good and evil. He quotes the verse from the beginning of Bereishit, where man’s potential is described as “yod’ei tov vara- creatures who know good and evil.” The Rambam explains that this means two things: firstly, it means humans have a conceptual understanding of good and evil. Animals, no matter how seemingly intelligent, cannot grasp such abstract, intellectual concepts. The human being’s intelligence is qualitative superior to that of an animal, because human beings have been granted moral reasoning. Secondly, says the Rambam, we have free will to act upon this knowledge. As the Rambam puts it, nothing can prevent the human being from exercising his or her G-d-given free choice.
The first of Tishrei is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first human beings, with their gift of free choice. Thus, on Rosh Hashanah, we celebrate not only the creation of human beings, but the creation of free-willed human beings.
The Rambam further explains that since a person has free choice, he has only himself to blame for his sins. We cannot blame our mistakes or our sins on our DNA, our upbringing, society or anything else people use to excuse their actions. Of course these are all factors, but ultimately every human being exercises free choice and is therefore held accountable for his or her actions. Furthermore, says the Rambam, having free will means we have the ability to change. Just as we chose to do wrong, we can choose to do right and repent. Some people believe in free will, but not in their power to change. However free will means that we can change.
Now we can begin to see how the themes of Rosh Hashanah are interrelated: Rosh Hashanah is the anniversary of the creation of man – a free-willed being. Because we have free will, we are held accountable for our sins and good deeds and hence Rosh Hashanah is also the Day of Judgment; and because we have free will, we also have the power to change and hence Rosh Hashanah is a day for repenting as well.
Rosh Hashanah, then, is a time to contemplate the concept of free choice. As the Rambam says further in that chapter, free choice is the pillar upon which the entire Torah stands, for it provides the logical framework for everything in the Torah; how can Hashem command us to do mitzvot and offer us reward for our good deeds if we are not free to choose? The concepts of reward and punishment make sense solely in the context of free choice.

This is why, interestingly, the Rambam codified the principle of free choice specifically in the Laws of Repentance. The Rambam codified all Torah law in a masterwork of fourteen books, each with sub-sections. When studying the Rambam’s work, the first step is to understand why he chose to codify a particular topic under a particular section. The Rambam could have codified the principle of free will in his opening section, which is the Laws of the Foundation Principles of the Torah; yet he codified it in the Laws of Repentance because unless we believe in free will, repentance makes no sense. We have to believe in free will, firstly to understand that we are accountable for our actions, and secondly, to understand that we have the power to change.
Perhaps this is also why Rosh Hashanah is the day we crown Hashem as King. The Talmud says, “Ain melech belo am– A king is not a king without a nation.” G-d only became King once He created Adam and Eve, free-willed beings who chose to recognise Him as King. Hashem is a King only when people recognise Him as such, of their own free will. And so on Rosh Hashanah, the anniversary of Hashem’s kingship over us, we crown Him once again.
The symbolism of the Shofar
Where does the shofar fit into all of this?
The shofar, as we know, symbolises repentance. The Rambam (Laws of Teshuva ch. 3) writes that even though the mitzvah of blowing the shofar is, as he terms it,”G’zeirat hakatuv, a Divine decree which we do not fully understand”; nevertheless, we can find a message for ourselves in the mitzvah. (We like to attribute reasons to mitzvot, and though there are indeed many inspiring explanations for them, we have to step back with humility and acknowledge the fact that we keep the mitzvot because G-d has commanded us to do so, and we will never fully understand the depth of His reasoning.) The Rambam says that the message of the shofar is “Uru yesheinim– Awake, those who sleep.” The shofar is our spiritual alarm clock, waking us to examine our deeds. We develop certain habits; we get locked into a certain way of thinking and a mode of behaviour. Rosh Hashanah is a time to step out of the routine and the habits we have developed, to take stock of our lives and assess where we are holding. The shofar calls upon us to take responsibility for our actions, both good and bad, and to chart a path of change, improvement and repentance.
In addition to symbolising repentance, the shofar also symbolises freedom. It was the sound of the shofar which announced the Jubilee year, the fiftieth year in the cycle when all slaves were freed and all ancestral land was returned to its original owners. The shofar blown at the beginning of the Jubilee year heralded a great spirit of freedom, as the verse says “Ukratem d’ror ba’aretz– You will call freedom throughout the land.” (Vayikra 25:10)
What is the connection between freedom and repentance? Based on what we have said, the connection is clear: the ultimate freedom is the ability to choose between good and evil, and the freedom to change our ways.
Now we can begin to see how all the themes of Rosh Hashanah come together: Rosh Hashanah is on the first of Tishrei, the anniversary of the creation of mankind; it also celebrates the uniqueness of human beings, namely, free choice; having free choice means we are accountable, and therefore Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Judgment; and lastly, it is also a day for repentance because having free choice means we have the ability to change and become better people. Hence the shofar, which represents freedom as well as repentance, is the main mitzvah of the day.
The danger and blessing of free will
One more point to consider on Rosh Hashanah, as we contemplate free choice and how we have exercised it throughout the previous year, is that there is a dimension to free choice which is not entirely positive; it is actually quite frightening because, in effect, free will enables the most terrible acts of evil to be committed. When G-d gave human beings free choice it was a radical step on His part and indeed a big risk because He was creating creatures that could, theoretically, do whatever they want.
The idea that G-d has given humanity such freedom is quite a terrifying thought. It is like a parent giving a teenager the car keys, saying, now it’s in your hands, you choose how you are going to use it. Are you going to get a driver’s licence and act responsibly, or are you going to drink alcohol and be reckless? G-d gave us the keys, so to speak. He said, you are free to run your life the way you want to. We will be held accountable for your choices, but we can freely choose how you want to live.
This is indeed a dautnting concept, and this is why the Gemara (Eiruvin 13b) debates whether it would have been better for man had he not been created. The Gemara comes to the conclusion that “Noach lo la’adam shelo nivra, hashta shenivra yefasfes bima’asav ,- It would have been better for man not to have been created, but now that he has been created, he should repent and improve.”
Rav Yitzchak Hutner, one of the great rabbinic thinkers of the twentieth century, asks, how can the Talmud say that “it would have been better for man had he not been created,” when G-d Himself said, after He had created man, that everything He created was “very good”? This question is backed by the Midrash which says that when G-d said it was “very good” He was referring to the human being. How can the Gemara say that it would have been better not to create man, when the Torah says clearly that it was very good?
Rav Hutner resolve this contradiction with the following story: a young Torah scholar who was appointed to be a Dayan, a judge, in the Beth Din of his city came to his mentor and said he didn’t want to take the position because he was terrified of making a mistake in ruling on halachic matters. His mentor assured him that he should take the position and said to him, who should be appointed – someone who is not afraid of making mistakes?
Rav Hutner uses this story to explain what should be our attitude toward the concept of free choice. This young Dayan was certainly more than qualified: he had a fine mind, knew the material and was able to interpret and apply the halacha appropriately. But what made him a good Dayan was the fact that he was afraid of making a mistake. In other words, what qualified him for the position was his fear of his power.
Free choice, says Rav Hutner, is indeed a terrifying thing because inherent in it is the possibility of evil. However, as the Rambam said, free will is a prerequisite for fulfilling mitzvot: without belief in free choice mitzvot have no meaning. It may be difficult to live with free choice, but it is impossible to live without it. Thus, says Rav Hutner, if we regard free choice as our right to do whatever we please, then indeed it can lead to terrible consequences. But if we are afraid of free choice, if we realise what an awesome responsibility it is, then we are certainly qualified to exercise it and it is indeed a blessing. This resolves the seeming contradiction in the Gemara: if a person believes that it would have been better for man not to have been created, because he is so afraid of the power G-d has given him, then indeed the creation of man is “very good.”
Rosh Hashanah is a mixed celebration. Rav Hutner quotes a verse from Nechemia (8:11), which says “Al te’etzvu, ki chedvat Hashem hi ma’uzchem– Do not cry [on Rosh Hashanah] because the joy of G-d if your strength.” The prophet told them not to cry despite the fact they did indeed have reason to cry – namely, because on Rosh Hashanah we were given the mixed blessing of free choice. The prophet is telling them to realize that this is in fact reason for joy, precisely because free choice is what enables us to serve G-d in the first place, to perform good deeds and be rewarded accordingly.
Rav Hutner says this is reflected in the two sounds of the shofar: the straight sound, which is the tekia, and the broken sounds, the shevarim and teru’a. The broken sounds, according to the Gemara, are like a sob; while the straight sound is the clear, joyful sound of celebration. On Rosh Hashanah, we have both. It is true that when G-d created human beings on the first of Tishrei so many years ago He created the possibility for terrible destruction in the world. But we can still rejoice with this knowledge, because free will means we can do good.
We cannot take this freedom for granted. Free choice is the essence of who we are, making us accountable for our actions but also providing the possibility of repentance. We have been entrusted with an awesome gift which can also be the most destructive force and therefore we must regard it with trepidation. Rosh Hashanah is a time to think about how we have used our freedom. When we approach it with the right attitude, then we will truly respect this gift of freedom and use it for the good.

4. What is the Difference Between Hearing and Listening?
Why is it that music has such a deep effect on us? Sometimes it seems as though music has a direct line to our souls. It affects our mood and our emotions. It can make us laugh or cry. It can make us get up and dance, and it can make us stop and think. It can soothe us, uplift us, and stir us to the depths of our being.
Music is unique in that it can go where other external stimuli can’t – it can access our innermost thoughts, where logic and speech are no longer able to reach. Alzheimer’s sufferers, stroke victims, even coma patients often respond to music in ways they can’t even respond to their loved ones.
This is especially true when it comes to the shofar. The notes of the shofar affect several parts of the brain in a profound manner. It startles us into alertness and increases activity throughout the brain, propelling us into a heightened state of consciousness that allows us to see things clearly and act resolutely.
Friends – the mitzvah of shofar on Rosh Hashana requires active intentionality. It requires not just hearing the sound, but listening to it. Based on the Gemara, the Rambam rules that both the one who is blowing the shofar and the one who is listening to the shofar must have in mind that they are fulfilling a specific Torah obligation. But the Rambam goes a step further, emphasising the importance of attuning ourselves to its potent moral and spiritual message. He writes:
“Even though the blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah is a decree of the scripture, there is a hint in it which is to say ‘awaken those who sleep from your slumber… search out your deeds and return in repentance and remember your Creator those who forget the truth in the emptiness of the time …’.” (Laws of Repentance 3:4).
The shofar is a call to return to our best selves. It goes beyond the physical process of converting air vibrations into nerve impulses and then ordering them in our brain. It’s an enriching, potentially life-changing intellectual, emotional and spiritual experience.
Sometimes, we cruise through life on autopilot. Not thinking too much about what we say or do, not stretching ourselves to be better. The shofar is our Divine wake-up call. It can arrest our moral and spiritual slumber, jolt us into being present, jumpstart our lives. It can reawaken us to our priorities and purpose, and return us to a path of personal and spiritual growth. The moments of hearing the shofar being sounded in shul on Rosh Hashanah can become truly a deep spiritual experience for us as we are literally hearing G-d calling out to us through the sounds of the shofar to become better people, to fulfil our potential.
The notes of the shofar are particularly specific. Essentially, the pattern is a straight sustained note (a tekiah), followed by a broken note (either a shevarim or a teruah), followed by another straight note. What is the significance of these notes? What does this pattern mean?
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch connects this sequence to the sounds of the chatzotzrot, the silver trumpets used to direct the movements of the Jewish people in the desert, where we journeyed for forty years after leaving Egypt. The straight blast, the tekiah, was sounded to call people to attention. The broken blast, the teruah, was an indication to the people to break camp – to dismantle their tents and pack their belongings and move on to the next place. This was followed by another straight blast, indicating that the time had come to proceed on their journey.
In the context of the shofar, Rabbi Hirsch explains that the first unbroken note, the tekiah, is G-d calling us to attention – to accept His authority in our lives and prepare to receive His message. The broken notes, the shevarim-teruah, represent breaking camp with our past selves, our entrenched bad habits. This requires doing a deep, honest reassessment of our lives, in terms of the Torah’s values and principles, to determine what needs to be reinforced and taken with us on our new journey, and what we need to leave behind. The final straight note, the tekiah, is a call to move forward into the future with our new resolutions and a renewed sense of direction, aligned with G-d’s will and our true, elevated purpose.
Like our ancestors, we are on a journey in life. And that journey requires a map, a compass. Our Creator has put us on this earth for a particular purpose, and in order to ensure we fulfil it, we need His direction. In the same way the Jewish people in the desert needed to be alerted when to break camp and go forward, we too need that wake-up call to break from the harmful things we are doing, to find new, positive, productive things to do, and to journey forward in a new direction. The map and the compass of our lives is the Torah, but sometimes we forget that, and we need a reminder.
The shofar is that reminder. It calls us to take note, to step away from the turbulence of day-to-day life and to hear the crystal-clear call of G-d, the blast of the shofar that pierces our souls. It stops us in our tracks, and calls on us to disengage from all the things that we become attached to, all the extraneous things that are not part of the map of our lives. And it calls us to move forward, into the future, with determination and with conviction.
These three steps of the shofar – stopping, assessing, and moving forward – mirror the process of repentance itself, which the Rambam defines as regret for the wrongdoing of the past, disengagement with this wrongdoing in the present, and a resolve not to engage in this wrongdoing in the future.
It’s interesting that in the blessing recited before the sounding of the shofar, we refer to lishmoa kol shofar – “hearing the voice of the shofar”. The shofar isn’t just a sound, it’s a voice. It’s a voice with an explicit message, something directly intelligible. We are called on to hear that message, not just in the sense of hearing the notes, but to listen intently and receive it. Listening is foundational in Judaism. The mission statement of the Jewish people is Shema Yisrael – “Listen O’ Israel.” We recite the Shema every day before we go to bed and when we wake up. We begin and end each day with listening.
On Rosh Hashanah, we will hear the sound of the shofar 100 times each day in shul. It is the sound that can awaken us. It is the sound that stirs us to look deep inside ourselves and make changes. It is the sound that opens the door and beckons us to a new, glorious future – to who we were meant to be. And all we need to do is listen.

Rosh HaShana Articles 2006 – 2008
1. Article Published in Shul Magazines 2006
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are called “Yamim Nora’im” – “Awesome Days”. During these days we declare G-d the King of the entire world. It is the time of the coronation of the King of all kings. We are judged by G-d and our deeds come under Divine scrutiny. These are days of “Tshuva” – returning to Hashem in sincere dedication to right the wrongs of the past year.
Our prayers in part reflect the momentous nature of the days: “Our G-d and the G-d of our forefathers, reign over the entire universe in Your glory; be exalted over all the world in Your splendor … Let everything that has been made know that You are its Maker …”. And yet, the readings on the first day Rosh Hashanah, both the readings from the Torah and the Prophets, deal with seemingly smaller matters: the struggle of two great Jewish matriarchs to conceive and how their prayers were answered. The Talmud (Megila 31a) teaches that the reason for the choice of these readings was that Sarah and Chana’s prayers were answered on Rosh Hashanah, when they both conceived.
Our Sages’ choice of readings for these awesome days reflects their understanding that G-d views private domestic affairs such as having children as awesome and of great significance. The lesson is that G-d is interested in all aspects of our private lives. In fact, the Talmud (Berachot 29a) goes as far as to say that the structure of Musaf on Rosh Hashanah with its nine blessings, is based on Chana’s prayer for a child with its nine references to G-d. Our private and personal struggles in life stand at the centre of our engagement with Hashem. He is interested in us and our endeavours to fulfill His Mitzvot. .
We find a similar idea when it comes to the Torah. G-d tells us the story of Jewish and human history. The way that G-d chooses to tell the Biblical story is very significant. Telzer Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Eliyah Meir Bloch ZTL (Shiurei Da’at vol. 3, p128), points out that much information concerning actual events was omitted. For example, according to the Talmud, Moshe was king for many years of a place called Cush, and yet this fact is not mentioned in the Written Torah. Rabbi Bloch explains that only the important history-making events as determined by G-d were included in the Written Torah. From G-d’s perspective Moshe’s role as king of Cush was insignificant in terms of its impact on the ultimate destiny of the Jewish people and human civilization.
History as told by G-d through the Torah focuses on individuals and families. The Book of Genesis relates detail of great length about marriages, births, family relationships and earning a living. The message is clear. These are the things that G-d regards as important historic moments. The Torah does not focus on the large headline-grabbing events. These are often unimportant in the eyes of G-d.
That is the message of the Torah and Prophetic readings on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. It is an awesome day of momentous importance and yet the everyday events in our daily struggle to live good and mitzvah-productive lives are very precious to G-d. It is all a matter of what is important in the eyes of G-d.
During the “Awesome Days”, we celebrate G-d’s interest in the minutiae of our daily lives as we strive to fulfill His will. We say in our prayers on Rosh Hashanah, “Today the world was created”, but according to our Sages only Adam and Eve were created on the 1st of Tishrei. The message is clear: each person is a whole world. Our mitzvah of “Tikkun Olam” – “Fixing the World” is firstly and most importantly to fix our own world, that of ourselves and our families. From there we can expand outwards. The world does not grow and change from the top down but from the inside out. We must develop ourselves from within, and then outwards to our families, our communities, the Jewish people and the State of Israel, the people of South Africa and the world. Real sustainable change begins from within and moves outwards.
The strength of our South African Jewish Community lies in the vibrant strength of all our shuls, our schools and all our community organizations. We are a community well-developed and well organized whose strength comes from the “inside out”. Let us all this Rosh Hashanah recommit ourselves to the continued strength and vitality of our unique community, as we all strive to fulfill G-d’s will in our daily lives. May we merit that Hashem bless us here in South Africa, together with our fellow countrymen, and bless Jews across the world, and especially our brothers and sisters in the Land of Israel.

2. Article Published in Jewish Tradition 2007
This is a time of opportunity. As we approach Rosh Hashanah we enter a time of the promise of change and renewal. We need to constantly refresh ourselves and to stay young. Being young is not about age, but about an approach to life.
The Mishna (Pirkei Avot 4:25) says that a child learns Torah like ink written on new parchment, and an old person learns like ink written on parchment that has had many erasings. When a scribe corrects the writing on parchment he uses a sharp instrument to scrape away the old letters and so, over time, after many corrections to the parchment, it begins to look scuffed and jaded.
The Mishna uses this image to convey to us an important paradigm in life: Those who are young in their approach to life, whatever their physical age, are like fresh parchment, while those who are old in their attitude are like old parchment, scuffed and jaded by life. Being young means being excited, open to change, open to growth, and improvement in our life and closeness to G-d and His Torah.
This Jewish Tradition is devoted to the Cape Town Jewish Community, which is older than all of South Africa’s other communities since Jews arriving in South Africa first settled in the Cape. Despite its age, Cape Jewry continues to grow and initiate new projects. This edition has a number of inspiring stories of the growth of Judaism among Capetonians of all ages, thirsty for the life-giving principles of our Divine-given Torah. In particular, an exciting development is the sparkling new campus for the recently established Phyllis Jowell School, standing side by side with the Herzlia schools, which have served Cape Jewry with pride and distinction for so many decades.
On Rosh Hashanah we read of the momentous event of the binding of Isaac – Akeidat Yitzchak. At the crucial moment, G-d tells Abraham, in eternal proclamation of the sanctity of human life: “Do not send your hand against the young boy” (Bereishit 22:12) – of course referring to Isaac. And yet, according to our Sages, Isaac was 37 years old at the time. How could G-d refer to him as a young boy? Rav Yisroel Salanter, one of the great Rabbinic leaders of 19th century Europe, says that this was the highest accolade G-d could possibly have given to Isaac at that moment of his personal greatness. In spite of everything that Isaac had achieved, he remained a “young boy”- open to change, growth and renewal. The message is clear. To retain youthful openness and excitement throughout one’s life is a very high ideal that we should all strive towards.
Torah is compared to water. Without it we cannot survive. Without it we cannot stay fresh and excited. There are many young people – even children and teenagers – who approach life like old parchment: cynical, disinterested, and uninspired. On Rosh HaShanah we have the opportunity of renewing our lives with fresh perspectives and new actions as we strive to return to G-d through “teshuva”, which is often translated as “repentance”, but which more accurately means “return”. The profound concept of teshuva includes returning to life filled with energy and enthusiasm.
As we look ahead to the new year, we as a community face many challenges and opportunities, in our local South African context, or as members of the global Jewish people and, of course, in Israel. We must be dynamic, pro-active and passionate in our quest for renewal, improvement and excellence. May Hashem bless us in this sacred task. May He also inscribe us all here in South Africa, together with our fellow countrymen, and Jews across the world, and especially our brothers and sisters in our beloved Israel with a year of life, goodness and abundant blessing.

3. Article Published in The Star 2007
We have reached the time of the Jewish New Year – Rosh HaShana. It marks an important anniversary: 5768 years since the creation of humankind. The account in the Book of Genesis of the creation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden gives light and inspiration to all South Africans.
The sanctity and preciousness of human life must be a pillar of the new South Africa. The Talmud makes the significant point that human beings were not created en masse, as were other species of life, to teach us that “whoever destroys one life it is as as if he has destroyed a complete world and whosoever saves one life it is if he has saved a complete world.” If Adam or Eve had died immediately, there would have been no people alive today because we are all descended directly from them. It follows, reasons the Talmud, that to save one life is to save an entire world of people, and furthermore, that every person is a world. His or her life, hopes, dreams, concerns, family and friends make up an entire whole world of depth, complexity, emotions, aspirations and needs. And so we have to sensitize ourselves to the preciousness of every human life. Every person who dies from disease, crime or road accidents is an immeasurable loss. We cannot afford to become callous and think of people as mere statistics.
The new South Africa is a society founded on the equality of every human being irrespective of race, gender or any other factor. These foundations go back to the beginning of time. Another reason the Talmud says that G-d created only two human beings was to eradicate racism. All human beings are descended from Adam and Eve, one father and one mother, which means that ultimately we are all brothers and sisters, and that differences between races are superficial and not fundamental. This issue presents problems for those who believe in random evolution. In such a philosophy it is surely notably possible that people evolved differently in different parts of the globe. The Torah, on the other hand, maintains that all human beings are brothers and sisters descended from one father, Adam, and one mother, Eve.
The Book of Genesis also rejects sexism. According to the Talmud, “Adam” in the verse refers to both sexes as its conclusion indicates: “male and female He created them”. According to Talmudic tradition Adam was an androgynous being combining male and female characteristics. Eve’s creation came as a result of G-d separating them into two people. The Talmudic approach means that Eve was not an after-thought as a literal reading of Genesis may imply. Rather Adam and Eve were created together and later separated into two distinct entities. The fact that they were created as one unit is significant in that it indicates the absolutely equal worth of men and women in the eyes of G-d.
Our most important resources to build the new South Africa are our families, and especially our children. It is significant that G-d established the foundations of human civilization on the family of Adam and Eve. We need to ensure that our new generation of South Africans are raised to become good people. To this end I am working with the Minister of Education in a partnership between the National Religious Leaders Forum and the Department of Education on producing a Bill of Responsibilities for our schools so that our culture of rights and entitlements and can be balanced with a culture of responsibility and duty.
South Africa can confront the great challenge of moral regeneration. The Garden of Eden is also about the human mission of moral responsibility. Immediately after creating Adam and Eve, G-d gave them instructions on what they were allowed to eat. More broadly, He defined for them their mission “to work and protect” the Garden. That is our responsibility as the children of Adam and Eve: to protect, work and improve the world as G-d’s partners in creation. To be human is to live with a moral mission of doing good, of doing what is called in Hebrew “Tikkun Olam” – fix the world.
It is the return to moral values that ultimately brings peace. The Hebrew word Shalom- peace – comes from the word Shalem, meaning completeness, both moral and spiritual. This applies at the level of global politics where the pursuit of peace must be linked to morality such as an appreciation of the sanctity of human life and freedom. It also applies to our families where peace and stability can only be achieved in an atmosphere of respect, dignity and duty. Inner peace and tranquility will only come to each one of us when we are connected to a sense of moral mission and purpose as were Adam and Eve.
Peace did not last even in the Garden of Eden, and Adam and Eve sinned very soon after being created. They were banished and had to begin rebuilding their lives. South African have faced great ordeals throughout history and we have with G-d’s help overcome even the brutality of Apartheid. We can draw inspiration from what we have achieved as the resilient children of Adam and Eve. We have many challenges that require courage and faith as we move forward.
May G-d bless us all with a year filled with His abundant goodness, in which we are inspired to live with the ancient values of the dawn of humanity.

4. Article Published in The Star 2008
We have reached the time of the Jewish New Year – Rosh HaShana. It is a time of new beginnings, of change and hope. It is a time when G-d judges the world, and, therefore, it is also a time to reflect with honesty on our lives. Fortuitously, at this very moment South Africa is entering a new political era, and it is appropriate for us all to reflect on the changes sweeping through the corridors of power, and to consider as a society what our vision for the future should be.
We can draw guidance and inspiration from the Hebrew Bible’s Jacob, who faced many trials and tribulations throughout his life. He had to flee from his brother Esau who wanted to kill him; he faced threats from his uncle Laban; his daughter, Dina, was raped and his son, Joseph, kidnapped, only to be returned 20 years later. What was the vision that sustained him through these difficulties and challenges? At the beginning of his journey far away from home, G-d came to him in his famous dream with a vision of a ladder “standing on the ground and its top reaching towards heaven”. In the dream, G-d told Jacob not to be afraid and uncertain of the future. Clearly, as he slept in that dark night alone fleeing for his life, he was filled with anxiety and fears. The message of hope that G-d gave him was based on the ladder, which reflected a two-fold approach to any situation: We must always be firmly rooted on the ground with our heads in the heavens.
Having our ladder firmly on the ground means approaching our difficulties from a practical point of view, and trying to solve our problems through creative and proactive planning and implementation. No one would argue that the single most important thing for South Africa today is service delivery. We have had well thought – out detailed policies, but have been sorely lacking in their implementation. The key to success in this area is compassionate governance. As the South African people we must demand that our government be driven by the urgency of helping people and saving lives, especially in the fight for healthcare, security and education. As citizens we must also get involved. We can never rest and accept the status quo without challenging it and trying to change it for the better. One of the most inspiring examples of this is the Community Active Protection (CAP) which is a community-led anti-crime initiative that has, thank G-d, reduced contact crime by more than 80% in the nine areas of its operation, and is now protecting more than 100 000 people. We are hoping to expand CAP as fast as possible, including into poverty-stricken areas that will need to be supported by corporate subsidies. CAP has demonstrated that crime is a solvable problem but our crime-fighting efforts should not be misinterpreted. We hold that the most basic moral duty of any Government is to protect its citizens from crime and we will continue to demand accountability for this.
The top of our ladder reaches towards heaven. This means that together with our practical on the ground approach we live with faith in G-d and with a moral vision and principles. We often feel vulnerable and helpless. But like a newborn baby, tightly in the loving arms of his parents, so too are we, the holy children of G-d, tightly bound up with our loving Father in heaven, and He holds our future firmly and safely in His hands wherever we may be. Faith means living with hope and believing in the possibility of change, realising that, as the Talmud says, “the salvation of G-d comes in the blink of an eye”. We believe in the possibility of change because G-d is the real Master of the universe and therefore anything can happen if He wills it. Prayer is a vital part of our philosophy of hope; as the Talmud says, “Even when the sword is on your neck, do not stop praying to G-d for mercy no matter how dire the situation, it can be transformed instantly.
Having our ladder reaching the heavens also means seeing with a broad perspective a moral vision and its principles. Our moral vision is to create a truly humane and compassionate society, within which the human spirit can flourish in dignity, freedom and equality. We need to create a society where every South African is born into circumstances in which they can reach their full potential. The sacred enterprise of building human civilization is to create a safe, healthy and nurturing environment for all people and thereby unlock the unlimited potential of the human spirit. We live this moral vision by building the New South Africa’s capacity in the areas of poverty alleviation, health care, education and security, by participating as productive, hard-working citizens in a growing economy, and by being decent upstanding people committed to family and community. Let us rededicate ourselves to and demand from our government the establishment of a society based on the highest values of honesty, integrity, responsibility, kindness and compassion.
And we must not become disillusioned. Jacob saw in his dream that “the angels of G-d were going up and down the ladder”. Sometimes in life things go up and get better and at other times there is deterioration. The message of the ladder is that despite what is happening around us we must constantly strive upwards, with a broad of vision of our mission, with energetic action and hopeful prayer to fix the world – “tikkun olam”, as the Talmud calls it in Hebrew. We must remember that as Jacob looked at the ladder he realised that “behold G-d stood beside him”; and He stands besides us.
May G-d bless us all with a year filled with His abundant goodness, in which we are inspired to live by the vision of Jacob’s ladder “standing on the ground with its top reaching towards heaven”.

5. Article Published in Jewish Report 2008
The world is always new. G-d created it on Rosh Hashanah and, as we say in our daily prayers, “in His goodness He continually renews the work of creation”. Life is dynamic and everything is in constant flux. The status quo is always changing. We know, therefore, not be arrogant in good times, nor despondent in adversity because anything can change in an instant. As our Sages say: “The salvation of G-d comes at the blink of an eye”.
We also know that we can always change ourselves. Free choice is a gift from G-d, and is one of Judaism’s foundational pillars. That’s why Rosh HaShanah is such a hopeful and exciting time of year. It is a time of new beginnings, when G-d decrees changes for the world, and when we are called upon to change ourselves for the better. We go before G-d with faith in the power of prayer and the opportunity of “teshuva” – repentance and return to Him.
The symbol of hope and change is the sound of the shofar. It announced the new beginning of Jewish history when G-d gave us the Torah at Mount Sinai 3320 years ago. And it will one day herald the new era of the final redemption of the entire world as we say in our daily “amidah” prayer: “Sound the great shofar for our freedom”. As we stand in Shul on Rosh HaShanah listening to the shofar, we hear the sounds of Jewish destiny and the call to change and improvement and the acceptance of our mission to follow the ways of Judaism. The shofar represents the call to enter a new era of our own personal and communal lives, an era of improvement, of change for the good.
In July this year, our annual South African Rabbinical Conference was held in Jerusalem. We resolved that our communal theme for this Rosh HaShanah and new year would be, “Changing Decrees in Heaven and Hearts on Earth”. The possibility of change is hopeful and optimistic. Changing decrees in heaven is about the power of prayer. As a community we turn to G-d and ask for special blessings for South Africa as we navigate our way into a new political era, with all the challenges and opportunities it represents. The new South Africa can be justifiably proud of its vibrant democracy, which, so early in its young life, has led to the peaceful, constitutional and unprecedented removal of a President by his own political party, thereby opening the possibilities for much needed changes in the country. We pray to G-d that the new administration governs well and effectively tackles the main problem areas, such as security, health and education. We turn to G-d for His protection and blessings for our beloved State of Israel, as she goes forward under new leadership to deal with the Palestinian conflict, Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and the other regional threats. And in our personal lives we ask G-d for health, sustenance, security and all sweet things.
As we ask G-d to change decrees in Heaven for the good, so too do we undertake to change our hearts for the good, to return to Him in true “teshuva”. We must be dynamic, pro-active and passionate in our quest for renewal, improvement and excellence in our Judaism. Each one of us individually should give thought to practical steps to take us forward in the New Year.
May G-d inscribe us all here in South Africa, together with our fellow countrymen, and Jews across the world, and especially our brothers and sisters in our beloved State of Israel with a year of life, goodness and abundant blessing.

6. Article Published in Shul Magazines 2008 – Changing Decrees in Heaven and Hearts on Earth
As a community we are facing serious challenges in the current South African situation. As part of the global Jewish People we also face serious threats especially to our beloved State of Israel. In times such as these there is a special urgency about the approaching “Days of Awe”. I have suggested that our Rabbis, across the length and breadth of our community, emphasize one message in particular during these upcoming Days of Awe: “changing decrees in heaven and hearts on earth”. This is a communal project for us all to work on together, as it becomes the guiding theme for our community over the next few weeks.
Rosh Hashanah is a time of hope. It is a time of change. We look to G-d to change things for the better. We pray to G-d that we and our families and our community be blessed with a new year of health, prosperity and goodness. But it is also a time of change for us. We can change ourselves for the better. And as we stand before G-d during the Days of Awe asking Him for a better year, we commit ourselves to becoming better people and better Jews. Thus, emerges the theme for these days, “Changing decrees in heaven and hearts on earth”.
How do we change decrees? The climax of the very moving “Unetaneh Tokef ” prayer is when the community calls out together, “Prayer, repentance and charity remove the evil decree.” Let us all strive together as an entire community to fulfil the calling of “changing decrees in heaven and hearts on earth” by following the formula of “prayer, repentance, and charity”; we should all re-double our efforts in these three vital areas.
Prayer is a gift from G-d because it provides us with an opportunity of changing ourselves and our fate. As we pray to G-d we become closer to Him and uplift and transform who we are and thereby, please G-d, merit a change of destiny. Faith in G-d includes faith in the power of prayer. Let us pray for ourselves and our families, but also for all those in distress. Our prayers are phrased in the plural so we can transcend self-centredness and self-interest. The Mishna teaches us: “Pray for the welfare of the Government”. And so we will pray to G-d that the South African Government will overcome the serious challenges of crime and of poverty and disease. We will pray to G-d for a peaceful and speedy end to the vicious and relentless onslaught against the Jewish State, and the Jewish People.
Repentance is an inadequate translation of the very powerful Hebrew word “Teshuvah”, which literally means to return. Teshuvah is about returning to G-d, returning to His values and ideals, and ultimately returning to the essence of our true selves – our souls created in the image of G-d. Our Sages explain that Teshuva involves regret for past mistakes, resolve for future improvement and confession of all this before G-d. Let each one of us undertake to improve our observance and dedication to the mitzvot in as many areas of our lives as possible. Let us improve our keeping of Shabbat, our avoidance of lashon harah, conflict and dissention, our study of Torah , our observance of Kashrut, and many other mitzvoth. Each one of us should, under the guidance of our Rabbi’s, seek a path of personal improvement, and growth.
“Charity” is another inadequate English word for a much more profound and beautiful Jewish concept expressed in the Hebrew word ‘Tzedaka’. Charity denotes the discretionary and kindly act of giving money to a needy cause. ‘Tzedaka’ encompasses much more than that. The word ‘tzedaka’ is derived from the Hebrew root ‘Tzedek’, which means justice. And so, giving to the poor is not merely charitable but is the fulfilment of the requirement of basic justice. Justice demands that those who have inadequate resources are properly assisted. Tzedaka is not only about personal discretion: it is also about the obligation and responsibility to give away your money to those in need.
Moreover, the amount to be given is not discretionary. One is obligated to give between 10 and 20 percent of disposable income as tzedaka. There are many nuanced rules on how this is to be calculated taking careful account of the unique circumstances of every individual, and rabbinic experts in this area of halacha need often to be consulted. The Vilna Gaon made the bold claim that if everyone would give their particular required amount, it would be possible to alleviate all poverty and need in society.
Let us go forward together at this time as the South African Jewish Community and change decrees in heaven and hearts on earth, and let the New Year, please G-d, be better than the old in every respect. May Hashem bless us all with His abundant goodness.

Rosh HaShana Articles 2009 / 5770
1. Article Published in Shul Magazines
When the first Jews arrived in South Africa, they made a priority of establishing shuls. They were refugees from the poverty, hardship and oppression of Eastern Europe, struggling to find their way in a new country. Wherever they went across the length and breadth of the country, they set up shuls to gather as a community, to pray to G-d, learn Torah, and to be connected to the Divine heritage of the generations of Jews that had come before them.
We, their descendants, have inherited their passion for shuls. One of the outstanding features of the South African Jewish community is the fact that we belong to shuls in much higher proportions than do any other similar Jewish community around the world. Being a member of a shul and attending regularly is part of our ethos, and it is one that we should strengthen and take forward. Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, in particular, is a time that we all feel the importance of being connected to our shuls and our congregations.
This commitment to shuls goes back to the very beginnings of Jewish history when the Jewish people left Egypt and received the Torah. One of the first instructions they received from G-d, while they were still in the desert, was to construct the very first shul of all time: the Mishkan – the Tabernacle – the forerunner to the Beit HaMikdash – the Temple. The Mishkan forms the model and prototype for our shuls throughout history. The Talmud says that when the Temple was destroyed, G-d said that He would be with us in our “miniature temples”, which are our shuls. To walk into a shul is to be united with Jewish history, what one could call the “vertical community” of the generations of Jews who have come before us, from the time of Mount Sinai and the construction of our very first national shul in the form of the Mishkan.
A shul is a place where we can feel the presence of G-d much more strongly than in any other place. It has a holiness, a sanctity and a specialness. A shul is a place of spirituality, of connectedness to G-d. It is a place where we reconnect with our most important, fundamental values of who we are as a people and as a community. It is a place where we find solace and tranquility from the turbulence, and trials and tribulations of the world, and where we find our roots and the solid foundations of the Divine values that form the very essence of our identity as Jews. The modern world is filled with unique pressures and stresses and strains. It is a place of confusion full of the turmoil and of a highly competitive environment. We need a place, as human beings and as Jews, to which to retreat, in order to re-focus ourselves, to regroup and to come together as families and as a community.
A shul is a place that unifies us. Each community brings together its members to pray together. For Jews, prayer is not merely a lonely and individual experience. It is also a communal experience where we try to transcend ourselves and our own interests, moving beyond to unite with those around us, and most importantly, to come before G-d in humble submission.
As we approach Rosh HaShana, we feel that sense of trepidation that comes with the Day of Judgment, and so we remain attached to the Jewish people, to our community, we can rise above it all. The Talmud teaches that our strength comes from our unity: that, whilst a single twig can easily be broken, a bundle of twigs together can resist destruction; so too when we stand together before G-d we can endure.
It says in Ethics of the Fathers, “Do not separate yourself from the community.” We each have something unique to contribute. Each one of us has a different role to play. There are so many areas to get involved. This is particularly important for smaller community such as Klerksdorp. Everyone needs to participate in ensuring regular minyanim for services at the Shul. Everyone needs to participate in all communal endeavours to give each the support and encouragement that is required.
At this time of Rosh HaShana may you all recommit yourselves to your shul. May we all be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet year.

2. Article Published in Jewish tradition – A Community Which Has Spanned 3 321 Years
Living with other people is a crucial part of our lives. Creating communities is what we do all the time. Some communities are very small, like a marriage, or parents and children making up a family. Some communities are much larger, such as a shul or a school. And then there is the entire South African Jewish community and, of course, the Jewish People as a community worldwide.
The secret of success in creating and sustaining all of these different types of communities is the same, and it is contained in the Mishna in Pirkei Avot (4:14): “Rabbi Yochanan HaSandler says: Any community dedicated to heaven will endure forever”. This Mishna has a special meaning for me, and when my duties as Chief Rabbi began I chose it as my guiding principle and the motto for our community.
What is ‘a community dedicated to Heaven’? The Tosfot Yom Tov, a classic commentary on the Mishna dating back a few hundred years, says that ‘dedicated to heaven’ means putting aside personal interest.
It conveys that a successful community is only built if people are able to rise above ego, arrogance, pride, jealousy and all other aspects of selfishness and general lowliness of human character. When people are in it for themselves instead of for the sake of the cause, instead of for the sake of Hashem and the fruition of His values in the world, then communities tear themselves apart. If everyone is in it for themselves and their interests are competing, then those tensions will tend to place enormous strain on a society and on a community, preventing it from achieving success.
A marriage is successful when both husband and wife are dedicated to heaven, and dedicated to doing the right thing and caring for one another, and are not in the marriage merely for what they can take for themselves. When husband and wife compete with each other for the fulfillment of their personal self interest, their marriage will have difficulty enduring. The same applies to a family, which is a slightly bigger community than the couple, and includes their children. It too cannot endure if its members each go their own selfish way; but when they are unified in being dedicated to heaven, then you have a family that can hold together all of the individuals who are part of it. So too, a shul community can only be successful if there is a willingness to work for the sake of the cause, putting aside petty selfish interests and aspiring to be truly ‘dedicated to Heaven’.
Another dimension of the Mishna’s message is contained in Avot deRabbi Natan, the classic Talmudic commentary, which says that the community referred to in the Mishna is Knesset Yisrael, the community of Israel at Sinai. That community has endured until now and continues to endure through us and will after us, please G-d, continue to endure through those who follow us. Accordingly, the community dedicated to Heaven, that will endure forever, is one which spans more than 3 321 years – from Mount Sinai to the present.
The Talmudic Sages are teaching us that we, the Jewish people, can only survive and endure when we are in alignment with, in sync with, the values of the successive generations of Jews who received and passed on the tradition from Sinai.
Rabbi Yochanan HaSandlar, who was a student of the famous Rabbi Akiva, lived in the immediate aftermath of the destruction of the Second Temple and during a military occupation by the Romans, which calamitous events ultimately led to the long exile of the Jewish people from the Land of Israel. At the time Rabbi Yochanan spoke, the outlook and future of the Jewish people seemed bleak. His own mentor Rabbi Akiva had been executed for teaching Torah in defiance of tyrannical Roman decrees; and so to claim that the Jewish people, if they were dedicated to Heaven, would endure forever must have seemed quite unrealistic. The mighty Roman empire with its elaborate civilisation must have had a much greater prospect of survival than the small and beleaguered Jewish people. But the Roman empire is no more. Its values, its legal system, its political system, and now even its language, have vanished from the daily lives of all humanity. And yet we, the spiritual heirs and descendants of Rabbi Yochanan HaSandlar and Rabbi Akiva, are still here today at the beginning of the 21st century and can say with heartfelt gratitude that we share their values, their ideals, and their laws. If Rabbi Akiva, and his student Rabbi Yochanan, walked into our synagogues today and opened our prayer books, they would understand the Hebrew language in which we pray, and would empathise with our prayers; we would show them the Sifrei Torah, our Torah scrolls contained in the Ark with the same hand-written text of the Torah scrolls of their day – a text of 304 805 words which Jewish communities throughout all the countries of their dispersion, isolated from each other for hundreds of years, have jealously guarded and preserved to this day, and successfully so; this, of course, itself is compelling testimony to the authenticity of the text as G-d’s word.
Our mission as the South African Jewish community is to be ‘a community dedicated to Heaven’, which is always to remain part of Knesset Yisrael, the multi-generational community of Sinai. This is the key to our success. Everything we do must be defined by our eternal Torah values, which join us to the illustrious chain of generations of Jews going back thousands of years.
The same applies to our personal communities: our families. So often we hear complaints of a generation gap between parents and children, and there surely are differences between generations in tastes of music, clothing and all kinds of other aspects of fashion and fad. But if the value system of the family is that of our eternal Torah, then those Torah values can hold a family together no matter what the place, and no matter what the era. May those values continue to hold us together and connect us to eternity and the enduring reality of the Jewish People.

3. Article Published in Caxton
We often get so entangled and enmeshed in the hassles of day-to-day life that we fail to see the big picture. We need to step outside of our routine activities and preoccupations, and transcend ourselves so that we can assess where we are headed, and properly understand whether we are indeed on the right path.
The Torah was given on a mountain – Sinai – albeit a very low mountain to symbolize humility which is required for the achievement of greatness. Why the image of a mountain? Because when we stand on top of a mountain we have a completely different perspective on the world. We see the big picture. We look at the world and our lives from the lofty vantage point of G-d’s values, which are as solid and eternal as a mountain. So often we get drawn after the changing and fleeting trends of latest fashions of behaviour. Instead we need to be rooted in the timeless and foundational values of G-ds principles for life.
One such Divine value is that of gratitude and appreciation. So often we become distracted by our problems and stresses that we don’t see and appreciate all of G-d’s generous blessings. The Talmud says that must give thanks for every breath of air that we take into our lungs. We also sometimes take for granted the love and support of those who are closest to us. We need to step back and see the big picture to truly appreciate what we have been blessed with.
From the transcendent perspective of the mountain of Judaism we can be inspired to change for the better. Rosh Hashanah is a time of hope. It is a time of change. We look to G-d to change things for the better. We pray to G-d that we and our families and our country be blessed with a new year of health, prosperity and goodness. We can change ourselves for the better. And as we stand before G-d during the Days of Awe asking Him for a better year, we commit ourselves to becoming better people. With warmest wishes to all to be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet year.

4. Article Published in Jewish Report
Rosh Hashanah is a time for focus. It is a time to make priorities. There is so much involved in being a good Jew but there are also certain core values which form the foundation of what Judaism is all about. Community is one such value. This was brought home to me during a visit to our community of one of the great rabbinic leaders of our time, Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky. We all had the enormous privilege of having such a great man in our midst. At the age of 82 he is one of the elder statesmen and leaders of world Jewry, a widely respected Torah scholar and leader. On a number of occasions during his visit he reiterated the importance of being what he called a “Klal Mensch”. The word Klal refers to community, but also means an inclusive giving person. Making a difference to others, to the community and to society for the good is so important. As it says in Ethics of the Fathers, “Do not separate yourself from the community.”
We each have something unique to contribute. Each one of us has a different role to play. There are so many areas to get involved. This is particularly important for smaller community such as East London. Everyone needs to participate in ensuring regular minyanim for services at the Shul. Everyone needs to participate in all communal endeavours to give each the support and encouragement that is required.
Rabbi Kamenetsky emphasised that one of the key areas of focus for Rosh Hashanah is to ensure that we are part of the community through being dedicated to helping others and making a difference. This is clear in the portion which is always read the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah, which states (Deuteronomy Ch 29: 9 – 14):
“You are standing today, all of you before the L-rd, your G-d: the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers – all the people of Israel … from the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water, for you to pass into the covenant of Hashem, your G-d … in order to establish you today as a people to Him and that he be a G-d to you, as He spoke to you and as He promised to your forefathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
These verses which emphasise the unity of the Jewish people as part of G-d’s covenant are situated significantly after G-d’s warning of the Jewish People not to stray from the path of the goodness and the disastrous consequences that flow from that. The Talmud (Midrash Tanchuma) says that the people became frightened after hearing these warnings. G-d comforted them by saying “You are standing here today, all of you before the L-rd your G-d”. When we are part of the Jewish people we are able to raise above all trails and tribulations of their destiny. As we approach Rosh Hashanah, we also feel that sense of trepidation that comes with the Day of Judgement and so we read these verses to remind ourselves that when we become attracted to the Jewish people, to our community we can rise above it all.
Rabbi Kamenetsky explained that when we are part of a community we can stand before G-d in judgement because we do not stand on our own, rather as part of the whole Jewish people. When we actively give to others and contribute to society then any decisions that G-d makes about us has an impact on other people. A “Klal Mensch” is judged more favourably by G-d because whatever happens to him or her, affects the lives of so many other people. Rabbi Kamentsly also explained how G-d gave the Torah to the “Klal” to the whole community and people of Israel and not to individuals. Thus, He did not give the Torah to Abraham, Isaac or Jacob, but rather waited until after the Jewish people were moulded into a nation through the Egyptian slavery and subsequent G-d-given liberation.
We as the Jewish People all stand together. South African Jewry is famous for its unity and togetherness. The Talmud, in commenting on the verse “all of you”, says that our strength comes from our unity: that whilst a single twig can easily be broken a bundle of twigs together can resist destruction so too when we stand together before G-d we can endure. Let us rededicate ourselves this Rosh HaShanah to community contribution and togetherness, and in the merit of this may Hashem bless us all with a year filled with His abundant goodness.
5. Article Published in Jewish Tradition – Together We Stand
“It is not good for man to be alone” (Bereishit 2:18). From the beginning of creation G-d declares that He created us to live as social beings, interacting with one another, building communities. The most basic community is the very first one formed in history, that of the marriage between Adam and Eve.
A shul creates a community of the individuals who make up its membership. Individuals in their personal capacity join together to form a community or, in Hebrew, a kehillah. A new entity is formed. A shul is much more than a sum of its parts. It becomes a kehillah that brings people together around the eternal Divine values of our ancient faith.
The first shuls were set up in South Africa as soon as Jews began to arrive. Cape Town’s first shul was established in Gardens in 1863, and Johannesburg’s in President Street in 1887. We, the descendants of the brave pioneers who started our first congregations, have inherited their passion for shuls. One of the outstanding features of the South African Jewish community is the fact that we belong to shuls in much higher proportions than any other similar Jewish community around the world.
On a macro level the Union of Orthodox Synagogues of South Africa (UOS) is the kehillah of all the shuls of South Africa. Each shul is an independent entity, just as is each individual member of a shul. When individual people join together to form a shul, they become a kehillah. When individual shuls join together to become members of a broad organisation, they become a kehillah of shuls. The UOS, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, transforms the South African Jewish community from a loose affiliation of separate, disparate shuls into one cohesive, coherent kehillah.
The centrality of community to the enterprise of G-d’s Torah is clearly expressed by the fact that the Talmud says that the very first verse that a child should be taught once they are able to speak is ‘the Torah was commanded to us by Moshe; it is the heritage of the community of Jacob’. G-d gave us the Torah as an entire people, and those who were privileged to physically stand at the foot of Mount Sinai 3 321 years ago when G-d’s voice was heard did so not in their personal and private capacities, but on behalf of the Jewish people – those who lived at that time, and those who were destined to follow in all future generations. We are their proud descendants.
Contrasting with the importance of community stands another major Torah value, and that is the importance and greatness of every single individual. The Mishna says that to destroy a life is to destroy an entire world, and to save a life is to save an entire world. The Talmud says that a righteous person brings moral and spiritual glory, light and beauty to the place where they live. Individuals alone can change the world. To be a good Jew is to embrace the multi-faceted dimensions of all the mitzvot, both as an individual and as part of a community.
On Rosh Hashanah, we come before G-d in judgment as a community and as individuals. May each of us and all of us together find favour before Him, and may He inscribe us all for a good and sweet new year.

6. Article Published in The Star
We have reached the time of the Jewish New Year – Rosh HaShana. It is a time of judgment and introspection, when we look inward to see if we are connected to the basic values that underpin human society. The Ten Commandments are famous. They have become an important benchmark for standards of morality within human civilization. The 6th is: “Do not murder”. Unless you are a hardened criminal, most of us would feel that we can tick this one off quite comfortably. But the issue is not so simple. On the one hand, the statement is so clear. It is an unequivocal prohibition without “buts” or “howevers”, or any other qualification. Murder is simply wrong. On the other hand, there is much depth to this commandment and it has many practical applications.
Life is a gift from G-d. The Book of Genesis describes how G-d created the first human being. In fact, Rosh HaShana is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve. We read “And the L-rd G-d formed Man of dust from the ground, and He blew into his nostrils the soul of life”. (Genesis 2:7) G-d gives each human being the great gift of life, and the commandment “do not murder” is to respect the life that G-d has given. It has wide-ranging implications, influencing the way we approach controversial matters. If life is indeed sacred, special and holy, given by G-d as a gift, we dare not extinguish it.
Jewish religious law decrees that virtually all of the commandments cease to operate when it is necessary to save a life. Our religious law teaches that this rule applies even if all that will be achieved is the extension of a person’s life by an extra day, an extra hour, or even an extra second; the Talmud teaches that “even a moment of life is called life”.
We all know that every vehicle on the road constitutes potentially lethal tons of metal hurtling at high speed in the control of human hands. We all know that every journey places lives at risk. And yet many of us drive carelessly. Indeed, thousands of South Africans lose their lives on our roads all the time. “Do not murder” means that we must be very careful whenever we place our own lives and anybody else’s life at risk. It is also about healthy living – eating well, exercising. It is about not shortening our own lives through bad habits, such as smoking, or taking unnecessary risk. It is about eating the right kind of food that strengthens and does not destroy our bodies. It is about exercising and ensuring that we live a healthy lifestyle.
Crime is a serious issue. Whilst we cannot be satisfied with simply refraining from committing violent crimes, we have to go further and take responsibility for any of our actions which may cause the death of others. To buy any goods which you suspect may be stolen is not only a crime in terms of South African law, but is immoral because so many of the stolen goods in this country are taken during violent confrontation between robbers and victims which often lead to injury, or even death. “Do not murder” means do not buy stolen goods.
The sixth commandment also imposes a very serious duty on Government to combat violent crime. According to police figures last year 18 487 people were murdered in South Africa; that is about fifty murders per day. This means that as you read this article today, fifty more people in South Africa will have been murdered and all of their family, friends and communities will have been damaged and rendered bereft as a result. “Do not murder” means that government must take ultimate responsibility to stop this brutal carnage. The new administration under President Zuma has embraced this onerous responsibility with welcome determination and clarity of purpose. As citizens we need to support and strengthen their efforts, and at the same time hold them accountable for the results.
The Talmud says that to embarrass somebody in public is like murder. Words make worlds. When we speak kindly and generously we cause those around us to glow with joy and contentment. But the converse is true too. Words can destroy. When we speak unkindly we cause those around us real physical and emotional distress. In a way they “die”, says the Talmud. This is an area that is so challenging for a vibrant democracy such as ours. A vibrant democracy is all about freedom, and one of the key freedoms is the freedom of expression. To be truly free is to express oneself without restraint, or so it would seem, but that freedom has to be combined with morality, not one which is imposed by state censorship, but rather one which is imposed by the self regulation of basic moral values. We need to ensure that our dialogue and conversations and debates in this country are conducted in a spirit of respect and decency, and kindness. That too will be an important part of maintaining freedom.
“Do not murder” is also about appreciating that life is precious. Most of us do not only survive; we see, we hear, we taste, we smell, we feel cool, we feel well, we sleep and wake refreshed, we have small compact brains which hold huge numbers of facts, sounds, including voices, sights and tastes, and we access them in an instant, and without a further thought. Every one of these is a miracle, often ignored and little appreciated. Let us pause to savour each. The Talmud instructs us to “give thanks to G-d for every breath that you take”. Judaism teaches us to take nothing for granted. Special blessings were enacted by the Sages of the Talmud for reciting upon seeing the ocean for the first time in thirty days, or upon seeing lightening or hearing thunder, or the first blossoms of Spring, upon seeing a large mountain range, upon eating fruit or a piece of bread or any food or drink, and even on smelling pleasant things.
“Time is money”, said Benjamin Franklin. Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, also known as the Chofetz Chaim was a great and revered rabbi who lived during the 19th and 20th centuries. His reaction to the quotation from Benjamin Franklin was, “Time is not money, time is life”. The time we have here on this earth is what life is. G-d gives us life. Time is life, and every moment and every second of that time in this world is precious. “Do not murder” is also about utilizing and not squandering even one moment of our life; it is about not wasting time. We have to strive to use every moment productively to connect with family, and with friends, to do good, to work hard and to make a contribution to society, to learn and to grow. We are only given a limited amount of time. G-d places our souls in a body. We are born and we live and then we die, and our souls return to G-d. Our short time on this earth is what we call “life”. Protect and treat it with respect. Make the most of it.

 

Rosh HaShana Articles 2010 / 5771
1. Article Published in Shul Magazines
On behalf of the South Africa Jewish community, it is an honour to extend warmest Rosh HaShana greetings to the Linksfield Senderwood Hebrew Congregation.
The world is always new. G-d created it on Rosh Hashana and, as we say in our daily prayers, “in His goodness He continually renews the work of creation”. Life is dynamic and everything is in constant flux. The status quo is always changing. We know, therefore, not be arrogant in good times, nor despondent in adversity because anything can change in an instant. As our Sages say: “The salvation of G-d comes at the blink of an eye”.
We also know that we can always change ourselves. Free choice is a gift from G-d, and is one of Judaism’s foundational pillars. That’s why Rosh HaShana is such a hopeful and exciting time of year. It is a time of new beginnings, when G-d decrees changes for the world, and when we are called upon to change ourselves for the better. We go before G-d with faith in the power of prayer and the opportunity of “teshuva” – repentance and return to Him.
The Mishna (Pirkei Avot 4:25) says that a child learns Torah like ink written on new parchment, and an old person learns like ink written on parchment that has had many erasings. When a scribe corrects the writing on parchment he uses a sharp instrument to scrape away the old letters and so, over time, after many corrections to the parchment, it begins to look scuffed and jaded.
The Mishna uses this image to convey to us an important paradigm in life: Those who are young in their approach to life, whatever their physical age, are like fresh parchment, while those who are old in their attitude are like old parchment, scuffed and jaded by life. Being young means being excited, open to change, open to growth, and improvement in our life and closeness to G-d and His Torah.
On Rosh HaShana we read of the momentous event of the binding of Isaac – Akeidat Yitzchak. At the crucial moment, G-d tells Abraham, in eternal proclamation of the sanctity of human life: “Do not send your hand against the young boy” (Bereishit 22:12) – of course referring to Isaac. And yet, according to our Sages, Isaac was 37 years old at the time. How could G-d refer to him as a young boy? Rav Yisrael Salanter, one of the great Rabbinic leaders of 19th century Europe, says that this was the highest accolade G-d could possibly have given to Isaac at that moment of his personal greatness. In spite of everything that Isaac had achieved, he remained a “young boy”- open to change, growth and renewal. The message is clear. To retain youthful openness and excitement throughout one’s life is a very high ideal that we should all strive towards.
Torah is compared to water. Without it we cannot survive. Without it we cannot stay fresh and excited. There are many young people – even children and teenagers – who approach life like old parchment: cynical, disinterested, and uninspired. On Rosh HaShana we have the opportunity of renewing our lives with fresh perspectives and new actions as we strive to return to G-d through “teshuva”, which is often translated as “repentance”, but which more accurately means “return”. The profound concept of teshuva includes returning to life filled with energy and enthusiasm.
As we look ahead to the new year, we as a community face many challenges and opportunities, in our local South African context, or as members of the global Jewish people and, of course, in Israel. We must be dynamic, pro-active and passionate in our quest for renewal, improvement and excellence. May Hashem bless us in this sacred task. May He also inscribe us all here in South Africa, together with our fellow countrymen, and Jews across the world, and especially our brothers and sisters in our precious State of Israel with a year of life, goodness and abundant blessing.

2. Article Published in Jewish Report – Together We Stand
As we stand on the brink of a new year, we as a community and as individuals face many challenges and opportunities, whether in our local South African context, or as members of the global Jewish people, and of course in Israel. One very important ingredient of success is for us to stand together, to help and support each other, and to draw strength from one another.
“It is not good for man to be alone” (Bereishit 2:18). From the beginning of creation G-d declares that He created us to live as social beings, interacting with one another, building communities. The most basic community is the very first one formed in history, that of the marriage between Adam and Eve.
Creating communities is what we do all the time. Some communities are very small, like a marriage, or parents and children making up a family. Some communities are much larger, such as a shul or a school. And then there is the entire South African Jewish community and, of course, the Jewish People as a community worldwide.
A vital dimension of preparing for a good new year, please G-d, is rededicate ourselves to nurturing and strengthening our families, making a priority of our marriages and our children. We also need to recommit ourselves to our shuls, to attend more regularly and to generally be more involved and engaged members.
One of the outstanding features of the South African Jewish community is the fact that we belong to shuls in much higher proportions than any other similar Jewish community around the world. The first shuls were set up in South Africa as soon as Jews began to arrive. Cape Town’s first shul was established in Gardens in 1863, and Johannesburg’s in President Street in 1887. We, the descendants of the brave pioneers who started our first congregations, have inherited their passion for shuls.
A shul creates a community of the individuals who make up its membership. Individuals in their personal capacity join together to form a community or, in Hebrew, a kehillah. A new entity is formed. A shul is much more than the sum of its parts. It becomes a kehillah that brings people together around the eternal Divine values of our ancient faith.
The secret of success in creating and sustaining all of these different types of communities, whether families or shuls or anything else, is the same, and it is contained in the Mishna in Pirkei Avot (4:14): “Rabbi Yochanan HaSandler says: Any community dedicated to heaven will endure forever”.
What is ‘a community dedicated to Heaven’? The Tosfot Yom Tov, a classic commentary on the Mishna, says that ‘dedicated to heaven’ means putting aside personal interest. This means that a successful community is only built if people are able to rise above ego, arrogance, pride, jealousy and all other forms of selfishness and general lowliness of human character. When people are in it for themselves instead of for the sake of the cause, instead of for the sake of Hashem and the fruition of His values in the world, then communities tear themselves apart. If everyone is in it for themselves and their interests are competing, then those tensions tend to place enormous strain on a society and on a community, preventing it from achieving success.
A marriage is successful when both husband and wife are dedicated to heaven, and dedicated to doing the right thing and caring for one another, and are not in the marriage merely for what they can take for themselves. When husband and wife compete with each other for the fulfillment of their personal self interest, their marriage will have difficulty enduring. The same applies to a family, which is a slightly bigger community than the couple, and includes their children. It too cannot endure if its members each go their own selfish way; but when they are unified in being dedicated to heaven, then you have a family that can hold together all of the individuals who are part of it. So too, a shul community can only be successful if there is a willingness to work for the sake of the cause, putting aside petty selfish interests and aspiring to be truly ‘dedicated to Heaven’.
May Hashem inscribe and seal us all for a year of life and blessing. Gina and I would like to take this opportunity of wishing the entire community a good Yom Tov, and G-d’s richest blessings for a good and sweet New Year.

3. Article Published in The Star
On Wednesday night begins the Jewish New Year called Rosh HaShana. It is a time of reflection. What should our priorities be? What should be the most important focus for our country? Without doubt we need to give our full attention to the children of the new South Africa. They are our future. They are who our society will be in the years ahead.
We must defend and strengthen our children. We must hold government accountable for its responsibility, to protect children from crime, violence, disease and the ravages of poverty. But it goes beyond that. We need to rededicate ourselves to the holy task of raising our children with a moral vision and ethical commitment.
The Book of Proverbs says, “Educate a child according to their way, and when they are old they will not depart from it.” The Hebrew word in the original text for “educate” has its root in the Hebrew word which conveys both training and habituation.
Parenting is training our children to be good people in the most practical way possible. Why do we assume that our children will just work it out? We are happy to train them that 1+1=2, but we assume that, somehow, they will work out for themselves basic good character information. We are well trained in so many areas and we put such emphasis on training for careers and development. We train people to make money, yet we don’t bother to train them how to be good. Parents must train their children in the basics of being a decent human being. It’s like the training to be a good sportsman: going over and over the right way to do things, until it becomes natural and easy. Judaism teaches that we all need training and habituation to be good people.
Moral education has to be very practical. We need to train children to help other people and to move beyond self-centred living. We all, even adults, need constant training to develop good character traits, such as integrity, honesty, decency and responsibility. Judaism teaches that moral greatness is to be found in application to the detail of how to be a good person in all areas of life, and includes instruction on such matters as giving charity, speaking kindly, greeting warmly, being humble, protecting the vulnerable, praying to G-d. One of the positive dimensions of the Bill of Responsibilities that is becoming part of the South African schooling system is that it also gives real practical guidelines for abstract moral values. For example, the Bill of Responsibilities says that to uphold the right to dignity means, “to be kind, compassionate and sensitive to every human being, including greeting them warmly and speaking to them courteously.”
The Hebrew word for education is also based on the word for “dwell”. Education is about living in a certain moral space in the same way that we live in a physical space. A few years ago, I came across the phrase “the basic furniture of the human mind” in a book by Paul Johnson. Furniture serves two purposes: functionality, you need a table to eat off and a chair to sit on; it also serves to create an atmosphere, giving a sense of what goes on in that home. A person who walks into a home with no furniture sees it empty, soulless and lifeless. Furniture makes it come alive because it gives it presence and soul.
And the basic furniture in children’s minds is the result of their childhood training. What a child grows up with, they will consider normal and natural. Because of this, we as families, schools and as congregations, have to pay so much attention to what training we give our children and what influences they experience.
When a child grows up in a family where he or she hears loving interactions conducted with dignity, kindness and gentleness, this becomes, in their mind, the normal and natural way to talk. However, if they grow up with the sounds of aggression and anger, this too becomes normal and natural for them. If a child lives in a home where hard work and commitment to family is the norm, then they will grow up with a good work ethic and loyalty. Parents must set the tone in their house. I realize myself as a parent of young children that everything my wife and I say and do in our home becomes a point of reference for our children.
TV can do enormous damage by determining for our children their value system when it comes to sex, violence and the very definition of success in life, measured in money, good looks and status. We need to teach our children that real success is about being a good person. There is an ancient Jewish tradition which determines, when a baby is born, that we pray that the child grows up to be committed to good religious values, family and good deeds. We don’t ask for the child to grow up to fame, fortune, success, degrees or status.
We want our children to be good, but when they turn on the television, they are getting a poor definition of what this means. It’s up to us parents, schools and congregations. There are so many forces constructing their reality for them. Their world-view on violence, sex and life itself is being constructed all the time by the loud and confident voices of the volatile and aggressive world around them. Into the noise of the bombardment of words from all sides we need to pro-actively and confidently give our children new words and a new spirit : the words and spirit of giving and contributing, of accountability and responsibility, of respect and decency, of tolerance and understanding, of integrity and loyalty, of kindness and compassion. To achieve this we must stand together with moral clarity and with confidence.

 

4. Video Message to the Community
Edited Transcript
Welcome and thank you for taking the time to watch this video.
It is once again that important time of year of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur. People often think that this is the time to reflect on the major world events that have occurred over the past year and to look ahead to the New Year. For example: In South Africa the success and aftermath of the Soccer World Cup and now the strikes and alliance tensions; or the difficulties and travails in Israel such as that of the flotilla incident and Iran’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons. But Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur are not just about major world events – they are also about our personal lives.
That’s actually what Judaism is about. Judaism is about a personal interaction between us and G-d. To give an example let us consider the following: what was the very first word that G-d spoke to our people when we stood at the foot of Mount Sinai all of those generations ago? It’s an unusual word, something that we wouldn’t have expected. The very first word that He uttered was the word ‘I’, in Hebrew anochi. The Ten Commandments begin with, “I am the L-rd your G-d who took you out of the land of Egypt”. By beginning with this remarkable introduction, G-d set a tone for all times saying that Judaism is not an impersonal set of rules and laws. When you look at parliamentary statutes you will find that the rules and laws that govern a country are all phrased in the third person. But here G-d is saying that it is anochi, ‘I’ who is giving you these laws and principles to live by. According to the Talmud the Hebrew word anochi is an acronym for the sentence: I give you my soul in these words. And that’s what G-d gave us: He gave us a part of Himself when He gave us the Torah and it’s a personal interaction because He is interested in our lives.
This perspective helps us understand one of the most important mitzvot and one of the most important dimensions of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur – the power of prayer. This mitzvah is important throughout the year but even more so during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur when we spend so much time in shul.
In the world of politics, everything is about access and part of my responsibilities as Chief Rabbi is to interact with government on behalf of the Jewish community. There are a variety of different strategies people employ to gain access to and engage with people in positions of power.
G-d Himself is the King of all Kings; He is the Master of the entire universe. He is greater a million-fold, than any president or king that has ever lived and nothing can compare to Him. Yet if you want to access G-d you don’t have to go through a PA, or the Chief Rabbi or make an appointment. All you need to do is talk directly to Him through tefillah, prayer. That is the power of prayer. He waits to hear our words, particularly during the Amidah where we take three steps forward into His Presence. One of the laws of the Amidah is that you should whisper so you can hear your own words, but that nobody else should hear you. Why whisper? Because a whisper is about intimacy. At that moment of saying those prayers, it is you and G-d one on one – a remarkable privilege of access to the King of all Kings. Whenever we want, He is waiting. It is a direct, personal loving relationship that we have with Him. It is an intimate relationship between you and G-d.
This access to the King of all Kings is a remarkable privilege. But with that privilege comes responsibility. In our Rosh HaShana prayers we say that, “Today the world was created”. In the eyes of G-d, we are an entire world and our personal lives are before Him. Never mind the big world events that are taking place; G-d is interested in us. But this also means that we have to introspect. We have to reflect on our lives to find ways that we can improve as Jews and as human beings. We need to look at the mitzvot and find practical ways of improving our lives, because this is what G-d is interested in. It’s not just about the big headlines that world events create. It is about our daily lives. We can strive for greatness because He is interested in our lives.
Let us make this Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur about a personal relationship with G-d. Let us make our Judaism about that personal interaction. He loves us, He cares about us and He is interested in our lives. Let us respond to His love with the right kind of inspiration, loyalty and dedication. May we merit, and may G-d bless our wonderful community with a good and a sweet year.
G-d bless you and thank you.

5. Article Published in Jewish Tradition – The Book of Life
Life is our most precious gift from G-d. At this time of year as we pray to G-d to be given another year of life, to be written into the “Book of Life”, we need to appreciate the value of every moment that G-d has given us to live on this earth.
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, known as the Chofetz Chaim, was one of the greatest Torah scholars and leaders of the Jewish world until his passing in 1933. In those early years of the twentieth century, many Jews were leaving Europe to live in the United States of America. The story is told that the Chofetz Chaim asked someone who had just returned from a visit to tell him something about America. The man answered that in America, they say, “Time is Money”, the Chofetz Chaim’s rejoinder was that “Time is Life”. Every second and minute that passes does so forever and can never be retrieved, and is part of the limited gift of life that G-d has given us. Judaism teaches us to appreciate every precious moment of life by, for example, saying blessings of thanks and gratitude to G-d for simple pleasures, such as eating a fruit or wearing special new clothes. The Talmud says that we must gives thanks to G-d for every breath of air we take.
But Judaism teaches that life is not only about living in this world. G-d has placed within us an immortal soul that lives on in the world-to-come. Pirkei Avot (6:7) says, “Great is Torah for it gives life to those who do it, both in This World and the World to Come.” The Torah shows us the path of life. It is called “a tree of life for those who grasp it” and shows us how to live and be truly alive in this world and the next.
It also shows us how to ensure the vitality and endurance of the Jewish People. You often hear debates about how to ensure Jewish continuity. History has proven that only when Jews are connected to Torah is there a sustainable Jewish future. The Talmud (Avodah Zara 3b) says that the Jew without Torah is a fish out of water and cannot survive. Rav Yosef Yehuda Leib Bloch, explains the analogy: a fish on dry land flips and flops so vigorously that an ignorant observer may think that it is alive rather than in its death throes. So too people often are mistaken when they think that there is a Jewish future without Torah. The fish out of water analogy was used by the great sage of Talmud, Rabbi Akiva during the Roman oppression when it was forbidden to study or teach Torah. He defied the decree, putting his life at risk, and was advised not to do so – advice which he rejected comparing it to a fox warning a fish of fishermen’s nets downstream, and advising them to avoid being captured by leaving the water. Rabbi Akiva was arguing that we are the fish and the Torah is our water and that without it there would be no Jewish People.
As we the South African Jewish community prepare for the new year, let us do so acutely aware that the sure path to a vibrant and eternal future, as individuals and as a community, lies in our loyalty to Torah. As we say in the evening prayers: “For it [the Torah] is our life and the length of our days”.
My wife, Gina and I wish you G-d’s blessing for a good and sweet year, and may we all together be inscribed in the Book of Life.

Rosh HaShana Articles 2011 / 5772
1. Article published in ‘The Star’
What is the right way to deal with corruption and wrong-doing? How do we build a truly great country? The Hebrew Bible in the Book of Genesis has vital lessons for South Africa today. Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit. Their immediate response was to try to hide from G-d, who calls out to Adam, “Where are you?”, meaning “What has happened to you…why have you sinned?” Adam’s response is to blame Eve. Eve blames the serpent. Both refuse to take responsibility for their actions.
Self-justification and avoiding responsibility for one’s actions is deeply engrained in human nature. The other classic example is what the Book of Genesis records : that when Cain killed Abel and was confronted by G-d, he answered, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” But G-d responded “What have you done? The blood of your brother calls to me from the ground”. Cain tried to shirk responsibility for the consequence of his act of murder. Those who cannot accept responsibility for their own acts also cannot embrace care and responsibility for others. Cain’s philosophy of ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ is the philosophy of those who turn their back on responsibility, and it is a philosophy that undermines the foundations of human civilization.
We can learn from the mistakes of Adam and Eve, and that of Cain. It’s not that they sinned. “There is no righteous man on earth who only does good and never sins”, says the Hebrew Bible. It is rather that when they sinned they did not take responsibility for their actions. They did not confess before G-d, nor did they apologise, nor did they repent when confronted with their wrong-doing. This is the time of year to reflect on the values of accountability and responsibility. Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year which begins on Wednesday night 28 September, celebrates the anniversary of the creation of Adam & Eve, the first human beings. It was also the day that they sinned and were judged by G-d. Thus, Rosh HaShanah is also the time that G-d judges all people every year.
The Seforno, one the great Rabbinic commentators of the Middle Ages, contrasts Adam’s behaviour with that of King David, who when he was confronted by Nathan the prophet concerning a particular wrong-doing, responded unequivocally: “I have sinned to G-d”. This is the model for true responsibility and accountability. Rosh Hashanah is a time of judgement – but more importantly it is a time of repentance. Judaism teaches that repentance means that one must first acknowledge the sin, then truly regret having done it and then resolve in the future never to do it again. One must also verbally confess before G-d. This process takes honesty and courage.
King David set an example to all political leaders. When being confronted by mistakes and sins, the very first step is to humbly acknowledge and to confess, to accept full responsibility for one’s actions, and to accept the consequences that may flow from these. Responsibility means taking ownership of the consequences of one’s actions. Every action has consequences, sometimes positive and sometimes negative. Responsibility is about acknowledging that these consequences are the results of our actions and that, in a sense, the consequences belong to us.
So many of our problems in South Africa today come from a lack of accepting responsibility for wrong-doings, a refusal to take ownership of the consequences of one’s actions. And it’s relevant not only to our politicians but to each and every single one of us. We need to nurture a culture of accountability and responsibility. And that begins at home. Of course, we must demand and expect that any corruption committed by those holding public office be firmly dealt with. But we should require the same standards of ourselves in our private lives – in all areas from our business dealings to our family relationships.
We all need the moral clarity and courage to take responsibility for our mistakes and to apologise. It goes even further than an apology. The Talmud says that if you hurt someone’s feelings, you must actually ask them for forgiveness. At that point the responsibility shifts to the victim, who must find it within them to forgive and not to bear a grudge, which is prohibited by the Bible in the book of Leviticus. There is a beautiful Jewish custom at this time of year – from Rosh Hashanah until the Day of Atonement – of people asking one another for forgiveness for any wrongs which they may have committed against each other throughout the year.
Simply to say ‘sorry’ is a necessary, but insufficient, condition to achieving full repentance. An apology and request for forgiveness must be accompanied by an attempt to rectify the harm caused. Taking ownership of the consequences of one’s actions means trying to reverse their harmful effects. For example, the Talmud says that if you damaged someone’s property you need to compensate them for the loss caused. The process of repentance is driven by the value of accountability, which is, in turn driven by the value of responsibility. Responsibility is the logical extension of freedom. G-d has granted each one of us the freedom to choose how we live our lives. Freedom of choice means that the decisions we make are ultimately our own, albeit the various pressures brought to bear upon us. Because we are free, we must accept responsibility for what we do. Freedom is one of the foundational values of the new South Africa and, therefore, so is responsibility. No human society can function without a deeply entrenched commitment to responsibility. All of the principles of accountability, transparency, and indeed human civilization itself, are held together by the binding force of responsibility.

2. Article Published in Jewish Tradition
Transparency and accountability are important Torah values. For each one of us on a personal level these values are the driving force of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, when we stand before G-d to give an account for our deeds over the last year and search for ways to improve and to repent. Everything we do is completely transparent before G-d, and one of the thirteen principles of faith is the accountability for our actions, whether good or bad, through Divinely ordained reward and punishment – although as the Gemora points out, this is usually dispensed in the world-to-come.
Accountability and transparency are also halachic imperatives for communal life. When the building of the Tabernacle was completed, Moshe gave a full account to the people, setting out how much gold, silver, copper and other materials were donated and exactly how much was used and for what purposes. From this precedent, a practical principle, codified in the Shulchan Aruch, emerges, and that is that any public initiative must give a full account to the donors as to how much money was collected and how the money was spent. This is to fulfil the requirement of not only doing the right thing but ensuring transparency of what has been done so that the public can see for themselves that everything done all conforms with Judaism’s highest standards of ethics.
In the spirit of this halachic imperative, every two years at the National Conference of the Union of Orthodox of Synagogues (UOS) the various divisions give a full report of their budget and activities. At the most recent UOS conference held in August 2011, a new committee was elected, reports were presented, and the documents concerned made available to all of the delegates. In order to further fulfil the Torah duties of accountability and transparency, extracts of the reports, submitted to the most recent conference held in August 2011, are published in this edition of “Jewish Tradition”. The full reports can be found on our websites (www.uos.co.za and www.ChiefRabbi.co.za).
As we approach the awesome days of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, let us embrace our responsibility to provide a transparent and accountable report to Hashem for all of our deeds and in the merit of our sincere repentance may Hashem bless our community abundantly with a good and a sweet year.

3. Article Published in Jewish Report
“You are my witnesses, says Hashem” (Isaiah 43:12). We have a sacred duty to testify to certain basic important facts in order to ensure that there is goodness and justice in the world.
To understand what this duty means, it is helpful to refer to a very important mitzvah which instructs us to testify in a court case, irrespective of whether it involves monetary matters or is a criminal trial. A competent witness who knows information vital to the outcome of a matter is required as a mitzvah to come forward to testify. In the same way, every single Jew is obligated to testify to certain basic facts in the court of public opinion. We are all duty-bound to rise to the challenge with pride, confidence and strength to testify to the moral foundations of the world.
We fulfill this calling every Friday night as we gather around our Shabbat tables and recite the ancient words of the Kiddush prayer in which we declare that G-d created the world. Rosh HaShana, specifically, is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve.
The basic truths that G-d created the world, that He took us out of Egypt, and that He gave us His Torah are the moral pillars of our world. These are the very pillars that guide us as a community, and as individuals, in our day-to-day lives as we confront the challenges of our times. When we affirm that G-d created the world we testify to the fact that the beauty and sheer engineering brilliance of the universe is His work. When we affirm that G-d took us out of Egypt we testify to the fact that He is interested in human affairs and that He guides history. When we affirm that G-d gave us His Torah we testify to the fact that He wants us to live in accordance with the moral and spiritual principles which He revealed to us. On Rosh HaShana we testify to the fact that we are accountable to G-d for all our actions – good and bad.
Just as importantly, we are called upon to hand these testimonies on to our children. We do all of this so that they, too, will become G-d’s witnesses and will in due course be able to testify to the world about the basic truths which form the moral foundation of the world. And one day, they will, please G-d, hand this testimony on to their children.
In modern times there are other matters of historical fact that we need to testify to. We need to bear witness to the enormous tragedy of the Holocaust and to refute anyone who denies the fact that it occurred or the scale of its devastation. More than ever before, we need to stand as brave witnesses to the fact that G-d gave us the Land of Israel, that He promised the Land to our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that He gave it to our ancestors when Joshua entered it, and that through our Judaism we are connected, and have been connected to the Land of Israel for almost four thousand years. We need to stand up and courageously testify to certain basic facts and remind the world of the truth of the justice of the cause of the State of Israel.
To be G-d’s witnesses is not only about what we say, but also about what we do. The most eloquent and powerful testimony we can deliver lies in the way we lead our lives based on our Jewish values. We need to be model human beings in all areas of life. At the most basic level, we have to be model citizens who abide by the laws of the country, pay taxes diligently, vote in elections, as is the moral duty of every citizen, and seek to reach out to the underprivileged within our society to improve their lives. We need to be exemplars of interpersonal relationships of goodness, kindness and giving of charity, all in accordance with the mitzvot of the Torah. We also need to live lives of connectedness to G-d through His mitzvot, such as prayer, Torah learning, Shabbat, and many others, that bind us to Him, and uplift our lives.
To be a witness for G-d requires bravery, confidence, clarity and a sense of mission. Let us do so this year as a community whilst we prepare to celebrate Rosh HaShana. Let us take the inspiration of this festival and stand proud to face the world and ourselves, and declare the basic truths that underpin all of human civilisation – truths without which the world could not exist, truths that give energy and sustenance to the entire enterprise of human civilisation.
Gina and I would like to take this opportunity of wishing the entire community a good Yom Tov, and G-d’s richest blessings for a good and sweet New Year.

4. Article Published in Cape Jewish Chronicle
“It is not good for man to be alone” (Bereishit 2:18). From the beginning of creation G-d declares that He created us to live as social beings, interacting with one another, building communities. The most basic community is the very first one formed in history, that of the marriage between Adam and Eve.
A vital dimension of preparing for a good new year is to rededicate ourselves to nurturing and strengthening all of our communities : our marriages and families, our shuls and schools, as well as the wider South African Jewish community.
One of the outstanding features of the South African Jewish community is the fact that we belong to shuls in much higher proportions than any other similar Jewish community around the world. The first shuls were set up in South Africa as soon as Jews began to arrive. Cape Town’s first shul was established in Gardens in 1863, and Johannesburg’s in President Street in 1887. We, the descendants of the brave pioneers who started our first congregations, have inherited their passion for shuls.
A shul creates a community of the individuals who make up its membership. Individuals in their personal capacity join together to form a community or, in Hebrew, a kehillah. A new entity is formed. A shul is much more than the sum of its parts. It becomes a kehillah that brings people together around the eternal Divine values of our ancient faith.
The secret of success in creating and sustaining all of these different types of communities, whether families or shuls or anything else, is the same, and it is contained in the Mishna in Pirkei Avot (4:14): “Rabbi Yochanan HaSandler says: Any community dedicated to heaven will endure forever”.
What is ‘a community dedicated to Heaven’? The Tosfot Yom Tov, a classic commentary on the Mishna, says that ‘dedicated to heaven’ means putting aside personal interest. This means that a successful community is only built if people are able to rise above ego, arrogance, pride, jealousy and all other forms of selfishness and general lowliness of human character. When people are in it for themselves instead of for the sake of the cause, instead of for the sake of Hashem and the fruition of His values in the world, then communities tear themselves apart. If everyone is in it for themselves and their interests are competing, then those tensions tend to place enormous strain on a society and on a community, preventing it from achieving success.
A marriage is successful when both husband and wife are dedicated to heaven, and dedicated to doing the right thing and caring for one another, and are not in the marriage merely for what they can take for themselves. When husband and wife compete with each other for the fulfillment of their personal self interest, their marriage will have difficulty enduring. The same applies to a family, which is a slightly bigger community than the couple, and includes their children. It too cannot endure if its members each go their own selfish way; but when they are unified in being dedicated to heaven, then you have a family that can hold together all of the individuals who are part of it. So too, a shul community can only be successful if there is a willingness to work for the sake of the cause, putting aside petty selfish interests and aspiring to be truly ‘dedicated to Heaven’.
May Hashem inscribe and seal us all for a year of life and blessing. Gina and I would like to take this opportunity of wishing the entire community a good Yom Tov, and G-d’s richest blessings for a good and sweet New Year.

5. Article published in Shul Magazines
Life is our most precious gift from G-d. At this time of year as we pray to G-d to be given another year of life, to be written into the “Book of Life”, we need to appreciate the value of every moment that G-d has given us to live on this earth.
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, known as the Chofetz Chaim, was one of the greatest Torah scholars and leaders of the Jewish world until his passing in 1933. In those early years of the twentieth century, many Jews were leaving Europe to live in the United States of America. The story is told that the Chofetz Chaim asked someone who had just returned from a visit to tell him something about America. The man answered that in America, they say, “Time is Money”, the Chofetz Chaim’s rejoinder was that “Time is Life”. Every second and minute that passes does so forever and can never be retrieved, and is part of the limited gift of life that G-d has given us. Judaism teaches us to appreciate every precious moment of life by, for example, saying blessings of thanks and gratitude to G-d for simple pleasures, such as eating a fruit or wearing special new clothes. The Talmud says that we must gives thanks to G-d for every breath of air we take.
But Judaism teaches that life is not only about living in this world. G-d has placed within us an immortal soul that lives on in the world-to-come. Pirkei Avot (6:7) says, “Great is Torah for it gives life to those who do it, both in This World and the World to Come.” The Torah shows us the path of life. It is called “a tree of life for those who grasp it” and shows us how to live and be truly alive in this world and the next.
It also shows us how to ensure the vitality and endurance of the Jewish People. You often hear debates about how to ensure Jewish continuity. History has proven that only when Jews are connected to Torah is there a sustainable Jewish future. The Talmud (Avodah Zara 3b) says that the Jew without Torah is a fish out of water and cannot survive. Rav Yosef Yehuda Leib Bloch, explains the analogy: a fish on dry land flips and flops so vigorously that an ignorant observer may think that it is alive rather than in its death throes. So too people often are mistaken when they think that there is a Jewish future without Torah. The fish out of water analogy was used by the great sage of Talmud, Rabbi Akiva during the Roman oppression when it was forbidden to study or teach Torah. He defied the decree, putting his life at risk, and was advised not to do so – advice which he rejected comparing it to a fox warning a fish of fishermen’s nets downstream, and advising them to avoid being captured by leaving the water. Rabbi Akiva was arguing that we are the fish and the Torah is our water and that without it there would be no Jewish People.
As we the South African Jewish community prepare for the new year, let us do so acutely aware that the sure path to a vibrant and eternal future, as individuals and as a community, lies in our loyalty to Torah. As we say in the evening prayers: “For it [the Torah] is our life and the length of our days”.
My wife, Gina and I wish you G-d’s blessing for a good and sweet year, and may we all together be inscribed in the Book of Life.

Rosh HaShana Articles 2012 / 5773
1. Article published in Jerusalem Post
One of the most significant moments of Jewish history took place between a father and son on a lonely mountain top. Avraham had been prepared to sacrifice Yitzchak, until G-d stopped him at the last moment. The ram, Yitzchak’s substitute for the altar, was entangled in the bushes and as it extricated itself, it got entangled again and again, lurching from bush to bush.
The Oral Torah, recorded in the Midrash, says that with this picture Avraham was given a prophetic vision about his children. He was given a glimpse into the future of the great nation of Jews that would one day come from him. It was to be a future of entanglements and complications; lurching from one entanglement to the next, from one challenge to the next. The Midrash says that the entanglements come in two forms: internal and external – our sins from within and our enemies from without. And so it has been throughout the millennia of Jewish history: all crises and obstacles can be divided into one of these two categories, assimilation and anti-Semitism, and sometimes both together.
Today we find ourselves living part of that ancient prophetic vision revealed to our forefather Avraham. One the one hand, we face fearsome external enemies. Having recently extricated ourselves and survived, just barely, the horrors of the Holocaust, we now face another enemy threatening the same fate. Global anti-Semitism is on the rise and takes the form of a grotesque and aggressive media and political campaign to demonize the Jewish State, and an orchestrated and ruthless campaign of terror against Jewish targets all around the world.
Today we are also entangled in the other major historical threat that has plagued Jews throughout the millennia, that of assimilation and loss of Torah values. Whilst in certain sections of the Jewish world there has been a miraculous revival, millions in others have drifted far from Torah observance, and are even marrying out of the faith; a deep and wide ignorance of anything Jewish has seeped into the essence of so many Jewish communities around the world.
The prophetic vision shown to Avraham also directs us on how to free ourselves from the entanglements of our times. The Midrash says that the secret to our future is the shofar. The shofar blasts are the sounds of freedom. It is the call of the shofar that heralds the Jubilee year, the year of freedom as the Torah states, “And you shall proclaim freedom throughout the land” (Vayikra 25:10). These blasts are also the sounds of our founding principles as a nation, given to us by G-d at Mount Sinai, where a heavenly shofar heralded that awesome occasion as we heard the very first words of our moral and strategic blueprint: “I am the L-rd your G-d …” The shofar on Rosh Hashana shows us that the path to freedom from the entanglements of life through returning to our core values as given to us by G-d in His Torah.
When confronted with the challenges of inter-marriage and assimilation, we need to return to our founding principles. One cannot argue with history. History has proven time and again that the only form of Jewish identity and value system which is sustainable generation after generation, without fail, is that of authentic Torah Judaism. Only Jewish communities centred around Torah learning and living have stood the test of time. Only communities in which children learn Torah from a young age, and are raised to live a life of mitzvot, are guaranteed to survive and thrive. There is no other form of Jewish identity or living that has endured more than a few fleeting generations before disappearing forever; no other system has produced an unbroken chain of successive generations of strong, proud and inspired Jews.
We also need to return to our founding principles when confronting those who seek the physical destruction of Israel. Our Torah gives us the sense of Divine purpose and mission to withstand the unrelenting attacks, and the bravery and strength we need to ward off genocidal enemies and to face the future with confidence. Our foundational moral and strategic blueprint – the Torah – is particularly important when confronting the political and media forces which seek to demonize, isolate and ultimately destroy Israel as a Jewish state. It is through this overarching blueprint that we affirm our ancient connection and moral right to the land of Israel. From a position deeply rooted in the Torah, we can proclaim with confidence to the world that we are not colonial usurpers, and that Israel is an integral part of our identity and Divine mission.
The shofar is a plain unadorned instrument that produces simple uncomplicated sounds. It calls us to return to our Divine founding principles of truth. The message of the shofar is that sometimes we over complicate our lives. Life may be difficult but its basic truths are simple. We were created by G-d to fulfil His will, to sanctify His name and live in accordance with His Torah values. This is the heart and soul of our mission on this earth. Straying from this straightforward path ultimately brings unnecessary complication into our lives.
The image of the ram entangled in the bushes is particularly poignant; the ram is unable to lift its head and see the bigger picture. So too we often get so entangled in the complications and entrapments of our destiny that we are unable to see the bigger picture and see our greater calling. It is into these problems that the shofar enters, with a call to a return to simple, clear values of who we are and where we come from, and what our mission on earth is. The shofar has a message which is simple and uncluttered: to successfully confront any challenges we need to return to our nation’s founding principles. Life may be filled with difficulties and complications, but our basic purpose on this earth is simple – to learn and live our Torah values.
As millions of Jews around the world gather in synagogues over this Rosh Hashana, may the sounds of the shofar which ring out across the four corners of the globe, bring the inspiration for us all to return to our Divine founding principles, which show us the path to the future, and may we all merit to soon hear the sounds of “the great shofar of our freedom” heralding the Final Redemption for all klal Yisrael and all mankind.

2. Article published in Jewish Tradition
It was a decision that changed everything, yet had to be made on the spur of the moment and its consequences are still felt being almost 2,000 years later. The Roman Empire had invaded the Land of Israel and surrounded Jerusalem. Vespasian, the Roman military commander in Judea, had just been appointed emperor. He had deep respect for Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, the great Talmudic scholar and leader of the Jewish people, and so granted him one request, including the possibility of saving Jerusalem and the Temple. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai boldly requested, “Give me Yavneh and its sages.” (Gemara Gittin 56b). He believed that Torah learning is vital to the Jewish future, that it is our lifeblood and the secret to our continuity.
Jewish history has vindicated the seemingly controversial decision of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai: it is an undisputable fact that throughout the centuries since then, communities and individuals for whom Torah learning has been a central value and way of life, are the ones who have survived and thrived; they have been beacons of vitality, growth and inspiration. Thus, to see the vast and detailed learning programs offered by our shuls and which are published in this edition of Jewish Tradition is heart-warming and exciting. The depth and breadth of Torah learning going on in the South African Jewish community is an important sign of our vibrancy and strength, and bodes well for a future of vitality and growth. We have much to be proud of and grateful for. As we approach Rosh Hashanah with all of our resolutions for the new year, let us all commit to enjoy the full benefit of the wonderful Torah learning programs offered by our shuls.
Torah learning is spiritually, intellectually and emotionally refreshing. The Mishnah in Pirkei Avot (6:1) says that a Torah scholar is like a ma’ayan hamitgaber, a spring which flows stronger and stronger. Rav Chaim Volozhiner explains the analogy: even if there is mud covering the spring, the waters will burst forth and wash away the mud until the spring returns to flow as it did before. Like an overflowing spring the life-giving waters of Torah give us increasing strength. As long as the fresh waters of pure Torah are pumping, they will cleanse all impurities, uplift us, and bring renewed vitality. Thus, according to the Midrash (Eichah Rabbah), G-d says, “Even if they were to leave Me but would learn my Torah, the light within it will return them to the good.” Torah learning changes our perspective on life and enables us to understand Hashem’s worldview, thus bringing us closer to Him.
The poignant prayer of Avinu Malkeinu, Our Father Our King, refers to two different aspects of our relationship with Hashem. Rav Chaim Volozhiner explains that describing G-d as a king reflects our identity as His loyal servants who must obey His commandments, even against our will; describing Hashem as a father refers to our identity as His children, which reflects a relationship of love and closeness. When we learn Torah, we relate to Hashem as a caring Father who lovingly explains to His children how to live and why. As we learn Torah we gain a better understanding of His instructions, guidance and wisdom for our lives. The exact sequence of the wording is significant: we refer to Hashem first as our Father and then as our King.
This Rosh Hashanah let us all resolve for the new year to rejuvenate and inspire ourselves by embracing and participating in the Torah learning opportunities available across our community. In this merit may Hashem inscribe and seal us all for a good and sweet year filled with all blessings.

3. Article published in Jewish Life
As I was standing at this year’s memorial service for Israel’s soldiers who died in battle, I was filled with sadness at the seeming futility of remembrance. The clichés of fallen soldiers living on through our memorials seemed so empty. What is human memory after all? Nothing but images, recollections and thoughts – intangible, ethereal and even more fleeting than our physical lives on this earth. Mere mortals, we are here today and gone tomorrow, with no trace left of our physical existence, and certainly no trace left of the intangible memories embedded deep in our fragile brain tissue. And yet, the sacredness of memory and the commandments to remember are important parts of Judaism: “Remember the day you left Egypt”; “Be careful lest you forget what your eyes saw … on the day you stood before G-d at Sinai”; “Remember the Shabbat day”; and many other mitzvot to remember. How do we make sense of all of this?
“There is no forgetfulness before Your throne of glory.” These words of our Sages contained in the Rosh Hashana Mahzor are the secret to understanding the concept of memory. Human memory is indeed fleeting and is as temporary as the human body, which comes from dust and returns to dust. But G-d is eternal and He gave the gift of immortality to the soul which He implanted in a brittle body; and He also gave the gift of eternity to our deeds in this world. No deed – great or small, good or bad – is forgotten by G-d. Rosh Hashana is also called Yom HaZikaron – the day of remembrance – because it is the day that the remembrance of all our deeds comes before Hashem to be judged. Every mitzva a person does in this world has eternal merit before Hashem, who gathers together and records every action of every human being throughout the billions of lives over all of these millennia. “For a thousand years in Your eyes is like yesterday that has passed” (Tehillim 90). From G-d’s perspective the passage of time means nothing. The soul and its legacy of deeds in this world are forever.
True remembrance resides only with G-d. The memory and eternal merit of the righteous heroes of the past are not in our hands. They don’t need us for that. And indeed we couldn’t even begin to do that for them. How can we temporal beings bestow eternity on others? “Yizkor”, the great remembrance prayer of Jewish tradition, says “Yizkor Elokim” – may G-d remember, not us – because only He can; it is only with the Eternal One, Who was, is and always will be, that any concept of eternity exists. It is a comfort for us to know that the legacy of our loved ones is not dependent on the fleeting fragility of our mortal memories and our temporary earthly lives. It is Hashem who remembers our beloved family members, their good deeds and their eternal legacies of mitzvot. And it is He who remembers, as we also mention during our Yizkor service, the martyrs of Jewish history. These holy souls and their holy actions are never forgotten by G-d and their merit is eternal, more eternal than anything we know of in this physical world. Thus, the souls of the fallen Israeli soldiers stand before G-d forever with eternal merit – the merit of defending the State and the people of Israel and Jews around the world, the merit of their bravery and absolute selflessness in sacrificing life itself so that their fellow Jews can live in safety and security. And so too we take strength in knowing that the six million holy souls of those murdered in the Holocaust, together with all the martyrs of Jewish history, are “bound up in the eternal bond of life” with G-d Himself, Who continually gives them eternal reward and blessing for their horrific suffering and painful martyrdom which they endured for His sake.
This begs the question: if human memory is so fleeting and futile why are there so many commandments in the Torah to remember? Perhaps, the secret to understanding this lies in the commandment, “Remember the Shabbat day to keep it holy”. How can the concept of memory possibly apply to something which occurs each week? Clearly, from a Torah perspective, memory is not only about remembering past events but about remembering the ideas which emerge from those events and keeping them in the forefront of our hearts and minds as part of our mitzvot for today and the future. Thus, the mitzva to remember Shabbat is not merely about remembering the very first Shabbat in history, but about living today with an awareness of the centrality of Shabbat and its related principles of faith in G-d as a loving, involved and awesome Creator. Certain defining events of the past are moral signposts for how to live today, and we are called upon as part of the mitzvot of the Torah to remember them. Remembering the Exodus from Egypt is a mitzva about understanding that we were born into slavery and were freed by G-d; and that our faith in Him, as our liberator and a director of history, is central to our identity and destiny. Remembering the experience of receiving the Torah from G-d at Mount Sinai is about embracing our Divine mission, moral vision and mitzvot for today and into the future. In other words, human memory is fleeting, but when it is part of fulfilling a mitzva it becomes eternally significant before G-d like all of our mitzvot, which are the eternal legacy that accompanies us to the next world when we leave this temporal one.
As we reflect on the generations who have left this world we realize how fleeting and almost pathetic life is. As the verses from Tehilim recited during Yizkor say: “But what is man that You notice him? Man is like a fleeting breath. His days are like a passing shadow. In the morning he blossoms and is rejuvenated and by evening is cut down and brittle.” And yet there is a very deep psychological need for immortality. The Tree of Life was the tempting counterpart to the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. People are constantly seeking ways to grasp some fragment of immortality. Our physical bodies are indeed fleeting; however, through our souls G-d has placed immortality at the heart of our beings. As the Yizkor verses go on to express, “The dust returns to the earth as it was, but the spirit returns to G-d Who gave it”. How pathetic and empty is any attempt to find immortality in the dust of the physical world. No building, monument, or physical memorial of this world can ever give a person the gift of immortality. The only eternal monuments of our lives are the good deeds we take with us when our immortal souls return to G-d after leaving the physical world, thereby fulfilling the final of the Yizkor verses, “I, in righteousness, will see Your face, and be blessed with a vision of You when I awake.”

4. Article published in Jewish Report
“It is not good for man to be alone.” (Bereishit 2:18). G-d created us to live as social beings, who interact with one another in communities. The most basic community is the very first one formed in history – that of the marriage between Adam and Eve. We all operate within some sort of community: some are very small, like a marriage, or slightly larger, like the family unit comprised of parents and their children. Some communities are much larger, such as a shul or a school. Then there is the national Jewish community and, of course, the broader global Jewish community. As we prepare for a good new year, it is vital that we rededicate ourselves to nurturing and strengthening all of these communities.
One of the outstanding features of South African Jewry is the fact that we go to and are involved with our shuls in much higher proportions than in similar Jewish communities around the world. The first shuls in South Africa were set up as soon as Jews began to arrive. Cape Town’s first shul was established in Gardens in 1863, and Johannesburg’s, on President Street, in 1887. We, the descendants of the brave pioneers who started our first congregations, have inherited their passion and commitment to our shuls. A shul is much more than the sum of its parts. It is comprised of individuals who join together to form a community or, in Hebrew, a kehilla. Thus, a new entity is formed, unifying people around the eternal Divine values of our faith.
The secret to successfully creating and sustaining all these different types of communities, such as marriages, families, shuls or schools, is the same; as the Mishnah in Pirkei Avot (4:14) says in the name of Rabbi Yochanan HaSandlar, “Any community dedicated to Heaven will endure forever.”
What is “a community dedicated to Heaven”? The Tosfot Yom Tov, a classic commentary on the Mishnah, says that dedication to Heaven means putting aside personal interests. A community can thrive only if its members are able to rise above their ego, pride, jealousy and selfishness. The focus has to be for the sake of Heaven and the upholding of Hashem’s values; without this, communities disintegrate. If people are in it for themselves, their interests compete and the resulting tensions place enormous strain on the community, preventing it from achieving success, and even, possibly, destroying the community, completely.
A marriage is successful when both husband and wife are dedicated to Heaven, committed to doing the right thing and caring for one another, and are not in it merely for what they can take for themselves. When husband and wife compete with each other for the fulfilment of their personal interests, their marriage will not endure happily. The same applies to the family. It, too, cannot endure if its members go their own selfish ways; but when unified in their dedication to Heaven, the family unit can hold together all its members. So too a shul or any community organisation can only be successful if there is a willingness to work for the sake of the cause, putting aside petty selfish interests and aspiring to be truly “dedicated to Heaven.”
Another explanation offered by the commentaries is that a “community dedicated to Heaven” refers to the Jews who stood at Mount Sinai when G-d revealed the Torah, and to the successive generations of Jews who have received it and passed it on. Living with Torah values is the formula which has withstood the test of time as the only way to ensure vital and dynamic Jewish communities. This applies broadly to the Jewish people as a national entity, as well to our personal communities, namely, our families. We are well aware of the generation gap between parents and children, and there surely are differences – in tastes of music and clothing, in worldview and technology, and in many other trends and fads. But if the family’s value system in anchored in Torah, then our eternal Torah values have the ability to hold the family together, no matter the differences and no matter the place, time or circumstances.
As we approach the New Year, we as a community and as individuals face many opportunities and challenges, locally in the South African context and more generally as members of the global Jewish people – especially in Israel. In order to meet these challenges and maximise these opportunities, we need to stand together to create and nurture families and communities “dedicated to Heaven”.
Gina and I would like to take this opportunity to wish the entire community a good Yom Tov. May Hashem inscribe and seal us all in the Book of Life, and bestow upon us all His abundant blessings for a good and sweet New Year.

5. Article published in Shul Magazines
Some people think that Rosh Hashanah is a time to reflect on major world events of the previous year and to look ahead to the New Year. In South Africa there have been cabinet reshuffles, e-tolling protests, and a presidential race; in Israel tensions with Iran continue to rise, with terrorist attacks on Israeli targets around the world and Iran’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons.
But Rosh Hashanah is also about our personal lives. In our Rosh Hashanah prayers we say: “Today the world was created,” which refers to the creation of Adam and Eve. In G-d’s eyes, each person is a whole world, and our personal lives are very meaningful to Him. Despite major world events taking place, G-d is interested in each one of us as individuals.
Judaism is about the personal interaction between us and G-d. In fact, the very first word that G-d spoke to us as a people when we stood at the foot of Mount Sinai was anochi, Hebrew for “I”: “I am the L-rd your G-d who took you out of the Land of Egypt.” This is unexpected. Parliamentary statutes establishing the laws governing the country are all phrased in the third person. By beginning the Ten Commandments with the term “I,” G-d set the tone for all times that Judaism is not an impersonal set of rules but a direct connection with Hashem through His mitzvot. According to the Gemara (Shabbat 105a), the Hebrew word anochi is an acronym for the sentence “I give you My soul in these words.” G-d, so to speak, gave us a part of Himself when He gave us the Torah; it is a personal interaction with Him. He loves us, cares about us and is interested in our lives.
All of the mitzvot connect us with Hashem, but the mitzvah of tefillah – prayer – has a special power to do so. The mitzvah to pray is important throughout the year but especially during Rosh Hashanah, when we spend so much time in shul. Prayer is a gift. In the world of politics, everything is about how to gain access to presidents and prime ministers. But G-d, the King of all Kings and Master of the universe, is accessible to each one of us. All we need to do is talk directly to Him with prayer.
This is the awesome opportunity of prayer. G-d waits to hear our words, particularly during the Amidah; hence, we take three steps forward into His presence. One of the laws of the Amidah is that one should whisper so that the words are audible only to oneself but not to others. A whisper connotes intimacy. When we pray, it is a private, one-on-one session with G-d; there is no intermediary. We have direct and immediate access to the King of all Kings every day of our lives. Whenever we want to talk, He is listening.
This remarkable privilege is an invaluable gift. Let us use this gift by praying to G-d daily with our siddur, which is a treasure of uplifting prayers composed by our prophets and sages and which has been a source of inspiration and comfort to Jews for thousands of years. Let us use this gift throughout the year by coming to shul and praying with inspiration, as individuals and as a community.
In the merit of our heartfelt prayers, may Hashem inscribe us all for a good and sweet year filled with all blessings.
6. Article Published in Sunday Times – Covenant of the Rainbow
Tonight is the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashana, and millions of Jews around the world gather in synagogues to welcome the year 5773 with prayer. According to Jewish tradition it is a time when G-d judges the world, and so it is a time for nations and individuals to introspect and repent.
As citizens our understanding of South Africa can be fragmented as we lurch from one headline to the next, one crisis to the next, without seeing a broader moral vision. Politics and policies, personalities and slogans come and go, but there are certain eternal moral principles that underlie an enduring robust society. Rosh Hashana calls on us to return to those founding moral principles given by G-d at the dawn of human civilization.
“The rainbow will be in the clouds and I will see it to recall the eternal covenant between Me and every living soul in all flesh that is on earth” (Genesis 9:13). G-d said these words to Noah and his family as they emerged from the ark after the great flood had destroyed the world. It was a critical juncture of history. The society wiped out by the flood is described by the Hebrew Bible as “filled with violence … G-d saw the earth and behold it was corrupted” (Genesis 6:11,12). That immoral society disintegrated into the waters of the flood, with a message for later generations: without firm moral foundations, society cannot survive. As Noah and his family began rebuilding human civilisation, G-d made a covenant with them and all of future humanity. Through the covenant, symbolized by the rainbow, G-d commanded them to uphold certain fundamental moral principles, and promised not to destroy the world again.
We the “rainbow nation”, like Noah and his family, are rebuilding a society that was destroyed by immorality. Apartheid South Africa, rooted in the evils of racism, eventually disintegrated and was washed away in the flood of local resistance and international sanctions. South Africa needs to rededicate itself to the moral principles of the ‘covenant of the rainbow’, so that we are not engulfed by the same sins of the generation of the great flood: violence and corruption.
But where to begin? It is significant that one of the very first commandments of G-d’s rainbow covenant with Noah and his descendants is the prohibition of murder and the warning of its awful severity “for He made man in the image of G-d” (Genesis 9:7). Life is sacred, special and precious, given by G-d as an irreplaceable gift. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 37a) says “whoever destroys one life it is as if he has destroyed an entire world and whosoever saves one life it is if he has saved an entire world.” The foundational moral principle of the sanctity of human life must therefore be the cornerstone of any civilized society.
Life in South Africa has become cheap. But we have the power to change our country and make the sanctity of life our most precious value. It is a journey that begins with the power of speech. Words create worlds. The way we speak impacts on how we think and behave. Words are the oxygen of human identity on every level, whether emotional, intellectual, social, moral or spiritual. We need to find a new vocabulary, the vocabulary of the sanctity of life. It starts in our homes and how we must speak to our children with reverence about how every human being is precious, and that to save one life is to save a world. We must instil in our children the moral mission of living safely, protecting themselves from disease and appreciating every breath of life as a gift from G-d. When we talk to each other at work and in the streets, it should be with kindness and respect and the words of the sanctity of human life. When journalists report about death it should be in the spirit of the preciousness of each individual and not cold statistics.
Business and union leaders must proclaim publically that ‘to destroy one life is to destroy a world’. From Marikana we should hear the voices which express the moral outrage and pain of the forty five people killed, each one a world, leaving behind a world of bereft parents, spouses and orphans – shattered lives which never fully be healed again. There is no wage dispute that can ever justify the murder of another human being. Labour disputes are a necessary part of modern-day business; but why march with weapons?
‘To save one life is to save a world’ should become the new South African motto for our hospitals, police stations, roads and every aspect of this country. Last year 15493 people were murdered and 14235 killed on the roads. This means that as you read this article today, 81 South Africans will probably have died from these violent causes, and, of their family, friends and communities will be bereft forever. In every address the president and his cabinet ministers must speak about the sanctity of life and the irreplaceable loss created by the death of even one person. Using the vocabulary of the preciousness of life we can inspire a renewed urgency for government and citizens to confront the horrific loss of life that has become a normal – even acceptable – part of our society.
G-d presents us with a stark choice: “I have placed before you life and death, blessing and curse, and you shall choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19). To unleash the awesome potential of this great country find new ways of speaking, thinking and living in a spirit of the sanctity of life. Let the rainbow nation embrace the covenant of the rainbow and let us all “choose life”. .

7. Article Published in Caxton
We often get so entangled in the hassles of day-to-day life that we fail to see the big picture. We need to step outside of our routine activities and preoccupations, and transcend ourselves so that we can assess where we are headed, and properly understand whether we are indeed on the right path. And that is what Rosh Hashana is about.
The Torah was given on a mountain – Sinai – albeit a very low mountain to symbolize humility which is required for the achievement of greatness. Why the image of a mountain? Because when we stand on top of a mountain we have a completely different perspective on the world. We see the big picture. We look at the world and our lives from the lofty vantage point of G-d’s values, which are as solid and eternal as a mountain. So often we get drawn after the changing and fleeting trends of latest fashions of behaviour. Instead we need to be rooted in the timeless and foundational values of G-ds principles for life. On Rosh Hashana we take two days away from the tumult of life to reflect on these values and how we can make them part of our lives.
One such Divine value, for example, is that of gratitude and appreciation. Sometimes we take the most important and basic things for granted. The Talmud says that must even give thanks to G-d for every breath of air that we take into our lungs. We also sometimes take for granted the love and support of those who are closest to us. We need to step back and see the big picture to truly appreciate our spouses, children, parents, siblings and all our loyal friends. Appreciation and gratitude are pillars upon which our most precious relationships stand.
From the transcendent perspective of the mountain of Rosh Hashana we can be inspired to change for the better. Rosh Hashanah is a time of hope. It is a time of change. May G-d bless us all to be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet New Year filled with His abundant blessings.

8. Article Published in Jewish Observer – Israel’s Foreign Policy: Towards a Torah Approach
One of the worst modern libels against the Jewish people and the Jewish State is that Israel is guilty of apartheid. How should Israel and Jews around the world respond? Many take the view that we should ignore such outlandish accusations. Some are guided by the philosophy of Prime Minister David Ben Gurion who said, “It doesn’t matter what the gentiles say, but what the Jews do.” This approach is wrong.
“The Torah speaks in the language of tomorrow,” said Rabbi Mordechai Pinchas Teitz of Elizabeth, New Jersey; we turn to our Torah’s prescient and eternal principles to contend with any challenge. Judaism is not only about religious services, it is also G-d’s blue-print for every aspect of life and society, for all times and places. What is the Torah’s approach to the modern State of Israel’s foreign policy? The Talmud says that “ways of peace” must be the guiding principle of our dealings with the nations of the world and that “eivah”, hatred, towards Jews potentially causes physical danger. Obviously, the almost super-natural persistence of anti-Semitism cannot be blamed on Jewish behaviour, but it is this very reality that obligates extra measures to mitigate its effect. Anything which can generate such high levels of hatred triggers the halachic principle of pikuach nefesh (saving life), which takes priority over almost all mitzvoth. Pikuach nefesh clearly applies today to Israel’s reputation among the nations of the world. For example, military decisions which directly jeopardise the safety of Israeli soldiers and civilians are influenced by public relations considerations. Israel’s poor image also poses a physical threat to Jews around the world. Whenever there is an increase in tension and hostility in the Middle East with its attendant negative publicity, there is an increase in anti-Semitic incidents worldwide, many of which endanger lives.
The apartheid lie, in particular, poses an existential threat to Israel. Like any South African who lived through the anti-apartheid sanctions campaign, especially during the 1980s, I saw first-hand how the morale of the National Party regime and its supporters was drastically weakened. Sanctions damaged the economy, but also humiliated white South Africans. As trivial as it sounds, even the embarrassment of the boycott of international music celebrities and sports teams had a detrimental effect on the white population’s will to continue. And that was at a time where South Africa faced no military threat. Such an international campaign against Israel could, G-d forbid, seriously undermine the will of Israelis to risk their lives in defence of a perceived pariah State. The stakes could not be higher.
There is another halachic principle guiding us: the mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem, sanctifying G-d’s name, which mandates promoting the truth of Torah and the reputation of the Jewish people and of Hashem. The apartheid accusation—the reincarnation of the disgraceful United Nations “Zionism is Racism” Resolution of 1975—is a chillul Hashem, a desecration of G-d’s name, because it seeks to bring the Jewish people into disrepute in the most fundamental way, striking at the heart of our core values. It accuses the Jewish people of desecrating one of the founding principles of creation: that, in the words of the Mishnah (Pirkei Avot 3:18), “Beloved is the human being created in G-d’s image.” It is our Torah which gave the world the very notion of equality and dignity, as the famous Catholic historian, Paul Johnson wrote: “To them [the Jews] we owe the idea of equality before the law, both divine and human; of the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person; of the individual conscience and so of social responsibility; of peace as an abstract ideal and love as the foundation of justice and many other items which constitute the basic moral furniture of the human mind. Without the Jews it might have been a much emptier place.” Johnson errs in ascribing these insights to the Jews themselves; Jewish law’s righteousness comes from its Divine origins, as the Torah says (Deuteronomy 4:8): “And which is a great nation that has righteous statutes and laws such as this entire Torah that I place before you this day?”
The Government of Israel and Jews around the world must embrace our Torah duty and redouble our efforts in responding to defamatory accusations. We must never underestimate how very powerful and dangerous lies can be As Joseph Goebbels said, “If you repeat a lie often enough it becomes the truth.” Although the apartheid defamation is outrageously false, we cannot leave it unchallenged. Throughout our history the most outlandish lies have become true in the minds of the masses, and have caused terrible atrocities. What could be more ridiculous than the blood libels of Europe? Yet this did not make them any less dangerous. The apartheid and racism accusation is nothing short of a modern blood libel.
Many diaspora communities have joined the battle to defend the reputation of Israel. I am proud of the South African Jewish community’s sterling work through its various organizations in this regard, such as discrediting the Russell Tribunal and fighting the labelling of goods from the so-called West Bank. Each individual member of our community must also make every effort to defend Israel against these unfair and untrue attacks. But the ultimate responsibility rests on the Government of Israel, which must to harness the full might of its strategic, financial and human resources in order to fight the battle of defending Israel’s reputation. It is a halachic imperative, and the Torah’s principles must be applied in crafting truly Jewish policies governing Israel’s diplomacy.
There is much fertile ground for anti-Semitism in the world and the odds in the public relations battle we must wage seem overwhelmingly against us. But the many military battles Israel has fought and won have been no less daunting and yet this tiny country has over many decades, with G-d’s help, established itself as one of the world’s strongest military powers. Israel needs to invest the same kind of financial, human and strategic resources and brain-power in establishing the world’s best diplomatic army in order to defend Israel’s reputation and especially to fight the current international boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign, which poses an existential threat to the future of the Jewish State and endangers Jews everywhere. Our enemies understand all of this, which is why they invest so much time, money and effort in the campaign.
How ironic that the Jewish state has won the war of guns and tanks, but hopelessly lost the war of words and ideas. We cannot accept defeat in the war of diplomacy and public relations; for without victory in this arena, the military battle can never truly be won and the Jewish State and Jews around the world can never truly be safe. A Jewish State needs a Jewish foreign policy. The time has come to move away from the philosophy of David Ben Gurion and go back to our Torah philosophy of how to engage with the world, guided by the mitzvah of pikuach nefesh and “ways of peace,” preventing hatred and promoting the cause of truth, and performing a true Kiddush Hashem.

 

 

Rosh HaShana Articles 2013 / 5774
1. Article Published in Jewish Tradition – The Power of Connection
Shabbat is about the power of connection. It holds our lives together. It connects us with Hashem and holds our families together. Its rhythm unites Jewish communities around the world; we all read the same parsha together and there a universal structure of the week, which holds the Jewish people together, and creates a wonderful, warm, loving atmosphere at the centre of our lives.
The entire system of Judaism, says Rav Shlomo Wolbe, can be crystalized into one overarching principle: olam hayedidut – “the world of loving friendship”, between us and G-d, between us and our fellow human beings and between us and ourselves. This description applies to all of Judaism. As we know, a major portion of the Torah’s commandments are mitzvot bein adam lachaveiro, between a person and another; this is olam hayedidut, a world of loving friendship, between people. Another major portion of mitzvot are those bein adam laMakom, the responsibilities that we have towards G-d; a world of loving friendship – between us and Hashem.
When G-d gives us commandments He is not instructing us as a legislator imposing laws upon his submissive and fearful subjects. Rather, He is like a loving parent who instructs and guides out of care and concern, to give us, His children, the best opportunity to live the best life possible. When we keep His mitzvot, it is within the context of this world of loving friendship. Just as we do things for people we love – a husband for a wife and a wife for a husband, parents for children and children for parents – so too, says Rav Wolbe, we keep the mitzvot in the context of our relationship with G-d, in the world of loving friendship.
Rav Wolbe says that Shabbat in particular is about yedidut; it is a day of loving friendship, as we say this in one of the zemirot sung, Ma yedidut menuchatech, “How beloved is your rest.” It is a day to step out of the pressures of the week and reconnect with ourselves, with family and with Hashem. By relieving us of all the work that burdens us during the week, we are free to focus on our most important relationships. Throughout the week we are so busy doing and achieving that we don’t have a chance just to “be” and to connect with those whom we love. On Shabbat we take a break from the rough and tumble of life and reconnect with Hashem and His Torah – our inspiring spiritual heritage.
These ideas are captured perfectly in the words of the siddur, which describes Shabbat as “a rest of love and generosity … peace and tranquillity, calm and trust.” The essence of Shabbat is love and generosity, harmony and unity. It brings people together in a social sense but also in a spiritual, existential sense as it strengthens our relationships to each other and to G-d, the connections which define our very essence.
As we prepare for the “days of awe”, judgement and repentance, let us as a community to embrace and pledge our commitment to “The Shabbat Project” which is so beautifully set out in the rest of this publication. In the great merit of us doing so with full hearts, may Hashem inscribe us all for a good and sweet year filled with His blessings.

2. Article Published in Jewish Life – The ”New Face” of Shabbos
At a wedding, under the chupah and then at the reception afterwards, we recite the famous ‘sheva berachot’ – the seven blessings of praise and thanksgiving to G-d for creating marriage, family and love. We repeat these blessings at each festive meal held throughout the week following the wedding, fittingly known as the week of sheva berachot.
The halacha requires that during the week of sheva berachot we only say the seven blessings if we have panim chadashot, literally “a new face,” meaning that there is someone present at the meal who did not attend the wedding. Because the blessings have already been said at the wedding, the only justification to repeat them is when there is someone new present to share in and add to the joy of the newly-weds. Interestingly, Shabbat is an exception to this rule; on Shabbat we do not need panim chadashot for the sheva berachot because Shabbat itself brings to the occasion the dimension of “a new face.” What “new face” does Shabbat bring to the occasion?
Hashem began the giving of the Torah with The Ten Commandments – in Hebrew, the Aseret HaDibrot, literally “the ten statements”. There is another set of “ten statements” – the ten statements with which G-d created the world. Pirkei Avot (5:1) states, Ba’asara ma’amarot nivra ha’olam, “The world was created with ten statements.” G-d created everything in the world through words. If you look in the first chapter of Genesis, you will find G-d made ten statements (such as “let there be light”) through which the whole world was created.
Rav Yitzchak Hutner, one of our great rabbinic thinkers of the twentieth century, explains that it is not coincidental that both the initial commandments received at Mount Sinai and the statements with which G-d created the world number ten. Indeed, there is a very important link between them: the one is the purpose of the other. The ten statements with which the world was created actually paved the way for the Ten Commandments. The world was created so that it could be an arena for the service of G-d, so that the values and mitzvot of the Torah could find expression in a physical world.
This link between the ten statements and the Ten Commandments reflects the deeper, hidden reality of the world. One could look at the world, see it in purely physical terms, and actually miss the very purpose for which it was created. The physical aspects of the world seem dominant and independent of G-d. This is illusory, but because the physical world is so obvious and real, some people sever it from G-d, its Creator, and disconnect human life from its moral purpose which is fulfilled through living in accordance with Hashem’s will as revealed through His mitzvot. The physical world often masks the spiritual and moral world. Our task, then, is to see past the physical and discover the hidden, spiritual reality of the world, to reveal the underlying Divine purpose of the physical creation. How do we accomplish this?
This, says Rav Hutner, is what Shabbos is about. On Shabbos, the ten statements with which the world was created give up their dominance; G-d stopped creating so the ten statements could recede. By minimizing physical creative forces, we are able to see what the real purpose of Creation is. By way of analogy, we intuitively block out background noise when we are trying to hear what someone is saying; we need the noise level to drop in order to concentrate. Often the noise of human creativity and every-day business is so loud that it drowns out who we are and what our ultimate purpose is. The cacophony of life must recede so that we can actually discern our true purpose in the world. And so G-d created Shabbos, the one day a week when the noise fades. He stopped creating and we, too, cease from physically creating; hence we refrain from doing melacha, the thirty-nine categories of work forbidden on Shabbos. Melacha is concerned with human creativity controlling nature; on Shabbos all of that creativity ceases. The world quietens. Once the noise and distraction disappear, the hidden, spiritual reality of the world emerges for us.
This spiritual reality is most visible on the human face. The human being, like the world, is a physical being. Yet we know that each person has a spiritual reality, and that is the neshama. The neshama is buried deep within a person, but we get a glimpse of it through their facial glow. The neshama shines from the face, and this is why when a person dies, their face becomes ashen. Anyone who has seen a dead body can tell you that the departed’s face turns pallid the moment the neshama, leaves the body. The glow of life is unique to human beings. Animals have a life force, but they don’t have a neshama, reflected in the glow of the human face.
Shabbos connects to that glow on the face. In the beginning of the book of Genesis we read about how G-d sanctified Shabbat. The Midrash comments that G-d sanctified it with Maor panav shel adam, “the shining face of man.” On Shabbat the world goes quiet because every-day freneticism and physical creativity abate, thus allowing for a person’s true reality – the soul – to come to the fore. The body of the world is the ten statements with which it was created, but the world’s “soul” is G-d’s word, as expressed in the Ten Commandments. Similarly, the body is the physical aspect of a person whilst the soul is the spiritual dimension which G-d has placed within each of us; on Shabbat that shines through. A person becomes truly human on Shabbat. During the week we are so busy, distracted by, and caught up in the noisiness of the world, that the true essence of who we are, is often smothered. But, on Shabbat as we put aside the frantic activity of the week. the neshama can shine.
Rav Hutner explains that this is why Shabbat is called panim chadashot; a “new face.” During the week of sheva berachot we need to have someone new at the meal. But on Shabbat the world is renewed and every person is created anew; therefore even if there are no new people at the sheva berachot meal, we can still say the seven blessings because on Shabbat everyone becomes a new person, everyone has a “new face”; indeed it changes the world. It enables our true selves and the true reality of the world to shine forth in all its glory.
This insight into the importance of Shabbat is particularly relevant in today’s times. During the week we often become busy and disconnected from those around us and from Hashem and His values to the extent that we lose touch with who we are and what the purpose of life is; we can lose our sense of direction. We lose touch with our neshama, our true essence, with our loved ones, with our community and with G-d. But then comes Shabbat, enabling us to find our sense of self, to look past the physical externalities and return to the inner reality of our souls and the world around us. It is the one day a week in which we can become ourselves again and reconnect with family, community and G-d. We realise again that a human being is not just a physical body; that we are so much more than the clothes we wear and the possessions we own. Within all the physical externality lies a soul, whose ultimate purpose it is to see past the physical world whilst striving to make it a better place by doing good deeds.
Certainly Shabbos brings with it physical rejuvenation through sleep and eating well, but more importantly, it brings too a deep and profound spiritual invigoration. This is why, as the Gemara teaches us, on Shabbos we get a neshama yeteira, an extra soul. The extra soul is a manifestation of the spiritual reality that comes to the fore on Shabbos. By reconnecting us with the true spiritual reality of ourselves and of the world, Shabbat uplifts us and renews our energy for the upcoming week, allowing us to emerge as new people, revived and ready to meet the challenges and opportunities of life.
As we prepare for the “days of awe”, judgement and repentance, let us as a community embrace and pledge our commitment to “The Shabbos Project”. In the great merit of us doing so with full hearts, may Hashem inscribe all us all for a good and sweet year filled with His blessings.

3. Article Published in Jewish Observer – The Energy of Creativity
The seven-day week cycle is now universally accepted around the world. But it was not always so. There were times in history when societies tried other units of time for the week, for example ten days. Seven days is the only cycle of time which is not connected to a cycle of nature, such as a month which is based on the moon, or a year which is based on the sun. It is thus significant that the seven-day week, which comes from the Torah, is now adhered to world-wide.
The first six days of the week correspond to the six days of Creation; the seventh day – Shabbat – relates to G-d’s resting on the seventh day. By establishing a seven-day cycle, G-d teaches us to be creators like Him as we move within the same time-cycle with which He created the world.
Rav Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin says that the seven-day week symbolises our partnership with G-d in Creation. The Gemara (Shabbat 119b) says that when a person says Vayechulu – the first paragraph of the kiddush on Friday night – “it is as if he has become a partner with the Holy One, Blessed Be He, in Creation.” By saying these words in kiddush we declare that we are keeping Shabbat as a holy day because G-d created the world in six days and rested on the seventh.
By operating within the same cycle that He used in the creation of the world, our role and status as His partners is manifest. We are called upon to become G-d’s partners in continuing the process of creating and improving this world.
Rav Tzadok says that the way we fulfil the mandate of being G-d’s partners in Creation is through the mitzvot. He cites the Mishnah (Pirkei Avot 1:2) which says, “The world stands on three things: Torah, avoda and gemilut chasadim” – Torah study, service of G-d (i.e. through prayer) and loving kindness. Rav Tzadok says that these three mitzvot represent major principles which impact on Judaism’s entire system: Torah study gives us the philosophical framework to understand G-d’s worldview; prayer refers to the emotional and spiritual connection to G-d; and the acts of loving kindness represent all of the practical, physical mitzvot. He discusses at length how these three pillars of the world encapsulate all of the 613 commandments and constitute our call to action to be G-d’s co-creators. The more mitzvot and good deeds that we do in this world, the more we elevate ourselves and the world around us.
Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik applies the idea of partnership with G-d more widely than Rav Tzadok. We know that the Torah is not merely a history book but an instruction manual for life. Given this, asks Rav Soloveitchik, why is the first chapter in Genesis seemingly void of any mitzot and guidelines on how to behave? The beginning of Genesis appears to be a history of the creation of the world. If, as the term Torah implies, it is a book of hora’a – a book of instruction and practical guidelines – what instructions are there in the events of Creation?
Rav Soloveitchik answers that, inherent in this chapter, is the mitzva to imitate G-d and become creators like Him. He mentions the specific commandment of vehalachta bidrachav, “you shall walk in His ways,” which the Gemara interprets primarily in the context of chesed, loving kindness: “Just as He is compassionate, so too shall you be compassionate; just as He visits the sick and comforts the mourners, so too shall you.” Rav Soloveitchik applies this principle of the Gemara to the area of creativity as well: G-d is a Creator and therefore each of us must be a creator like Him. G-d said, “Let there be light,” and so we have to bring light where there is darkness; He created a world, so too must we summon all our powers of creativity to advance civilisation – be it in medicine, engineering, technology or any other human endeavour. We must use our creativity and ingenuity to improve the world for the benefit of all humankind. In so doing, we imitate G-d; just as He is the Creator, we become creators as well.
This accords with what Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch says regarding the common denominator shared by all of the thirty-nine categories of work prohibited on Shabbat; he explains that they are all acts of creativity that impose human will on the physical world. For six days we do melacha and on the seventh day we rest. Six days we are creative like G-d, advancing civilisation, developing society and doing whatever is necessary to improve the world. But on Shabbat we cease from all of this, modelling ourselves on G-d, Who rested on the seventh day.
If our purpose is to be partners with G-d in Creation, what then, is the role of Shabbat? What is productive or creative about a day of rest? Conventional wisdom is that productivity entails tangible activity – making money or creating things that we can touch and feel. Yet by G-d creating Shabbat and the concept of rest on the seventh day, He taught us that creativity is not just what we produce physically but is also an internal, intangible process as well. On every day of the week, G-d made physical phenomena – the land, sea, animals, stars and everything else in the world; and although it seems that He did not create anything on the seventh day, He did in fact,, namely Shabbat and the concept of rest. Thus, Creation was completed on the seventh day even though nothing tangible was created.
Unfortunately, in today’s materialistic society, many measure themselves only by concrete productivity. People think that unless they are producing something that can be touched, measured or priced, they are not being effective or constructive. There are two kinds of creativity, external and internal, and both are important. Productivity and creativity are neither defined nor measured by physical, tangible outcomes alone, but by internal, emotional, intellectual and spiritual processes that assist us in becoming better human beings.
Shabbat gives us the space and time free from the distractions, demands and pressures of daily life, so that we can develop who we are internally, and this is no less a creative process than our productivity during the week. When we desist from all physical creativity on Shabbat, we are then free to create a renewed spiritual and emotional identity, which imbues us with inspiration and peace of mind that comes with living a life of purpose. When we take time out on Shabbat to sit, sing and talk together as a family our most precious relationships are nurtured, and we draw the comfort and emotional well-being which comes from these loving bonds. When we learn Torah together, and pray with our communities on Shabbat we are enriched and inspired by connecting to Hashem and to our awesome spiritual heritage. All of this is a different kind of creativity, and offers us all the opportunity every week to transform and uplift every dimension of our lives in the most profound and exciting way.

4. Article Published in Jewish Report – The Shabbos Project
Something amazing is happening in our community. Something that is going to unify Jews right across the spectrum, and from all backgrounds. It’s audacious and has never been tried before. It’s so powerful and yet so simple: for the South African Jewish Community to keep one Shabbos together from Friday afternoon sundown 11 October to Saturday night 12 October when the stars are out. It’s called “The Shabbos Project – Keeping it Together”.
But why Shabbos? And what’s the whole idea behind this initiative of thousands of South African Jews keeping one Shabbos together? To answer these questions we have composed The Shabbos Project Manifesto which declares:
Together we will keep the Shabbos of 11/12 October from sundown to stars out.
We will keep it in its entirety, in all of its detail and splendor as set out in The Code of Jewish Laws.
Its rhythm will unite us with each other, with Jews around the world and throughout the ages.
On this day we will create a warm and loving space, holding our families together.
On this day we will lay down the burdens, distractions, demands and pressures of daily life.
On this day we will renew ourselves, emerging spiritually, emotionally and physically invigorated.
On this day we will own our precious heritage, wearing it as a badge of pride and honour.
Together we embark on this great adventure to rediscover our G-d-given gift of Shabbos.
The Manifesto aims to give us all unity and clarity of purpose as we go forward to keep the Shabbos together.
The Shabbos Project is about “keeping it together” – not just Shabbos keeping us together, but all of us keeping it together. Because that is the idea: all South African Jews coming together from across the spectrum – religious, secular, traditional; young and old – to keep Shabbos as a community. There is such a wonderful energy we generate when we do things together as one united community. Families and friends sharing this experience together makes it even more special and memorable.
Imagine thousands of Jews across the country keeping the same Shabbos. Imagine the inspiration. Imagine the sense of unity. Of course, in keeping Shabbos together, we will not only be connecting with all of South African Jewry, but with Jews in every generation across every historic era since the Torah was given at Mount Sinai 3326 years ago.
But there is another meaning to “Keeping it together”.
Modern life has become fragmented; we are constantly pulled in different directions by distractions, demands and onerous responsibilities that pile up with increasing speed. We are now dealing with lightning-paced, ubiquitous communication channels, our attentions overwhelmed by the cacophony around us, while our lives buckle under the strain. And it’s not just communication, but the entire set-up of our modern world. Families struggle to find time to sit down to a meal together and just talk and be together. We seldom get the chance to “be there” – all there, all at once.
Into a world of fragmentation, Shabbos enters to offer us that chance. On Shabbos, we set aside time to revisit and reinvigorate our most important relationships – with G-d, with our families, with our friends and, actually, with ourselves. Through Shabbos, we keep it – our lives – together.
In order to make the Shabbos Project real, manageable and accessible to everybody we have created a vast array of resources and content across a wide range of platforms to get you started. We have written an official guide book (which will be available at your shul on Rosh Hashana) for the why and the how of Shabbos and we have created a Tool Kit to accompany you through your Shabbos experience. And then there is even the option to find a coach or a host to enhance the Shabbos experience or you can become a coach or a host for somebody else. And for any questions you may have we have set up a hot line 011 242-5550 that you can call and get answers right away.

5. Article Published in Cape Jewish Chronicle – A Year of Physical and Spiritual Pleasure
Is pleasure compatible with holiness? Shabbat is even more holy than Yom Kippur and yet it is a day filled with physical pleasure: the kiddush on Friday night is recited on wine; there is a mitzvah to have three festive meals, to wear special clothes, and to enjoy the day to the utmost. How do we understand this?
Shabbat is a day of creating balance in our lives by integrating two powerful forces of the human being – physical and spiritual. Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, the Alter of Slabodka, says that the concepts of holiness and pleasure are actually linked; although we tend to think of the two as incongruent, the holiness of Shabbat manifests itself in the physical pleasures of the day and teaches us that the two are interconnected.
There is a partnership between the physical world and holiness. Most of our mitzvot involve physical actions and objects: ‘tzedaka’ is fulfilled with money, ‘chesed’ with actions such as visiting the sick and speaking words of kindness , ‘matzah’ is eaten, ‘tephilin’ are worn, candles are lit. Judaism suffuses and uplifts every aspect of life with good deeds.
Good deeds transform fleeting physical experiences and objects into an eternal and meaningful legacy; and paradoxically good deeds also enable us to truly enjoy life. The Vilna Gaon compares the physical pleasures of this world and the pursuit of materialism to drinking salt water: the more you drink, the thirstier you become. Consuming and experiencing the most indulgent luxuries or enticing pleasures can never fill a person’s soul. There remains a gnawing emptiness at the heart of a life disconnected from the spirituality and values of the Torah. There is a reciprocal relationship between the physical and the spiritual – the more Torah and spirituality there is, the more one can enjoy the physical world; and if one enjoys the physical world through spirituality, one reaches a higher level of Torah.
Shabbat teaches us this philosophy for life. Together with its special food, fine clothing, sleep and all of the pleasures of the physical world, it is also a day of holiness, a day of praying and learning Torah, a day of connecting to family with love. It is a day when we eat, pray and love. We drink the wine but we sanctify it by saying kiddush on it. We have three festive meals but they are part of the mitzvah of celebrating Shabbat. Shabbat enables us to experience profound satisfaction with the pleasures of the physical world, because on Shabbat everything is uplifted.
Shabbat gives us an opportunity to view life from the proper perspective, and this is why our Sages regard it as one of the Torah’s most important mitzvot. It has a profound impact, which spills over into the rest of the week. It is the microcosm of life, the model of how to live, and if we internalise its message our lives will be transformed for the good. Shabbat teaches us that when the physical and spiritual come together, both are uplifted, and that this is how we live in the fullest and happiest way.
As we prepare for Rosh Hashana, let us in a spirit of unity as the South African Jewish community embrace and pledge our commitment to “The Shabbos Project”, which is described in the rest of this publication. In the great merit of us doing so with full hearts, may Hashem inscribe us all for a good and sweet year filled with His abundant blessings.

6. Article Published in Shul Magazines – Refreshing our Lives
Shabbat is about the power of newness. One can often feel jaded by the vicissitudes of life, and even bored and stale by its monotony. Shabbat is about renewing our inspiration with life and refreshing ourselves, not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well, so that we can emerge on Saturday night like new human beings.
There is one word that says it all; and it is found in this verse: “The Children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, making it a day of rest … because six days the L-rd made heaven and earth and on the seventh day He stopped and rested vayinafash.” (Shemot 31:17). The word vayinafash literally means “and He was refreshed”. Obviously, the term is used symbolically for our benefit because G-d never needs to rest. The word vayinafash captures the essence of what Shabbat is. It means to be refreshed, to be given new life and energy, on all levels – spiritual, emotional and physical.
On Shabbat, away from all the distractions and demands of daily life with its onerous responsibilities, we rediscover ourselves and our loved ones, and our core values in a way that is profoundly refreshing; not merely in the physical sense of good food, sleep and relaxation but also emotionally and spiritually. We reconnect with our most important relationships, with G-d, with our families, friends and, actually, with ourselves. On Shabbat we eat, pray and love, and we emerge every week with renewed energy in every aspect of who we are. We step out of the rush, pressure and frenzy of our daily lives to appreciate our blessings and to look at our lives with fresh eyes, and when we do that we ourselves become refreshed and energised.
Shabbat teaches us to see the world as new and fresh because it is a weekly celebration of G-d’s creation of the world. G-d wants us to live in a seven day cycle with the newness and freshness of the world because this enables us to live with a renewed sense of inspiration. Creation is not a distant memory, but something we live with every moment of the day. Life is a gift; as our Sages teach us we give grateful thanks to Hashem “for every breath”. This awareness can open our eyes and heighten our sensitivity so that we take nothing for granted and are inspired to view the world and our lives not as something static but as something alive and dynamic, and to see every day as a fresh blessing from G-d.
As we prepare for the “days of awe”, judgement and repentance, let us as a community to embrace and pledge our commitment to “The Shabbat Project”. In the great merit of us doing so with full hearts, may Hashem inscribe all us all for a good and sweet year filled with His blessings.
With warmest Rosh HaShana wishes to all.

7. Article Published in Paarl Post
This is a time of opportunity. As we approach Rosh Hashanah we enter a time of the promise of change and renewal. G-d judges the world and we strive to improve. We need to constantly refresh ourselves and to stay young. Being young is not about age, but about an approach to life.
The Talmud says that a child learns Torah like ink written on new parchment, and an old person learns like ink written on parchment that has had many erasings. When a scribe corrects the writing on parchment he uses a sharp instrument to scrape away the old letters and so, over time, after many corrections to the parchment, it begins to look scuffed and jaded.
The Talmud uses this image to convey to us an important paradigm in life: Those who are young in their approach to life, whatever their physical age, are like fresh parchment, while those who are old in their attitude are like old parchment, scuffed and jaded by life. Being young means being excited, open to change, open to growth, and improvement in our life and closeness to G-d and His values.
There are many young people – even children and teenagers – who approach life like old parchment: cynical, disinterested, and uninspired. On Rosh HaShanah we have the opportunity of renewing our lives with fresh perspectives and new actions as we strive to return to G-d through “teshuva”, which is often translated as “repentance”, but which more accurately means “return”. The profound concept of teshuva includes returning to life filled with energy and enthusiasm.
As we look ahead to the new year, we face many challenges and opportunities. We must be dynamic, pro-active and passionate in our quest for renewal, improvement and excellence. We must strive to become better people in every area of our lives: to be more dedicated to family, to be kinder and more generous, to be healthier, to go to Shul more often and pray with greater devotion, to become more elevated and inspired. In this merit, may G-d inscribe and seal us all for a year of life, goodness and His abundant blessings.

 

8. Article Published in The Star – Family First
How to create a truly great country? Of course, service delivery, health, education, the economy, and many of the other areas of government and societal activities are crucial to building a successful country. But at the heart of the success of all those areas of national striving, are great people of integrity, character, diligence, ambition and compassion; and great people like these are created and nurtured in strong and loving families. And so, the key to success for South Africa’s future is in strengthening the network of millions of South African families across the length and breadth of our country. But how?
Family must become our number one priority as nation. Tonight begins the Jewish New Year called Rosh Hashana. It is a time of introspection, of reevaluating our priorities in life. An important message at this time of year is that our top priority as individuals and as a society must be enhancing the bonds of family. Every government or civil society action or statement needs to be assessed in terms of its impact on the family as the most important social institution of human civilization. We must debate and explore ways to strengthen and enhance the connection of love and loyalty in our families.
Here is one simple way to start. The oxygen of a healthy family is time together. And not merely time of physically being in each other’s presence but quality time of connection and engagement, a time of bonding and talking, of sharing each other’s dreams and anxieties, hopes and concerns about life today and tomorrow.
And yet, such a simple solution is increasingly illusive. Quality time together seems to be one of the rarest commodities in the modern world. Modern life has become fragmented; we are constantly pulled in different directions by demands and onerous responsibilities that pile up with increasing speed. We are now dealing with lightning paced ubiquitous communication channels. Our attention spans are overwhelmed by the cacophony around us while our lives buckle under the strain of financial and other pressures. And it is not just communication but the entire set up of our modern world. Many families never have meals together anymore, and even for those that do, meal times often become like filling stations as people grab food on the run, distracted by their phones, computers and televisions. It has become more and more difficult to create space and time to really bond and connect.
So what can be done? Perhaps an aspect of the answer lies in something that Jews hold holy and have lived by for thousands of years. The Sabbath is an ancient institution that was given by G-d at Mount Sinai 3326 years ago. It says in the Ten Commandments, “Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy … You shall do no work.” The Talmud defines “work” as thirty nine categories of physically creative acts, such as lighting a fire, writing and others. For generations Jews have been keeping the Sabbath as a holy day, applying the ancient principles of the concept of “work” to changing local circumstances. In the modern world the laws of Sabbath today mean that from sundown on Friday afternoon until the stars are out on Saturday night, we do not drive cars or switch on electricity, use cell phones, televisions or any other gadgets. The Sabbath – Jews call it Shabbos – creates an island of time of connection for families amidst a world of fragmentation. On Shabbos because of the laws of the day, we actually get a chance, as families, to reconnect and revisit and reinvigorate our most important relationships. This happens at the three festive Sabbath meals when families sit around the table sharing the tribulations and triumphs of the week gone by, sharing Torah values and thoughts, debating and laughing and singing together. It happens when families walk to synagogue together, instead of driving. Not being able to drive a car on Shabbos may seem restrictive but it actually frees one to enjoy a day without frantic travel, traffic and errands; it enables families to take a leisurely stroll together. Not being allowed to go to work means that we can enjoy a day without appointments and commitments, spending it with family.
The Jewish community is embarking upon an initiative called The Shabbos Project (www.theshabbosproject.org), to keep the Sabbath of 11/12 October together. It is a campaign to strengthen the awareness and understanding and observance of the Sabbath within the Jewish community. The Shabbos Project has a Manifesto, one clause of which states as follows: “On this day we will create a warm and loving space, holding our families together”.
The Sabbath has many other ideas which it conveys, and it is rooted within a wider religious value-system specific to the Jewish community, but the notion of securing sacred uninterrupted time together for families is universal and absolutely vital if we are to nurture strong and loving families. Communities around the country need to rally and find ways of strengthening their families, carving out the time to be together and to reconnect. Mothers and father need to take responsibility to create space and time which is completely devoted to bonding and connection for the whole family. This is an urgent need and top priority for the sake of the new generation of South African children – let every child of our diverse communities grow up in the loving embrace of a warm strong family, in an atmosphere of engagement not distraction, love not dislocation, awareness not distraction, loyalty not expedience, belonging not alienation.

Rosh HaShana Articles 2014 / 5775
1. Article published in Jewish Tradition
Last year the South African Jewish community made history. News of our inspiring experience of The Shabbos Project spread like wild fire around the Jewish world. E-mails from Jewish communities in different parts of the globe came pouring in saying how inspired they were by us and by how our community embraced The Shabbos Project, and how they would so much like to have a Shabbos Project experience for themselves.
And so this year as we prepare for The Shabbos Project which will be taking place, please G-d, on the Shabbos of 24/25 October, parshat Noach, communities in more than 340 cities around the world will be joining us. It is our mission to lead and show the way for what can be done.
What made our Shabbos Project experience last year so powerful was that men, women and children across our community made it their own. It had not become a community project that is presented to a passive audience receiving it. The Shabbos Project was created by the spontaneous and proactive embrace of the experience by Jews from across the full diverse spectrum of our community. People spontaneously organised Shabbos dinners in their gardens and streets, at shuls; they invited each other and decided amongst families to go ahead and take the lead and become fully immersed in the experience. As we prepared to do the same for this year’s Shabbos Project, it becomes a very important message and symbol for our day-to-day lives as we prepare for Rosh HaShana and new year’s resolutions.
The mishna in Pirkei Avot famously says in the name of the great sage Hillel, “if I am not for myself then who will be for me?” Rabbeinu Yona (12:10 – 12:63) says that this refers to our mitzvot. Each and every one of us has to take personal responsibility for our mitzvot, for our good deeds, for our relationship with Hashem and with those around us. As we come before Hashem on Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, we stand accountable for all of our deeds and thoughts throughout the year. We do so in a one-on-one experience. Certainly there is a great merit in being part of the community, which is why we pray together and hear the shofar together. But after all is said and done each and every single one of us needs to take personal responsibility for our lives and to be proactive and not rely on those around us to do our mitzvot for us. We are responsible for our own mitzvot. We are responsible for our own lives and duties before Hashem.
This atmosphere of proactive, personal responsibility is what made The Shabbos Project so remarkably successful last year. Let us, as a community, as we prepare for this year’s Shabbos Project, summon the same spirit of proactive, creative and energetic responsibility for embracing The Shabbos Project and leading the world in showing how it can be done. Let this spirit of personal proactive responsibility fill our lives in the new year, and in this merit may Hashem indeed bless us all to be signed and sealed for a good and sweet year, filled with His abundant goodness.
2. Article published in the Jewish Report
It was a decision that changed everything, yet had to be made on the spur of the moment and its consequences are still felt almost 2,000 years later. The Roman Empire had invaded the Land of Israel and surrounded Jerusalem. Vespasian, the Roman military commander in Judea, had just been appointed emperor. He had deep respect for Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, the great Talmudic scholar and leader of the Jewish people, and so granted him one request, including the possibility of saving Jerusalem and the Temple. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai boldly requested, “Give me Yavneh and her sages.” (Gemara Gittin 56b). He believed that Torah learning is vital to the Jewish future, that it is our lifeblood and the secret to our continuity.
Jewish history has vindicated the seemingly controversial decision of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai: it is an undisputable fact that throughout the centuries since then, communities and individuals for whom Torah learning has been a central value and way of life, are the ones who have survived and thrived; they have been beacons of vitality, growth and inspiration. The depth and breadth of Torah learning going on in the South African Jewish community is an important sign of our vibrancy and strength, and bodes well for a future of vitality and growth. We have much to be proud of and grateful for. As we approach Rosh HaShana with all of our resolutions for the new year, let us all commit to enjoy the full benefit of the wonderful Torah learning programs offered by our shuls.
Torah learning is spiritually, intellectually and emotionally refreshing. The Mishnah in Pirkei Avot (6:1) says that a Torah scholar is like a ma’ayan hamitgaber, a spring which flows stronger and stronger. Rav Chaim Volozhiner explains the analogy: even if there is mud covering the spring, the waters will burst forth and wash away the mud until the spring returns to flow as it did before. Like an overflowing spring the life-giving waters of Torah give us increasing strength. As long as the fresh waters of pure Torah are pumping, they will cleanse all impurities, uplift us, and bring renewed vitality. Thus, according to the Midrash (Eichah Rabbah), G-d says, “Even if they were to leave Me but would learn my Torah, the light within it will return them to the good.” Torah learning changes our perspective on life and enables us to understand Hashem’s worldview, thus bringing us closer to Him.
The poignant prayer of Avinu Malkeinu, Our Father Our King, refers to two different aspects of our relationship with Hashem. Rav Chaim Volozhiner explains that describing G-d as a king reflects our identity as His loyal servants who must obey His commandments, even against our will; describing Hashem as a father refers to our identity as His children, which reflects a relationship of love and closeness. When we learn Torah, we relate to Hashem as a caring Father who lovingly explains to His children how to live and why. As we learn Torah we gain a better understanding of His instructions, guidance and wisdom for our lives. The exact sequence of the wording is significant: we refer to Hashem first as our Father and then as our King.
This Rosh HaShana let us all resolve for the new year to rejuvenate and inspire ourselves by embracing and participating in the Torah learning opportunities available across our community. In this merit may Hashem inscribe and seal us all for a good and sweet year filled with all blessings.
3. Article published in The Star and Independent Newspapers
This week is the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashana, and millions of Jews around the world gather in synagogues to welcome the year 5775 with prayer. According to Jewish tradition it is a time when G-d judges the world, and so it is a time for nations and individuals to introspect and repent.
As citizens our understanding of South Africa can be fragmented as we lurch from one headline to the next, one crisis to the next, without seeing a broader moral vision. Politics and policies, personalities and slogans come and go, but there are certain eternal moral principles that underlie an enduring robust society. Rosh Hashana calls on us to return to these key moral values. Part of answering this call is to give our full attention to the children of the new South Africa. They are our future. They are who our society will be in the years ahead.
We must defend and strengthen our children. We must hold government accountable for its responsibility, to protect children from crime, violence, disease and the ravages of poverty. But it goes beyond that. We need to rededicate ourselves to the holy task of raising our children with moral vision and ethical commitment.
The Book of Proverbs says, “Educate a child according to their way, and when they are old they will not depart from it.” The Hebrew word in the original text for “educate” has its root in the Hebrew word which conveys both training and habituation.
Parenting is training our children to be good people in the most practical way possible. Why do we assume that our children will just work it out? We are happy to train them that 1+1=2, but we assume that, somehow, they will work out for themselves basic good character traits. We are well trained in so many areas and we place a great deal of emphasis on training for careers and development; we train people to make money; and yet we don’t bother to train them how to be good. Parents must train their children in the basics of being decent human beings. It’s like the training to be a good sportsman: going over and over the right way to do things, until it becomes natural and easy. Judaism teaches that we all need training and habituation to be good people.
Moral education has to be very practical. We need to train children to help other people and to move beyond self-centred living. We all, even adults, need constant training to develop good character traits, such as integrity, honesty, decency and responsibility. Judaism teaches that moral greatness is to be found in the application to the detail of how to be a good person in all areas of life, and it includes instruction on such matters as giving charity, speaking kindly, greeting warmly, being humble, protecting the vulnerable, and praying to G-d. One of the positive dimensions of the Bill of Responsibilities becoming part of the South African schooling system is that it also gives real practical guidelines for abstract moral values. For example, the Bill of Responsibilities says that to uphold the right to dignity means, “to be kind, compassionate and sensitive to every human being, including greeting them warmly and speaking to them courteously.”
The Hebrew word for education is also based on the word for “dwell”. Education is about living in a certain moral space in the same way that we live in a physical space. A few years ago, I came across the phrase “the basic furniture of the human mind” in a book by famous historian Paul Johnson. Furniture serves two purposes: functionality, you need a table to eat off and a chair to sit on; it also serves to create an atmosphere, giving a sense of what goes on in that home. A person who walks into a home with no furniture sees it empty, soulless and lifeless. Furniture makes it come alive because it gives presence and soul.
And the basic furniture in children’s minds is the result of their childhood training. What a child grows up with, they will consider normal and natural. When a child grows up in a family where he or she hears loving interactions conducted with dignity, kindness and gentleness, this becomes, in their mind, the normal and natural way to talk. However, if they grow up with the sounds of aggression and anger, this too becomes normal and natural for them. If a child lives in a home where hard work and commitment to family is the norm, then they will grow up with a good work ethic and loyalty. Parents must set the tone in their house. I realize myself as a parent of young children that everything my wife and I say and do in our home becomes a point of reference for our children.
TV can do enormous damage by determining for our children their value system when it comes to sex, violence and the very definition of success in life, measured in money, good looks and status. We need to teach our children that real success is about being a good person. There is an ancient Jewish tradition which determines, when a baby is born, that we pray that the child grows up to be committed to good religious values, marriage and good deeds. We don’t ask for the child to grow up to fame, fortune, success, degrees or status.
We want our children to be good, but when they turn on the television, they are getting a poor definition of what this means. There are so many forces constructing their reality for them. Their world-view on violence, sex and life itself is being constructed all the time by the loud and confident voices of the volatile and aggressive world around them. Into the noise of the bombardment of words from all sides we need to pro-actively and confidently give our children new words and a new spirit : the words and spirit of giving and contributing, of accountability and responsibility, of respect and decency, of tolerance and understanding, of integrity and loyalty, of kindness and compassion. To achieve this we must stand together with moral clarity and with confidence.

Rosh HaShana Articles 2015 / 5776
1. Article Published in Shul Magazines – Unadorned
The sounds of the Shofar are the cries of a soul longing to be close to its Creator
Drinking salt water creates an unquenchable thirst. The more you drink, the thirstier you become. One of our great sages, the Vilna Gaon, compares the pursuit of materialism to drinking salt water.
Materialism divides people. It creates jealousies and competition. It also separates us from G-d because it deflects us from our true purpose. When people become consumed by their possessions, by things – when they focus on what they are clothed in, rather than who they are – then an emptiness enters their life, a void which cannot be filled.
That is not to say that the Torah prohibits enjoying this physical world. On the contrary, it is a mitzvah to joyfully partake of the great blessings that G-d has afforded us – but we do so always with a higher purpose in mind, always as a means and not an end. So many of the mitzvot guide us in enjoying the wonderful pleasures of this world, but they do so through a system of values and within a framework of spirituality.
G-d has created each and every one of us with a neshama – a soul – that lies at the centre of our very being. It is who we are. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch says we should realise that we are not a body with a soul, but a soul clothed in a body. We are essentially spiritual beings – and by living a life filled with good deeds, mitzvot, spiritual connection and kindness, we nurture our souls and feel a sense of deep satisfaction. On the other hand, when the soul is ignored, and it is only the body that is fed, an unquenchable thirst is created at the core of a human being.
The shofar is a call to remind us of who we really are. It is a call to the soul. Its sounds do not relate to the material world. According to our sages, the sounds of the shofar are the cries of a soul longing to be close to its Creator and to its purpose in life. The shofar is unadorned; the halacha says that it may not be covered with gold or silver. It is pure. It is simple. It is natural. The sounds it emits are not melodious or crafted in a sophisticated fashion, they are merely straight, direct spiritual calls from our souls to G-d. And when that connection is established we feel a true sense of joy.
So much of the time we spend in shul over Rosh HaShana is dedicated to this great mitzvah of the shofar. And as we stand in shul this year – not just listening to the shofar, but hearing it – let’s use those precious moments to introspect, to reflect deeply on who we are and why we are in this world; let’s get in touch with our spiritual essence, our G-d-given neshama; let’s contemplate the fact that when we live a life in accordance with the calling of the soul, we will find true meaning and deep, profound joy.
The shofar is a call to return to who we are. Guilt is the discomfort we feel from becoming disconnected from our ultimate purpose and unmoored from our true identity. On Rosh HaShana, as the shofar sounds, we look ahead to the joy of becoming not just better people – but who we are.
With warmest Rosh HaShana wishes to all at the Milnerton Shul! May Hashem inscribe us all for a good and sweet year filled with His blessings.

2. Article Published in Shul Magazines 2 – True Freedom
The simple purity of the shofar’s message is profoundly liberating
We are free and we are not. On the one hand we enjoy political freedom which is protected by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In fact, Jews today – certainly in the State of Israel, and virtually throughout the diaspora – are experiencing a level of political freedom which we as a people have not enjoyed for almost two thousand years. And yet, from another perspective, the struggle for freedom continues. The pressures of life – whether financial, emotional or even administrative – impose burdens that seriously curtail our freedom to live as we wish to. They prevent us from truly thriving as people, and from fulfilling our divine mission and purpose.
The mitzvah of shofar contains the secret to achieving real, deep and profound freedom in our lives. The key to understanding the message of the shofar lies in the mitzvah of the Jubilee year, about which the Torah says, “…and you shall proclaim freedom in the land”. In terms of Torah law, during the fiftieth year, all ancestral land is returned to its original owners, and all those living in servitude are freed. The shofar is blown to herald the Jubilee year, and so becomes the expression of freedom for all.
On Rosh HaShana, the shofar points the way to spiritual and emotional freedom. It does so by calling on us to return to the basics of life. So often we overcomplicate our lives, and in so doing, forget the very purpose for which we were sent to this world – to do good and fulfill the mitzvot of Hashem. These are certain simple basic truths which should underpin everything that we do.
The shofar is an instrument of supreme simplicity. It is a natural horn with no adornments. The sounds it emits are, musically, similarly unadorned. The very object itself is a message to us to return to the basics. This is a message which frees us from the stress of the morass of detailed chores and fears that threaten to overwhelm us. It is liberating to remember that the purpose of life is clear and simple – to live a life of mitzvot and good deeds. At the birth of a child, we pray to G-d that the child grow up to Torah, chuppah (marriage) and good deeds. We do not pray that the child merit fortune, fame and other worldly achievements. Those achievements are in fact merely the means to an end. And that end – the very essence of simplicity – is doing good in the world. Our greatest ambition for our children, and indeed for ourselves, is to do good in the world and fulfil the mitzvot of Hashem. That is the purpose of life in its simplest, purest form and it is the pure and liberating message of the shofar.
And as we stand in shul on Rosh HaShana and hear the call of the shofar, the call to true freedom, it is an opportunity to contemplate how, perhaps, we have overcomplicated our lives. It is true that we have many responsibilities, and discharging these responsibilities can often be complicated and difficult. But ultimately, the purpose of life is simple, pure and inspiring. And that idea is profoundly liberating.
With warmest Rosh HaShana wishes to all at the
Shul! May Hashem inscribe us all for a good and sweet year filled with His blessings.

3. Article Published in Jerusalem Post – The Message Of The Shofar

“There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” These words of President Ronald Reagan shed light on the message of the shofar. The Jewish world today faces many challenges – physical, spiritual and political. It is also engulfed by forces of confusion and dissension, as the very notion of Jewish identity is plagued by doubts, debates and controversies. In the midst of all of this turbulence, the shofar, which is sounded throughout the month of Elul leading up and then including Rosh Hashana, enters the fray with simple, unadorned blasts of clarity – about who we are, where we have come from, what our purpose is, and what we need to do about it.
The shofar is a very basic, natural instrument which, according to the halacha, may not be adorned with gold and silver. Its purity and simplicity, both in terms of its form and the notes it sounds, cut through the noise and turbulence of the world today, calling the Jewish people back to basics. Its message is that “there are no easy answers, but there are simple answers” to Jewish identity and destiny.
The shofar connects us to the key moments of Jewish history that define our destiny as a people. When G-d gave us the Torah, it says that the sound of a shofar could be heard by the millions of people gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai. The shofar provided the backdrop for that moment which changed the course of Jewish history forever – when G-d revealed to us our mission and purpose, as fulfilled through his His mitzvot.
The shofar will also herald the era of the Final Redemption, when the world as a whole will reach its ultimate purpose and G-d’s Oneness will be experienced by all, and “nation will not lift up sword against nation, and neither will they learn war anymore”. Jewish destiny is thus bookended by two shofar blasts – one of Mount Sinai and the other of the Final Redemption. In this way, the shofar calls on us to see Jewish history and Jewish identity in all its vast and glorious sweep – from the foundations of our people when we received the Torah, through to the moment in which world history reaches its climax.
Often, we become so entangled in the problems of the day that we forget who we are and where we have come from. We forget that our ultimate purpose as Jews is to bring the light of Hashem’s Torah into the world and to live in accordance with His plan for us. Yet it is that elevated sense of purpose which has carried us through the enormous turbulence of Jewish history, which has brought us moments of great joy and inspiration, but also moments of indescribable agony. The one constant has been our sense of purpose; of understanding that our lives have meaning and that we have a Divine mission to fulfil. The shofar symbolises that. When we hear its simple notes, we transcend all of the artificial complexities and controversies of the era in which we live, and we reconnect with the basic truths of who we are and why we are here. And it is that reconnection to the purity of that vision that fills us with joy. This is why Rosh HaShana – in spite of the seriousness and solemnity of this “Day of Judgement” – is nevertheless celebrated as a Yom Tov. The shofar reminds us of the beauty of simple truths, and of the inspiration that comes from clear purpose and a sense of mission.

4. Article Published in Jerusalem Post – The Call Of The Shofar

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch says that encoded in this simple pattern of sounds is the key to understanding the message of the shofar”
How do you communicate with three million Jews without access to e-mail, Facebook, or even radio? This was the problem facing Moshe more than 3 300 years ago, after the Jewish people had been liberated from Egypt and spent forty years travelling in the desert. As they journeyed from place to place, their movements needed to be directed. G-d instructed Moshe to make two silver trumpets which were to be the primary method of communication with the people. An unbroken sound from the trumpet was a message to them to pay attention. A broken, staccato blast following that was a message to break camp and pack up their belongings. A further unbroken blast was an indication to the people that they should begin the journey to a new destination.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch says that encoded in this simple pattern of sounds is the key to understanding the message of the shofar. On Rosh HaShana, when the shofar is sounded, you will notice a pattern which repeats itself many times throughout the service: a straight blast (a “tekiah”), followed by a broken blast (“shevarim truah”), followed by another straight blast. Rabbi Hirsch explains that in the same way that the trumpets in the desert were a call to journey forth, so too is the shofar blast a call to journey forth – towards becoming better Jews.
The straight blast is a call to listen to the message – to stop and to contemplate; to reflect on the majesty of G-d and the purpose of our lives, and to attune ourselves to the messages of Rosh HaShana. In the desert the first sound of the trumpets was to call people to stop and take notice. They were preoccupied with all the activities of the daily functioning of their lives, and had to be redirected to listen to a new message for a future journey. So too, the first straight blast of the shofar comes as call to step back from the distractions of the sheer busyness of life, to contemplate the greater purpose of our higher calling to do good, fulfil the mitzvot, to serve G-d and make the world into a better place.
The broken blast is a call to “break camp” – to introspect, to think about our values and actions, to contemplate real, practical changes in our lives; it is a call to contemplate improving our fulfilment of the mitzvot, and living up to the purpose and promise for which we were created; and a call to analyse where we are going wrong and how we can correct our course. The daily routines and habits of our lives, the preconceptions and thinking patterns of our outlooks can become rigid and unchanging. In the desert the people would become comfortable at each place at which they set up camp. So too, we become comfortable with the status quo of our moral and spiritual lives. The broken blast of the shofar calls us to shake up our lives, and the way we think and behave, and to become better.
The concluding straight blast is a call to walk forward into the future – with renewed conviction and direction, and to implement all our undertakings in the New Year. And so, as we stand in shul and listen to these messages, the shofar becomes not just the sound of a horn, but a call to action – to journey forth and develop, and become better people.
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch helps us to decipher the code of the shofar and what it means for our lives.
The message of the shofar is that we cannot remain stuck where we are. Human beings are creatures of habit and seek predictability. The shofar comes to move us out of the complacency and comfort of we are today, and to journey on to greater heights. The word for living life in accordance with the mitzvot is “halacha”, which comes from the root of the word “halicha – “walking”. Our purpose in life is to “walk” – to keep moving and developing, journeying towards the people we were meant to be. That is the call of the shofar, and it is the calling of our lives.

 

5. Article Published in Jerusalem Post – A Time To Regain Lost Vision
Vision is the intellectual clarity to grasp the ultimate purpose of life; the emotional power to transcend our current circumstances, to see beyond what’s immediately in front of us
When a baby is in its mother’s womb, according to the Gemara, it can see from one side of the world to the other. Obviously this cannot be understood on a literal, physical level. What our Sages are conveying to us through this vivid description is that vision is one of the most important aspects of human greatness.
Vision is the intellectual clarity to grasp the ultimate purpose of life; the emotional power to transcend our current circumstances, to see beyond what’s immediately in front of us; and the spiritual inspiration to rise above the travails of life in order to understand the big picture, the full perspective of why we here on this earth. Often, we get so engrossed and entangled in our day-to-day challenges that we don’t stop to think about why we are here in the first place, and whether we are fulfilling the purpose for which we were created. In the rush and pressure of daily life we often lose sight of the big picture, of our lofty purpose.
Rosh HaShana is a time to step back and regain our lost vision. And the call of the shofar is how we do it. The Rambam writes that the message of the shofar is to “awaken those who are asleep”. The analogy to sleep is profound. The dreams we experience in our sleep seem so real at the time, yet the moment we wake up we realise they were merely illusions. So, too, we often live life in a spiritual slumber; we dream of accumulating material possessions and indulging ourselves to the greatest extent, and we forget about any higher purpose. The shofar is a call from G-d to wake up to that higher purpose – to remember why we are in this world in the first place; it is a call to regain our vision, to transcend our daily entanglements and return to the basics. It is a call to our souls to return to the reality of why G-d created us – to live a life of good deeds and in so doing, make the world into a better place.
It is significant that Rosh Hashana, the day of repentance and judgement, takes place on the anniversary of the creation of the world. There is a deep connection between these two aspects of the day. The fact that G-d created the world means that life has an elevated Divine purpose. At the heart and soul of the Judaism’s worldview is the idea that life has purpose; that G-d created each and every one of us to carry out a unique mission in this world, fulfilling His commandments and living life on an elevated plane. People can so easily forget the purpose of life, and slip into a dream-like state of being, where trivial matters assume inflated importance, and important values are forgotten. The shofar, with it simple call to clarity of purpose, awakens us to see the world the way it is instead of how it appears when we are in a state of spiritual sleep. G-d has given us the incredible gift of Rosh HaShana to wake us up and reconnect us with who we are and why we are here. Reconnecting with our soul and with our deepest Divine purpose in this world actually brings with it invigorating joy. This is why Rosh HaShana – though it is a day of judgment and introspection – is also celebrated as a festival. It is a day on which we celebrate the profound joy of knowing our purpose, of renewing our sense of purpose and recapturing the transcendent vision of life we all saw so perfectly in the womb.
Rosh HaShana Articles 2016 / 5777
1. Article Published in Cape Jewish Chronicle – Small Change Big Difference
Change doesn’t always have to be big to make a real difference. Small things can also change the world for good. Rosh Hashana is a time to reflect on how we can become better people. It is a time for us, as Cape Jewry, to give thought on a communal level as well, to make improvements. It is also a time to make changes in our personal lives. When looking for ways to improve, let’s not forget about our daily interactions with people, which provide multiple rich opportunities to spread love and kindness.
“Receive every person with a friendly face”, say the Sages of Pirkei Avot (1:15). This mishna teaches us of the power of facial expressions, which can sometimes be just as impactful, if not more so, than the words we articulate. . It tells us to receive every person with a friendly face. Note that it doesn’t tell us what we should be saying, or even how. All it says is that we should greet others with a face of friendship, a face of warmth, a face of kindness. By showing someone such a face, we are making a very powerful declaration of how important that person is to us.
Rabbi Avigdor Miller points out there are three aspects to this requirement, corresponding to the three descriptive Hebrew words employed by our mishna. The first is panim – “face”. When we are talking to someone – whether we are thanking them, requesting something from them, greeting them, or conversing with them – we need to direct our face towards them. The second element is b’seiver – our faces should be expressive. It’s no good giving someone
an expressionless look while trying to communicate with them – that conveys a message of coldness, detachment and disinterest . The third element is the nature of that expression. Says our mishna, the expression should be yafot. It should be warm, kind, friendly, engaging and full of joy.
All three elements are crucial. The face we present to others should be warm and expressive. In this way, we convey the most powerful message of all. This message goes beyond words – it’s a message that only body language can convey. This is the power of the gift of giving warmth and kindness. We have the opportunity to radiate kindness and warmth to all the people around us. In doing so, we can spread joy in the world.
Rabbeinu Yona (Spain, 1200-1263) specifically interprets the mishna to mean a joyful face – the opposite of an angry or grumpy face. He explains further that the more we exude joy and warmth and friendliness, the more we will find people drawn to us. It’s that simple. There is a profound verse in the Book of Proverbs that teaches a similar lesson: “Like water is a face to a face, so too is the heart of a person to a person.” When we look at calm water we see our own reflection; so too when we look into another’s eyes, we see our reflection in that person. If we are looking at the water with a smile, we see a smiling face; if we look with a frown, a frown looks back at us. And so when we exude warmth and kindness and joy to those around us, their faces will reflect that back to us. But if we exude anger and resentment, then we will experience anger and resentment in response. Says the mishna, the secret to connecting with the people around us is to receive everyone with joy and with warmth. For if we smile at the world, the world smiles back at us.
And so, as we reflect on our Rosh Hashana resolutions, while addressing the big issues in our lives, let us also focus on we interact with the many people we come in contact with each day. With small effort we can a make a big difference to their lives. May Hashem bless all of Cape Jewry, together with our entire South African Jewish community, with a good and sweet New Year.
2. Article Published in Jewish Report – The makings of a great Jewish home
We live in a world of flux, here in South Africa, in Israel and around the world. Our response should be to strengthen and nurture our families and to create vibrant Jewish homes. But how do we make a great Jewish home? Obviously, a Jewish home is full of Torah values and actions, like kosher, Shabbos and tzedaka. But here are two specific ideas to focus on. “Let your home be wide open”, says Pirkei Avot (1:5). Rav Ovadia of Bartenura (Italy, 1445-1515) understands this literally. The Mishna is advising us to open our homes to visitors who need a place to go. He cites the example of Abraham, whose tent was open on all sides to welcome wayfarers who arrived from all directions.
There is the famous episode which recounts how Abraham – recovering under the hot desert sun from extremely painful late life brit mila – sits restlessly at the opening of his tent waiting for guests. G-d sends him three angels, masquerading as weary travellers, whom with the help of his wife, Sarah, he proceeded to lavish with choice delicacies. This is the classic example of Avraham’s kindness, and in particular his zeal for hospitality. It encourages us to emulate him and ensure that our homes are spaces where everyone feels welcome.
Rabbeinu Yonah (Spain, 1200-1263) offers a slightly different angle on the Mishna, and explains that it is encouraging us to nurture homes where people can find relief. What does this mean? Rabbi Israel Lifshcitz (Germany, 1782-1860), another commentator on Pirkei Avot, expands the definition of relief. He explains that people confront many challenges – rich and poor alike. Some seek physical help, others financial assistance. Still others are in need of emotional support or words of advice or comfort. Whatever manner of relief people are looking for, our Mishna implores us, they should be able to find it in our homes. The ideal Jewish home is a haven of kindness and comfort, a place so welcoming that when people walk inside they feel in some way that the weight of their troubles are lessened.
Here is a second idea for creating a great Jewish home. “Let your home be a meeting place for the sages”, Pirkei Avot (1:4) also teaches. Rashi’s (France, 1040-1105) understanding is that the Mishna is talking about making the home a place for learning and teaching Torah. We don’t have to limit our Torah learning to shuls or schools, or any other “official” institution. Of course those institutions are geared towards learning and they are important places to express our Jewish identity. But we cannot forget about the home. Torah learning begins at home. Torah learning is essential to creating a genuine atmosphere in a home. When we share Torah ideas – whether around the Shabbos table or during the week – it’s a platform for our families to engage with each other on an emotional, intellectual and spiritual level that nothing else provides. It’s an opportunity to come closer to one another and to connect with each other across the generation divide around our Torah legacy.
Of course, it’s also an opportunity to bring friends and great Torah teachers and thinkers into our homes. The most important thing is that our homes be “a meeting place” because that’s what real Torah learning is about. It’s not only about sitting with a book and learning alone. It’s about discussion and debate. It is a real conversation that takes place between real people. By establishing our homes as Torah meeting places we invite light and energy and warmth into them as we share the magnificent ideas of G-d’s Torah with each other and bring meaning into our lives. And through these conversations we will build truly great Jewish homes.

 

3. Article Published in Paarl Post
We often get so entangled and enmeshed in the hassles of day-to-day life that we fail to see the big picture. We need to step outside of our routine activities and preoccupations, and transcend ourselves so that we can assess where we are headed, and properly understand whether we are indeed on the right path. And that is what Rosh HaShana is about.
The Torah was given on a mountain – Sinai – albeit a very low mountain to symbolize humility which is required for the achievement of greatness. Why the image of a mountain? Because when we stand on top of a mountain we have a completely different perspective on the world. We see the big picture. We look at the world and our lives from the lofty vantage point of G-d’s values, which are as solid and eternal as a mountain. So often we get drawn after the changing and fleeting trends of latest fashions of behaviour. Instead we need to be rooted in the timeless and foundational values of G-d’s principles for life. On Rosh HaShana we take two days away from the tumult of life to reflect on these values and how we can make them part of our lives.
One such Divine value, for example, is that of gratitude and appreciation. Sometimes we take the most important and basic things for granted. The Talmud says that we must even give thanks to G-d for every breath of air that we take into our lungs. We also sometimes take for granted the love and support of those who are closest to us. We need to step back and see the big picture to truly appreciate our spouses, children, parents, siblings and all our loyal friends. Appreciation and gratitude are pillars upon which our most precious relationships stand.
From the transcendent perspective of the mountain of Rosh HaShana we can be inspired to change for the better. Rosh HaShana is a time of hope. It is a time of change. May G-d bless us all to be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet New Year filled with His abundant blessings.

4. Article Published in General Media
What is the right way to deal with corruption and wrong-doing? How do we confront the current crisis of attempted state capture and build a truly great country? The Book of Genesis has vital lessons for South Africa today. Adam and Eve sin by eating the forbidden fruit. Their immediate response was to try to hide from G-d, who calls out to Adam, “Where are you?”, meaning “What has happened to you…why have you sinned?” Adam’s response is to blame Eve. Eve blames the serpent. Both refuse to take responsibility for their actions.
Self-justification and avoiding responsibility for one’s actions is deeply engrained in human nature. When Cain kills Abel and is confronted by G-d, he answers, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” But G-d responds “What have you done? The blood of your brother calls to me from the ground”. Cain tries to shirk responsibility for his actions.
We can learn from the mistakes of Adam and Eve, and that of Cain. They did not take responsibility for their actions. They did not confess before G-d, nor did they apologise, nor did they repent when confronted with their wrong-doing. This is the time of year to reflect on the values of accountability and responsibility. Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year which begins on Sunday night 2 October, celebrates the anniversary of the creation of Adam & Eve, the first human beings. It was also the day that they sinned and were judged by G-d. Rosh HaShanah is the time that G-d judges all people every year.
Rabbi Ovadia Seforno, one the great Biblical commentators of the Middle Ages, contrasts Adam’s behaviour with that of King David, who when he was confronted by Nathan the Prophet concerning a particular wrong-doing, responded unequivocally: “I have sinned to G-d”. This is the model for true responsibility and accountability. Rosh Hashanah is a time of repentance. Judaism teaches that repentance means that one must first acknowledge the sin, then truly regret having committed it and then resolve in the future never to repeat it . One must also verbally confess before G-d. This process takes honesty and courage.
King David set an example to all political leaders. When confronted by mistakes and sins, the very first step must be to humbly acknowledge and to confess, to accept full responsibility for one’s actions, and to accept the consequences that may flow from these. Responsibility means taking ownership of the consequences of one’s actions.
So many of our problems in South Africa today come from a lack of accepting responsibility for wrong-doings, a refusal to take ownership of the consequences of one’s actions. We have seen politicians double-down on their sins and attack their accusers, instead of embarking on a true process of repentance. And it’s relevant not only to our politicians but to each and every single one of us. We need to nurture a culture of accountability and responsibility. And that begins at home. Of course, we must demand and expect that any corruption committed by those holding public office be firmly dealt with. But we should require the same standards of ourselves in our private lives – in all areas from our business dealings to our family relationships.
An apology is not enough. Action is needed. Simply to say ‘sorry’ is a necessary, but insufficient, condition to achieving full repentance. It must be accompanied by actions aimed at rectifying the harm caused. This is about taking ownership of the consequences of one’s actions. The Talmud says that if you insulted someone, you must actually ask that person for forgiveness, to assuage their feelings. There is a beautiful Jewish custom at this time of year – in the ten days from Rosh Hashanah until the Day of Atonement – of people asking one another for forgiveness for any wrongs which they may have been committed against each other throughout the year. The victim must respond with equal generosity of spirit and forgive and not bear a grudge, which is prohibited by the Torah..
Sometimes, addressing the harm caused involves more than asking for forgiveness. The Talmud says that, if you damaged someone’s property or stole from them, for true repentance before G-d to be achieved, you need to compensate them financially for the loss inflicted. Or, to borrow from modern South African vocabulary, you must ‘pay back the money’. Accepting responsibility for the consequences of our actions means taking practical steps to rectify the harm caused. Words alone, however important, do not suffice.
Responsibility is the logical extension of freedom. G-d has granted each one of us the freedom to choose how we live our lives. Freedom of choice means that the decisions we make are ultimately our own, albeit amidst various pressures which bear upon us. Because we are free, we must accept responsibility for the consequences of what we do. Freedom is one of the foundational values of the new South Africa and, therefore, so is responsibility. No human society can function without a deeply entrenched commitment to responsibility. All of the principles of accountability, transparency, and indeed human civilization itself, are held together by the binding force of responsibility.
Everything we are trying achieve in our country – poverty alleviation, service delivery, economic growth – depends on maintaining ethical values, of which one the most primary is responsibility and accountability for our actions. The evil of corruption threatens everything in our beautiful country. Tenders awarded corruptly mean that the poorest of the poor suffer from lack of service delivery. The attempts to capture the treasury threaten the very integrity of a sovereign government, and also threaten to engulf our country with the terrible suffering of a ratings downgrade. From the dawn of creation, human beings have struggled with personal accountability. But we cannot afford to fail. Let us the citizens of this country begin by making moral values part of our daily lives and demand from the politicians that they do the same. It is the only way.

5. Article Published in Jewish Tradition
Fridays are always a rush. Whether it’s summer or winter, regardless of what time Shabbat begins, it seems there is never enough time to finish off the week’s work.We’re always trying to squeeze in the last e-mail or phone call or work assignment, cook that last Shabbat dish, do that last bit of preparation. There is a real sense of urgency to the day.
“If not now, when?” says Pirkei Avot (1:14). Rashi explains, based on the Talmud, that the Mishna is teaching us that we should live our lives with the same level of intensity as a Friday, erev Shabbat. On Friday, we try and finish all our work, and utilise every moment. Every second is precious as the clock ticks towards the cut-off time, and when Shabbat comes in, there is no more work to be done – whatever we don’t finish remains unfinished. Says the Mishna, our lives should be lived at the same pitch, with the same sense of urgency. Because whatever we don’t get done while we are alive remains undone; we cannot finish it when we go to the next world.
Olam Haba – the next world – is a world of bliss, per- fection and pure reward. But it’s also largely a place of stasis. One cannot do mitzvot in the next world. Mitz- vot only have meaning in a world where there is free choice. Once the sun sets on this life, there are no more mitzvot, and the opportunity to do spiritual work comes to an abrupt end – in much the same way that once the sun dips below the horizon on Friday, there’s no more physical work we can do.
The good we do and the mitzvot we perform are all we can take with us to the next world. And so we must realise that every minute we spend here not doing what we are here for is a minute we can’t get back. There’s no going back to complete unfinished work.
Life in this world is precious because it gives us limited time to do mitzvot. This Mishna calls on us to live with urgency. At this time of Rosh Hashanah we are acutely aware of the preciousness of life in this world. It is a gift given to us for a limited period of time. As we introspect during Elul and then the ten days of repentance from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur, we are seized with the urgency of making the most of life, of how we can best use our time to do mitzvot and become better people. This urgency is needed at every level, personal and communal. On a personal level we all need to focus on our mitzvot and our individual areas of challenge to improve.
On a communal level, our organisations also need to introspect with urgency to find ways to improve. I would like to pay particular tribute to the dedicated team of people – the board members and professional staff – who are, with dedication, constantly working to improve the UOS in all its areas of service delivery to the community. The UOS has in recent times gone through many changes, and we have had to make difficult decisions to confront new challenges. As you read through this magazine, you will see that the ener- gies and actions of the UOS touch some of the most important parts of Jewish life in South Africa, such as marriage, divorce, legal disputes, kosher food, shuls, government and interfaith relations, education, and so much more. In so doing we aim to fulfill our mandate of building and maintaining the Torah infrastructure necessary for every Jew in South Africa to live a full and inspired Jewish life. From the pages of this publication, you will see that we are urgently committed to serve the South African Jewish community in a proactive, creative and courageous way, with excellence and loyalty.
Let us live life with the urgency of: “If not now, when?” Let us seize every day to do as many mitzvot as possible. And may Hashem bless us all with a good and sweet year!

6. Community Message 1
What is the greatest institution of Jewish history? Many different answers could be given to this question. You could say it’s the holy Temple that once stood or the shul where we pray, or perhaps the Beit HaMidrash where we learn, or perhaps the school where our children are educated.
Pirkei Avot teaches us of the importance of the Jewish home, which one can say is actually the greatest institution of all. How do we create and nurture a great Jewish home? What are the building materials? We know that a Jewish home is filled with Shabbat and kashrut, kindness and integrity and all of the values which are so dear to us. The Mishna in Pirkei Avot teaches : “Let your home be a meeting place for the sages.” Rashi’s understanding is that the Mishna is talking about making the home a place for learning and teaching Torah.
We don’t have to limit our Torah learning to shuls or schools, or any other “official” institution. Of course those institutions are geared towards learning and they are important places to express our Jewish identity. But we cannot forget about the home. Torah learning begins at home. Torah learning is essential to creating a genuine atmosphere in a home. When we share Torah ideas – whether around the Shabbat table or during the week – it’s a platform for our families to engage with each other on an emotional, intellectual and spiritual level that nothing else provides. It’s an opportunity to come closer to one another and to connect with each other across the generation divide around our Torah legacy.
Of course it’s also an opportunity to bring friends and great Torah teachers and thinkers into our homes. The most important thing is that our homes be “a meeting place” because that’s what real Torah learning is about. It’s not only about sitting with a book and learning alone. It’s about discussion and debate. It is a real conversation that takes place between real people. By establishing our homes as Torah meeting places we invite light and energy and warmth into them as we share the magnificent ideas of G-d’s Torah with each other and bring meaning to our lives. And through these conversations we will build truly great Jewish homes.
The Mishna also teaches, “Let your home be wide open”. Rav Ovadia MiBartenura understands this literally. The Mishna is advising us to open our homes to visitors who need a place to go. He brings the example of Abraham, whose tent was open on all sides to welcome in wayfarers who arrived from all directions.
There is the famous episode which recounts how Abraham – recovering under the hot desert sun from extremely painful late life brit mila – sits restlessly at the opening of his tent waiting for guests. G-d sends him three angels, masquerading as weary travellers, whom with the help of his wife, Sarah, he proceeded to lavish with choice delicacies. This is the classic example of Avraham’s kindness, and in particular his __________ for hospitality (hachnasat orchim). It further encourages us to emulate him and ensure that our homes are spaces where everyone feels welcome.
Rabbeinu Yonah says that our Mishna offers a slightly different angle on the Mishna, and explains that it is encouraging us to nurture homes where people can find relief. What does this mean? On a basic level this refers to financial relief. Our homes should be places in which people who are struggling financially can come for help. However, the Tiferet Yisrael (another commentator on Pirkei Avot) expands on the definition of relief. He explains that people confront many challenges – rich and poor alike. Some seek physical help, others financial assistance. Still others are in need of emotional support or words of advice or comfort. Whatever manner of relief people are looking for, our Mishna implores us that they should be able to find it in our homes. The ideal Jewish home is a haven of kindness and comfort, a place so welcoming that when people walk inside they feel in some way that the weight of their troubles are lifted from them.
7. Community Message 2
No-one can do good deeds on our behalf. We can’t outsource the fulfilment of mitzvot to another person, like a work assignment or a delivery. No rabbi or sage, or “more observant” person can keep kosher or observe Shabbat or give tzeddaka for us. The responsibility is ours and ours alone. This is what the famous words of Pirkei Avot, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” mean. According to Rashi’s interpretation, the Mishna is saying : “If I do not fulfil the mitzvot myself, who will fulfil them for me?” If I do not take responsibility for my actions, who will?

Indeed, the only things we can truly own are the mitzvot that we do. Ultimately everything we accumulate during our lives – all of our achievements and titles and wealth – we leave behind. Nothing goes with us to the next world except the good that we did while we were in this world. And those mitzvot are truly ours in the deepest sense. The Gemora says, “Everything is in the hands of heaven except the awe of heaven.” Everything that comes to us in this world comes from G-d’s own hand.

Our sages speak about the importance of working for a living and not relying on a miracle, but ultimately the result of that is in the hands of G-d. But there is one endeavour in life which is completely in our hands – both in terms of the effort and the outcome : our mitzvot. The mizvot we do are completely ours and ours alone. They go with us to the next world, and if we don’t carry them out, who will?
Taking personal responsibility also relates to inspiration. Everyone wants to be inspired. It’s such a gift, but where does inspiration come from? The natural inclination is to look to external sources for inspiration – a beautiful view, a great piece of music, a brilliant shiur. “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” – Rabbeinu Yona says this means : ‘if I do not inspire myself to do the mitzvot, who will inspire me?’. In other words, we need to look within ourselves to look for inspiration because inspired living can only be sustainable if it’s not dependent on external forces that are out of our control.
Fortunately we are not alone in this journey : through the Torah Hashem has given us incredible resources to find inspiration. One way is through learning Torah, which can be an ongoing source of inspiration in our daily lives. The same goes for when we pray to Hashem. It’s not about sitting back in our comfortable (or not so comfortable) seats in shul waiting for the chazzan or the choir or the rabbi to move us. The only way to create a real relationship with G-d is to dig deep within ourselves; to build a strong internal connection through our G-dgiven soul. This applies to all mitzvot.
Real inspiration comes from within. There are so many people who are waiting for inspiration from the outside – waiting for their spouse or their children or their parents, or their school or their rabbi to inspire them. The message of the Mishna is that we cannot wait. We cannot afford to take this most precious of life’s gifts – inspiration – and put it in other people’s hands. We need to empower ourselves, we need to find inspiration within ourselves because nobody can do it for us.

8. Community Message 3
Fridays are always a rush. Whether it’s summer or winter, regardless of what time Shabbat begins, it seems there is never enough time to finish off the week’s work. We’re always trying to squeeze in the last e-mail or phone call or work assignment, cook that last Shabbat dish, do that last bit of preparation. There is a real sense of urgency to the day.
This is the context within which Rashi explains our mishna’s concluding statement, “And if not now, when?” Says Rashi, based on the Talmud, the Mishna is teaching us that we should live our lives with the same level of intensity as a Friday, erev Shabbat. On Friday, we try and finish all our work, and utilise every moment. Every second is precious as the clock ticks towards the cut-off time, and when Shabbat comes in, there is no more work to be done – whatever we don’t finish remains unfinished. Says the Mishna, our lives should be lived at the same pitch, with the same sense of urgency. Because whatever we don’t get done while we are alive remains undone; we cannot finish it when we go to the next world.
Olam Habah – the next world – is a world of bliss, perfection and pure reward. But it’s also largely a place of stasis. One cannot do mitzvot in the next world. Mitzvot only have meaning in a world where there is free choice. Once the sun sets on this life, there are no more mitzvot, and the opportunity to do spiritual work comes to an abrupt end – in much the same way that once the sun dips below the horizon on Friday, there’s no more physical work we can do.
The good we do and the mitzvot we perform are all we can take with us to the next world. And so we must realise that every minute we spend here not doing what we are here for is a minute we can’t get back. There’s no going back to complete unfinished work.
Life in this world is precious because it gives us limited time to do mitzvot. This Mishna calls us to live with urgency.

9. Community Message 4
FROM MISHNA 12
IN PURSUIT OF PEACE
Our mishna calls on us to follow in the ways of Aharon HaKohen – the Jewish People’s first and perhaps definitive High Priest.
It goes on to describe Aharon as “loving peace and pursuing peace”. The question is on what basis does the mishna describe him this way? From the Chumash, we know that Aharon was the brother of Moshe, that the two of them led the Jewish People together, and that he held the position of High Priest. But his peace-loving ways don’t seem to get a mention.
The Midrash helps us fill in the details. It tells us that when Aharon noticed two people involved in a quarrel, he would go to each of them – without the other’s knowledge – and report that the other was completely broken up by what had happened between them, was full of remorse, and, too embarrassed to come forward, had sent him – Aharon – to seek forgiveness. When next the two parties met, the quarrel would evaporate and they would embrace as friends.
We see clearly that Aharon went to extraordinary lengths to sow peace wherever there was strife between people, even taking licence with the truth. He healed rifts between friends, among families, even, in many cases, between husbands and wives. And it was likely this dedication to peace that made him such a beloved figure among the Jewish people of the time. Rashi points out that when Aharon died, the “entire House of Israel” (Kol bet Yisrael) wept for him for 30 days. He compares this with the verse that describes the aftermath of Moshe’s death, which states that “Bnei Yisrael” wept for 30 days – implying that though Moshe was mourned with the same intensity, it was not by everyone. While Moshe had his enemies, Aharon – the lover and pursuer of peace, the healer of rifts, the forger of friendships – was universally adored and thus universally mourned.
According to the Maharal, it wasn’t only Aharon’s actions that defined him as a model peacemaker, but also his position. He explains that as High Priest, Aharon was the unifying figure of the Jewish People. We see a hint for this idea in Moshe’s declaration to Korach in the midst of the latter’s rebellion: “We [the Jewish People]… have only one God, one ark, one Torah, one altar, and one High Priest…” The Jewish People are a single unit. And the personification of that unity is the High Priest – Aharon HaKohen.
PEACE IN ACTION
We all have role models, people we look to for guidance and inspiration. These role models could be our parents, people in leadership positions, or anyone. Our mishna is telling us that we should look for role models among the great Torah personalities of our people.
Specifically, it extols the great merits of Aharon HaKohen as a role model for the value of peace. Like Aharon, we too should strive to love peace and pursue peace, and look to him as our example.
A role model is a person who personifies certain values – who takes those abstract values and lives by them on a day-to-day basis, incorporating them into his/her actions and very being. And that’s really what we are talking about in our mishna.
Rabbeinu Yona notes the mishna’s curious double-phrasing – “loving peace and pursuing peace”. What’s the difference between loving peace and pursuing peace? He explains that you can love peace as an abstract ideal, but do nothing about implementing it. Who wouldn’t cherish peace as a value? It’s the most fundamental of values. But the question isn’t only whether you love peace. The question is also about what you are you prepared to do for the sake of peace.
Having a set of values that we hold dear is important. But, more important is what we are prepared to sacrifice for those values. What lengths will we go to transform them from abstract, theoretical concepts into real, day-to-day actions? What are we doing to make them manifest? For example, a man can love peace, but is he prepared to apologise to someone he may have hurt in pursuit of peace? Even if he feels he has done nothing wrong? Or that it is the other person who should be apologising to him? Are we prepared to cede ground to another in order to heal a rift?
Our mishna is calling on us to be like Aharon HaKohen, the perfect peacemaker – a true role model who not only loved peace, but went to great lengths to pursue it, making it a tangible part of the society he lived in. Like Aharon, we should view peace not just as an abstract value, but as something we live and practise every day.
CONQUERING CONFLICT
Conflict is part of the natural order. The Maharal points out that it is human nature; that society is prone to conflict.
There are two reasons why this is the case. Firstly, from a deep, spiritual perspective – ours is a world of fragmentation. Before God created our universe, there was only the perfect unity of His Presence. The mere act of creation, explains the Maharal, broke that original unity into a world of seemingly disparate forces and elements.
Secondly, explains the Maharal, conflict has its roots in the spirit of independence imbued in every human being. We are all created in the image of God – in the words of Creation, a Tselem Elokim. That means we have a neshama, a Divine soul, reflecting the greatness of God, Himself. And in the same way that God is a King – indeed, the “King of all Kings” – so too, each and every one of us is endowed not just with a God-like agency and independence, but also an aspect of royalty. We are all kings and queens. That spirit of independence and sense of royalty is also, for better or worse, literally a recipe for conflict. Conflict is the inevitable clash of our sovereign wills; it’s what happens when what I want and what I value doesn’t square with what you want and what you value.
But the fact that conf lict is natural doesn’t make it right. This goes for anything else that we seek to justify on the basis that it is “natural”. Conflict, say our Sages, is a particularly evil and destructive force. It can destroy families, friendships and communities; it can unravel the fabric of society, and, as we have seen throughout
history, lead to unimaginable bloodshed. It can consume us. So, although it is a natural phenomenon, we should seek to suppress it at every turn. We should, like Aharon, seek to preserve peace at all costs.
It’s never easy. The fact that our Mishna encourages us to “pursue” peace tells us that peace is elusive, and that it can only be achieved when we are prepared to be proactive and invest real effort. Conflict is natural, peace less so, which means we need to work twice as hard to bring it about.
IN PURSUIT OF PEACE
Generosity of spirit can change the world. It’s that powerful.
The Torah recounts a stark example of this. More than 3 000 years ago, Moshe stood at the burning bush and was asked by God to assume the leadership of the Jewish people. The task could not have been more daunting: to challenge Pharaoh by leading the Jewish people out of Egypt, out of slavery; initiating a series of great miracles as an agent of God, Himself; and to then lead them into the desert to Mount Sinai, where they would receive the Torah. Understandably, Moshe hesitated. Among other reservations was a concern that his older brother, Aharon, would feel slighted by his appointment. God immediately reassured Moshe with the words, “Behold, he is going out to meet you and when he sees you he will rejoice in his heart.” And when Moshe heard that, it gave him the encouragement he needed to accept the mantle of leadership.
And so it was that the generosity of spirit displayed by Aharon changed the course of history. Instead of feeling wounded or envious or resentful, he felt nothingbut joy for his brother. When our Mishna says: “Be among the disciples of Aharon, it’s not simply a prelude to the rest of the mishna. Says the Tiferet Yisrael, this is a statement on its own. It is teaching us to
follow Aharon’s example in being generous of spirit; to feel happy for the success and achievements of others – perhaps even when that success comes at the expense of our own.
The question is, how do we achieve that? Jealousy and envy are part of the human condition. And Aharon was a person of unimaginable greatness. How do we reach that level? The answer lies in who Aharon eventually became – the High Priest. Our Sages teach us that it was specifically because of his happiness at Moshe’s appointment that he merited to wear the clothing of the High Priest, which included the special breastplate over his heart, because of the joy in his heart at that prior moment. Ultimately, it was his great generosity of spirit that qualified him for the highest role among the Jewish People – the High Priest, who embodied our connection with God.
The lesson is clear. We need to believe in the depths of our heart that what we have is what we are meant to have, and what others have is what they are meant to have. We need to appreciate others’ success without feeling a twinge of resentment or that it diminishes our own achievements. We need to believe that God, in His infinite goodness and infinite wisdom, has given us all the blessings we need.
If we can do that, then our hearts, like Aharon’s, will be filled with joy.
IN HARMONY WITH HASHEM
Everyone wants peace. But, often, we define peace too narrowly. We think of peace between people, or between warring factions. However, there is another aspect to peace.
The Torah teaches us that we have two overarching relationships. There is our relationship with other people, circumscribed by the mitzvot of ben adam l’chaveiro – between Man and his fellow. And there is also our relationship with Hashem, Himself, which is given expression by the mitzvot of ben adam l’Makom – between Man and God. Establishing and maintaining peace in both of these relationships is vital.
In the same way that we need to be in a state of peace and harmony with the people around us, we also need to be in a state of peace and harmony with our Creator. In both cases, the way we ensure that is through fulfilling the mitzvot. The commandments that govern our relations with our fellow guide us in establishing relationships based on kindness, generosity
and decency; and the commandments between us and God keep us in harmony with His will, and with our own spiritual essence.
And so, when our Mishna says, “love peace and pursue peace”, it’s not only talking about peace with other people – it’s also talking about peace with God. And that’s what Aharon HaKohen stood for. He established harmonious relationships with, and among, the people around him. But he was also a person in harmony with Hashem. As the High Priest, he would have had to be. He was the chief representative of the Temple, and through the holy Temple service, helped bring harmony between God and the Jewish People.
That is symbolised by the altar which stood at the heart of the Temple, upon which the offerings were brought. The Torah instructs that the stone of the altar may not be cut with a metal instrument, because metal, which weapons are generally made from, represents war and bloodshed. The altar, on the other hand, is a symbol of peace; its function is to bring us closer to Hashem, to establish harmony with Him.
And so we see the notion of peace is broad and inclusive. It means peace and harmony
between the people around us; and it means peace and harmony with Hashem.
The blueprint for achieving both peace among ourselves and with Hashem is contained in our Torah. The Gemara states that all of the mitzvot guide us to act in a peaceful manner, citing the verse in Mishlei, which says: “[The Torah’s] ways are sweet and all of its courses are peaceful.”

10. Community Message 5
FROM MISHNA 15
IMMOVABLE
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to receive the questions to a test before you actually sit down to write it? It would certainly makes things a lot easier.
There is one test that we have all the questions to in advance, and it’s probably the biggest test of all – the questions we will be asked one day when we face the Heavenly Court. After 120 years we will have to give an account of our lives before the One who created us.
One of the very first questions that we are asked, according to the Gemara, is whether we set aside time to learn Torah. Rabbi Shimon ben Tzemach Doran – one of the great commentators on Pirkei Avot – connects this to our mishna’s teaching, “Make your Torah [study] fixed.” He explains that the mishna is calling on us to allocate a fixed time during the day for Torah study that is immovable. Making this time fixed, in addition to the actual Torah study, is itself a mitzvah.
This idea is also mentioned in the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law), which states that a person should establish a fixed time to learn after shul in the morning, and that the time should not be moved even if one would profit tremendously from doing so.
Of course, setting aside a designated part of the day for the purposes of learning requires great self-discipline. The Tiferet Yisrael says the mishna alludes to this in its use of the word, keva, or fix, which can also mean “to grab”. You have to grab the time and hold onto it no matter what, because distractions and urgent things always come up, and it may seem that there is no option other than giving up the time – but don’t.
Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik explains that while we are learning the deep ideas and Divine wisdom of the Torah, we are forming a connection with God. Fixing time to learn is about our relationship with Hashem and with His Torah. It’s a demonstration that we value the relationship and are willing to set aside dedicated time for the sake of that relationship. By setting aside a sacred time that’s immovable – when we temporarily put aside our busy schedules and all our earthly concerns – that says something more; it’s almost like we are making a date to connect with God.
If we view Torah learning as a chore – something to ‘get through’ as we go about our day – then it will feel like a burden. But if we focus on what a gift it is to have access to Hashem’s wisdom – on how it inspires, stimulates, and moves us – then we will look on these precious moments of Torah study as a tranquil island of time amid the frenzy of our day. This is the ‘pull factor’ of Torah learning – the inspiration and insight and spiritual enjoyment we get from it that centres us. It will be these moments, every day, that will begin to change our perspective on life, one day at a time.
URGENT VS IMPORTANT
This mishna reveals to us a simple secret of time management – how to manage the tension between what is urgent and what is important.
We all have so much we need to get done. Things that are urgent but unimportant can demand our attention – a ringing phone, for example – even if it relates to a trivial matter. However, it is the tasks that are important but not urgent that people often tend to neglect. These are things we have to do, but if they aren’t done today, we can do them tomorrow. Exercise, for example, or spending good quality time with family.
The danger – highlighted by Steven Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – is that the urgent demands we have to deal with on a day-to-day basis can actually prevent us from ever getting to the matters that are simply ‘important’. After all, we can always do the ‘important’ things tomorrow when more urgent matters are out of the way. And then tomorrow becomes the following day. And then the day after that. So we end up not doing them at all, and sometimes, forgetting about them altogether.
Fortunately, our mishna offers us a solution to this dilemma. Says Shammai, the great Sage of our mishna, “Make your Torah [study] fixed.” Learning Torah is the perfect example of something which is important but not urgent. You feel that if you don’t learn Torah today, you can always learn tomorrow, or on the weekend, or when you retire. In other words, never. And the way to avoid this problem is to set aside a fixed time. A time that is sacred and can’t be pushed off for more ‘urgent’ matters.
Our mishna becomes a model for all of the things we have to do in our lives that are important but not urgent. Allocate specific times for them and they will happen.
NEW AND NECESSARY
Some things in life grab our attention and we can’t help being fascinated by them.
Typically, these things meet one (or both) of the following criteria – firstly, they are new, something we haven’t encountered before. Secondly, they are things we need, things that will sustain us.
Rav Chaim of Volozhin, in the context of our mishna, says Torah learning is fascinating for precisely these two reasons.
Number one, because of its unlimited depth, there’s always something new to learn. A Grade 1 child can, for example, learn the f irst verse of the book of Bereishit (Genesis) – Bereishit bara Elokim et Hashamayim v’et Ha-aretz – “In the beginning, God created Heaven and Earth” – and understand it in a very basic way. And the greatest Torah Sage of the generation can learn the very same verse, with all its nuances and mystical perspectives, in a much deeper way. Either way, it’s the same Torah being learnt – and the levels at which it can be understood are endless.
Secondly, the great appeal of Torah is also because we need it. Torah sustains us. We learnt in an earlier mishna that Torah is compared to water. One of the reasons for this is that, like water, it is vital to our existence as Jews.
The Torah’s life-giving properties are also alluded to in this mishna, which reads: “Make your Torah [study] fixed.” Why is it ‘your’ Torah? Explains Rav Chaim, because every word of Torah that you learn is your mitzvah; it gets accredited to you and gives you spiritual sustenance both in this world and the next. Its merit stays with you forever.
That is the fascination of Torah learning – its constant newness and its sustaining power.
A SENSE OF URGENCY
We make promises all the time. Promises to other people; promises to ourselves. The mishna offers us a very important guideline when it comes to promises. It says, “Say little and do much.” In other words: promise a little and then deliver more than you have promised.
To illustrate this mishna, the commentators cite an example and a counter-example from the Chumash. The example they cite is Avraham Avinu. When a group of wayfarers (who later turned out to be angels) passed by Avraham’s tent in the heat of the day, he went running out to meet them, promising them bread and water. In the end, though, he went to extraordinary efforts to lavish them with a huge meal and the finest delicacies. The Gemara describes it as a royal banquet fit for the table of King Solomon himself. Clearly, Avraham Avinu exemplifies our mishna’s teaching: “Say little and do much.”
The commentators cite Ephron as the counter-example. Avraham wished to purchase the Cave of Machpelah as a burial site for his wife Sarah (it would also become the burial site for all of the forefathers and foremothers of the Jewish people). Ephron, the owner of the plot of land, initially seemed to tell Avraham that he would give it to him as a gift. But he proceeded to extract from Avraham an exorbitant price. Ephron promised much and delivered little.
Says the mishna, we should strive to emulate Avraham’s example: saying little and doing much, making small promises and delivering big results.
TALK A SMALL GAME
What is the sign of a truly righteous person? The Gemara gives a very interesting answer to this question – those who say little and do much. And the opposite is also true: a bad person promises a lot and does little.
Why is that?
There are two possible reasons for why these values are so defining. Number one, it’s a question of integrity. Truly righteous people will never say anything which isn’t true, and will also not commit to something which they may not be able to deliver on.
This is why righteous people are always under-promising. They realise how difficult it is to truly deliver, and so they say “little”. They would rather deliver more than they promise, than promise more than they actually deliver. They recognise that if they cannot deliver what they promise, that is a breach of their integrity. Those for whom integrity is not an important consideration will promise a lot even if they are unable to deliver.
The second reason why this character trait is the sign of a righteous person is that such people are interested in the deed itself, rather than talking about it. They aren’t interested in publicising what they do. They don’t need people talking about them and affording them honour and recognition. Their focus is on getting things done; helping people, doing mitzvot, doing good deeds for their own sake. But people who aren’t righteous are actually interested in the opposite – in what people will say about them, and the honour and recognition they will receive, and not with actually doing good. Therefore, they talk a lot about what they do – in fact, they talk more than they do.
Say a little. Do a lot. For that is the true mark of greatness.
PUT ON A HAPPY FACE
There are two kinds of gifts you can give to people. You can present them with physical, material gifts or you can provide them with emotional support – the gift of warmth and kindness. Both are important, but which is more important?
Our mishna says: “And receive every person with a friendly face.” It teaches us the power of the gift of giving other people warmth and kindness. Rabbi Ovadia miBartenura connects our mishna to the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim – welcoming guests into one’s home (and particularly people who need a place to eat and a place to stay).
When we bring people into our home, we are giving to them physically. We are giving them shelter, a place to sit and food to eat. But the Mishna is teaching us that, together with that, we must welcome in our guests with warmth and kindness, and that these less tangible gifts are just as important as the material, physical benefits we give them. Without this warmth, the material gifts are worthless, says Rabbi miBartenura.
We have the opportunity to radiate kindness and warmth to all the people around us. In doing so, we can spread joy in the world.
MORE THAN WORDS
Never underestimate the power of body language. Often, we communicate more through our bodies than through the words we articulate. Our body language tells a person exactly what we are thinking and our attitude towards them.
Our mishna is teaching us the power of body language specifically relating to the face. It tells us to receive every person with a friendly face. Note that it doesn’t tell us what we should be saying, or even how. All it says is that we should greet others with a face of friendship, a face of warmth, a face of kindness. By showing someone such a face, we are making a very powerful declaration of how important that person is to us.
Rabbi Avigdor Miller points out there are three aspects to this requirement, corresponding to the three descriptive words employed by our mishna. The first is panim – “face”. When we are talking to someone – whether we are thanking them, requesting something from them, greeting them, or conversing with them – we need to direct our face towards them.
The second element is b’seiver – our faces should be expressive. It’s no good giving someone
an expressionless look while trying to communicate with them – that conveys a message of coldness, detachment and disinterest in the other person.
The third element is the nature of that expression. Says our mishna, the expression should be yafot. It should be warm, kind, friendly, engaging and full of joy.
All three elements are crucial. The face we present to another person should be warm and expressive. In this way, we send people the most powerful message of all. This message goes beyond words – it’s a message that only body language can convey.
THE WORLD IS A MIRROR
The mishna teaches us a most important secret of life – the secret of how to connect with the people around us; how to form close, warm and supportive relationships.
There’s a very simple formula: “Receive every person with a pleasant face.” Rabbeinu Yona specifically interprets the mishna to mean a joyful face – the opposite of an angry or grumpy face. He explains further that the more we exude joy and warmth and friendliness, the more we will find people drawn to us. It’s that simple.
There’s also a profound verse in the Book of Proverbs that teaches a similar lesson: “Like water is a face to a face, so too is the heart of a person to a person.” In the same way that when we look at still water, we see our own reflection, so too when we look at another person, we will see our reflection in that person.
If we are looking at the water with a smile, then we will see a smiling face looking back at us; the same if we have a frown. And so, too, when we exude warmth and kindness and joy to those around us, then people’s faces will reflect that back to us. But if we exude anger and resentment, then we will find that people will respond with anger and resentment.
Says our mishna, the secret to connecting with the people around us is to receive everyone with joy and with warmth. For if we smile at the world, the world smiles back at us.

Rosh HaShana Articles 2017 / 5778
1. Article Published in Jewish Report – A community that prays together
So much has happened in the year since last Rosh HaShana. Many members of our community have celebrated wonderful simchas. And yet, at the same time, many have suffered much pain, some through the loss of loved ones, others through illness or other challenges. To be part of community means that we share in and feel each other’s joy and pain. To be part of a community is to look around us and feel deep empathy with other people and what they are going through. And especially, at this time of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, our Sages teach us that by connecting ourselves to community and connecting ourselves to the plight of others in kindness, we achieve great merit before Hashem.
We need to move beyond feeling for others to action, to doing something for them. By attending a simcha, such as a wedding, and dancing and fully participating we create joy for the simcha families. And at a time of loss or illness, when we visit we bring the comfort of our presence and words to those who are in situations of pain. Let us all look out for opportunities to perform acts of kindness and to reach out to as many people as possible in our community to share with them what they are going through.
One of the most powerful things we can do for somebody else is to daven for them, to pray. We cannot underestimate the power of prayer. Our Sages teach us that G-d willingly gave us power to change the world through our prayers. We can and must turn to Him for our every need and request. Each day at the end of the weekday Amidah, just before we take the three steps back, we have an opportunity to mention our own particular needs in our own words before G-d. The Amidah covers all of the general needs of the individual and community and indeed the entire Jewish people and the world. But at the end of the Amidah we have the opportunity to ask for things specifically in our own words – and we should seize that opportunity. Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur are important times to pray for a good and sweet new year.
When we pray, we don’t only pray for ourselves, we pray for others. That is why all of our prayers are formulated in the plural, because we daven on behalf of everybody. The experience of praying for others opens our hearts to them and demonstrates great kindness. We need to feel and think about the needs of others and to pray for them. In this spirit there will, please G-d, be a special unity prayer service for a good year for the community, taking place on the Fast of Gedaliah on Sunday, 24 September. It is an opportunity to come together in a true spirit of community unity, in a spirit of love and caring for one another, and in the spirit of deep empathy. It is an opportunity to pray for those who are sick, that they should be healed, to pray for the comfort of those who are in mourning and to pray for all, that the year ahead should be filled with simchas and nachas. This is what it means to be part of a community. This is what it means to believe in the power of prayer. This is what true unity means. Let’s stand together. Let us all make an effort to attend this service, but most importantly of all, let us all make an effort to harness the power of prayer now during Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, and, indeed, throughout the coming year as a way of changing the world for the good.
May Hashem bless us all with a good and sweet year, filled with His abundant goodness.
The community unity prayer services will take place on Sunday 24 September at 5.15pm at the Yeshiva College Shul, and in Cape Town at 6pm at the Marais Road Shul, and in Durban at 5pm at the Silverton Shul.

2. Article Published in Cape Jewish Chronicle
Dear Friends,
In 2003 Richard Pascal was presented with a challenge by the drug company, Genentech. It had just launched a new drug called Xolair, which was considered to be a brilliant new drug for asthma, and yet six months after the launch the sales of Xolair were not doing well at all. Pascal analysed the situation and identified two sales women who worked in the Dallas-Fortworth area and who were selling twenty times more than were the other sales people. Pascal’s approach was to analyse why these women were successful and to then communicate their method to the other sales people. Pascal discovered that the successful sales women were helping doctors with the practicalities of administering the drug. The practicalities were the barrier to the doctors prescribing it, and once this was overcome, the quality of the product sold itself. This was then shared with the other sales people and sales across the organisation increased dramatically.
This is an example of a change management theory called Bright Spots, discussed in a book called “Switch – how to change things when change is hard”, written by Dan and Chip Heath. It says that when approaching a situation to find opportunities for real impactful change the main idea is to focus on the bright spots – that is the areas that have brought success and achievement. Unpack, analyse and understand them with the purpose of applying them to other areas of your life.
This approach is actually deeply rooted in our Torah wisdom, and is crucial to successfully changing our lives for the good as we approach Rosh Hashana, which is a time of teshuva – repentance and real personal change and development. As we look to change we need to look for our own bright spots – the times we did a mitzvah successfully, and how we can expand the inspiration and magic of those moments to other mitzvahs in our lives; as Pirkei Avot (4:2) teaches, “One mitzvah brings another mitzvah”. This approach applies to every endeavour of life, including marriage, parenting, work and community.
The bright spots approach dramatically affects our attitude to personal change, as we search for positivity, which can be so powerful. It can help us become better people, but blind positivity can be harmful. We need to strike a balance. Rav Yosef Dov Soloveichik explains that when approaching the teshuva we need to come armed with two very different things. One is an unflinching honesty to confront our mistakes, and where we have gone wrong, and where we have stumbled. But secondly, we need to be positive and believe in ourselves and believe in our own potential greatness that lies within every human being.
Judaism is profoundly positive about people. Pirkei Avot (3:18) teaches, “Beloved is the human being created in G-d’s image”. This means that each and every one of us has a soul from Hashem which has infinite light and greatness within it. It is this soul in combination with the light of our Torah that enables us to transcend ourselves and our current situations and to achieve real greatness. This thinking applies not only on a personal level, but on on a communal level as well.
We began a process in July of this year of applying the bright spots methodology to our shuls and have embarked upon a shul renewal project, which we have called “Bright Spots”. The vibrancy of shul life has been key to the success of the South African Jewish community. But in a rapidly changing world our shuls need to innovate and stay ahead of the curve to remain engaging and relevant. And so we have embarked upon a bright spots process which has involved surveying the community to understand the bright spots We then held dedicated bright spots workshops in Cape Town and Johannesburg with all the key people involved in shul leadership. Our inaugural communal shul renewal conference collated all the wonderful bright spots in our community and looked at ways of expanding and extending these efforts. This process continues and we hope to see positive and proactive changes in our shuls as we go forward.
Bright Spots is all about positive thinking. Let us think of where we have done mitzvahs, and think how those moments of inspiration and clarity can illuminate other mitzvahs. It is about harnessing positive achievements and directing that positivity to making the world into a better place. Let us this Rosh HaShana apply the bright spots approach to our own lives and to our shuls and may we all merit to be inscribed for a good and sweet New Year.
With blessings,
Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein

3. Article Published in Jewish Tradition
Partnerships are everything. Nothing important of high impact can be done without partners. From the beginning of creation G-d said, “It is not good for man to be alone”. As you turn the pages of this magazine, you will see many stories about how dynamic partnerships have changed the trajectory of key issues for our community.
You will read of the partnership that we embarked upon with Robbie Brozin to redirect and renew the Kosher Department here at the UOS. You will read of an important partnership with Dr Richard Friedland in establishing the Brit Regulatory Board to help govern this vital mitzvah for our community. Richard is joined by his fellow board members, all of whom are leading figures in their fields, whether it be law, medicine or halacha. You will read of the partnership that has led to the establishment of the Abuse Review Board, where a few outstanding people have agreed to take on the onerous responsibility of providing vital oversight to protect victims of abuse. On the Abuse Review Board we have a leading advocate and a psychologist, as well as the medical officer of the Teddy Bear Clinic and two outstanding rabbis. You will read of how the dayanim of our Beth Din partnered with a retired High Court Judge to revolutionise the rules of court for the Beth Din, to make it more accessible and user friendly, as a dispute resolution platform for our community. This approach of partnerships has been crucial to create so many things over the years, like CAP, which has been a partnership with security and operational and business experts in our community who help put it all together.
My experience has been that to truly create society changing projects it is absolutely crucial to turn to our talented community to help make these things happen. The South African Jewish community is blessed with talented people in every sphere of human endeavour. What is so inspiring is that all of these people who make so much possible serve as volunteers completely for the cause – to make a difference, to do the mitzvah, to make the world into a better place.
And for each of us our greatest partner of all in life is Hashem Himself. The Talmud makes it clear that when we do good things in this world, we become partners with Hashem in creation. This is a radical idea. The Talmud is teaching us that G-d views us, not only as His loyal servants, but as His partners. This is a great compliment from the King of all Kings that we mere mortals can aspire to be His partners. And in all of our mitzvah endeavours of life in raising families, earning a living, helping the people around us, fulfilling the mitzvahs of the Torah, we are in fact partnering with G-d. What an honour.
May Hashem indeed bless all of our partnerships with success so that we may merit to make this world into a better place.

4. Article Published in Shul Magazines – Be Bright
Be Bright
If your child comes home with a school report which has an A, 3 Bs, a C, and an F, how would you respond? Most parents tend to focus on the problem and fixate on the F. But there is another way. Why not look at that lonely A? What went right that your child did well in that particular subject? Is it possible to analyse the factors that allowed your child to succeed? Can those factors be replicated across the other subjects? Perhaps therein lies the secret to their success. This is the fundamental truth behind the change management technique known as “Bright Spots”. I came across this example and this term in a book called “Switch – How to change things when change is hard”, written by Dan and Chip Heath.
The bright spots approach says let’s look at the areas of success. When looking to making changes in life, don’t only look at the problem areas, but look at where you are succeeding, look for the bright spots in your life, and expand upon them. When we understand the good things which we have done, we are able to ask ourselves crucial questions about these achievements. Why were we able to do good in these situations? What motivated us? What were the factors that led to doing the right thing? And as we answer these questions we are able to understand these bright spots better and then to expand them to the other parts of our life. It’s not to say that we should ignore our mistakes and where we have gone wrong. But what the bright spots approach teaches is that we can often learn so much more from our areas of strength. The plan then is to expand the bright spots to cover other parts of our life.
The truth be told, the idea behind the bright spots theory is one which comes from the ancient wisdom of our Torah. The idea is rooted in our whole approach to confession. Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur is a time of repentance and introspection. During Yom Kippur in particular we confess our sins before Hashem. Rav Yosef Dov Soloveichik explains that included in the confession process is not only to look at where we went wrong, but also to look at our mitzvahs, our good deeds, and where we went right. As we approach Rosh Hashana, let’s not only ask “What am I doing wrong?”, but “what am I doing right?” What’s really working in my life? What’s causing me to grow in the direction I want to and how can I expand and amplify its effect? Let us think about all the times when we did act with generosity, with spiritual devotion, with enthusiasm and with commitment to Torah values. Let us analyse, deeply understand and embrace those occasions and expand them to other mitzvahs.
Bright spots is a marvelous technique to use in our own personal development. It applies to all areas of life – marriage, parenting, work and community. We are now applying the bright spots approach to our shuls. We live in a changing world and our shuls need to stay ahead of the curve in order to remain relevant and engaging. We need to future-proof our shuls. We began a process in July of this year of applying the bright spots methodology to our shuls and have embarked upon a shul renewal project, which we have called “Bright Spots”.
And so, we began on a process to find the bright spots in our shuls across the country. And there are so many. We began with a community-wide survey to understand what people feel about where their shuls are working and engaging for them and where they are not. This data was then presented at a Bright Spots Conference, bringing together rabbis, rebbetzins, shul chairmen and committees, youth directors, shul secretaries and all people involved in the management and direction of shuls. It was an all day workshop and it is part of an ongoing process of applying the bright spots methodology to our shuls.
Vibrant and engaging shuls have been a key to the success of the South African Jewish community. If we are to maintain this we need to constantly innovate and adapt to changing circumstances. The bright spots process is an initiative to do exactly that. The process continues and hopefully you will be seeing positive changes in your shuls as the months unfold.
What I love most about the bright spots approach is that it is optimistic. It teaches us that the answers to a better future are within our grasp. We need to just look at where we are achieving already and to expand those bright spots. And so too as we look ahead to the new year, let us engage in a true process of personal teshuva – of repentance – with Hashem in a positive and proactive way, so that we can have a year of bright spots for all.
With warmest Rosh HaShana wishes to all! May Hashem inscribe us all for a good and sweet year filled with His blessings.

5. Article Published in Jewish Observer
One of the most contentious debates provoked by President Donald Trump is the proposal to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Israeli leadership from the very top, including the President, the Prime Minister and the Mayor of Jerusalem, have all called for the moving of the embassy to Jerusalem. On the other hand, leadership from across the Muslim world have vehemently stated their opposition to this proposal.
The truth is that the heated debates around the moving of the embassy miss the point. Does it really make a difference whether President Trump moves the American Embassy to Jerusalem? It is so disempowering to care so much about whether the Embassy is moved to Jerusalem. To encourage Trump to do so makes the legitimacy of Jerusalem as a Jewish city dependent on who happens to occupy the White House at a particular moment in time. In the name of self-respect let us forget this pursuit.
The problem of it all was clearly articulated by Prime Minister Menachem Begin when he was in London meeting Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in May 1979. Yehuda Avner records what happened:
‘Are you going to ask Mrs Thatcher for her support of the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital’, fired another [journalist] in a la-di-da accent.
Frigidly the Prime Minister answered, ‘No sir – under no circumstances.’
‘Why not’
‘Because, sir, Jerusalem was a Jewish capital long before London was a British capital. When King David moved the capital of his kingdom from Hebron, where he reigned for seven years, to Jerusalem, where he reigned to thirty three years, the civilised world had never heard of London. In fact they had never heard of Great Britain,’ and he turned on his heels toward the door where Mrs Thatcher was waiting to greet him.
This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem and its reunification with the rest of Jerusalem. It is 50 years since the Six Day War, but the city of Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people for more than 3000 years since King David established it as such. Jerusalem was the capital of Israel millennia before Washington, London, Moscow or Paris existed. It is more the capital of Israel than any one of the great capitals of the world are capitals of their own country. Is there any capital of any country anywhere in the world that has a 3000 year old history? It was the site of the Temple built by King Solomon and then of the Temple built by the exiles returning from Babylon. It was under Jewish sovereignty for centuries and centuries and has had an unbroken Jewish presence in it for all of these thousands of years.
But Jerusalem is more than history. It and the values it represents live with us every day of Jewish life. We refer to Jerusalem in our prayers three times a day and in the Grace after Meals. We refer to it at every wedding and at every funeral. There has never been a people more devoted to a city than the Jewish people is devoted to the city of Jerusalem and the ideas and principles it represents. To suggest that it is not the legitimate capital of the Jewish state is beyond belief. It so obviously is that to even raise it as a question is an insult to thousands of years of Jewish history. And to ask President Trump to move his Embassy is to give too much power to the Unites States. Even as the world’s only super power, it surely cannot make or break the status of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Israeli leaders should politely inform Trump that the venue of the U.S. Embassy is irrelevant to the relationship between the Jewish people and Jerusalem.
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the reunification of the city of Jerusalem, let us take a step back and appreciate the full context of Jewish history, that this is indeed not a celebration of a fifty year milestone, but a sparkling and remarkable chapter in a 3000 year old saga, one which is so deeply rooted in Jewish history and in Judaism, that we can stand tall and proud in the knowledge and connection to the city of Jerusalem and everything it stands for. It is symbolic of the Jewish mission which we have carried since G-d gave it to us at Mount Sinai more than 3 300 years ago. It symbolises our values and our heritage. It symbolizes the world of holiness and morality, which flows from our Torah.
And so let us take pride in that and stand tall and say to the world that wherever they may choose to place their embassies has no bearing whatsoever on the place of Jerusalem in our hearts and souls as the eternal capital of the Jewish people.

Rosh HaShana Articles 2018 / 5779
1. Article Published in Jewish Observer – The Power of Humility
The Rambam derives this lesson – about the importance of extreme humility – from a verse in the Torah which describes the greatest leader of Jewish history, Moses, as follows: “Moses, the man, was very humble [more than] any person on earth.” (Numbers 12:3). Moses teaches us that there is no room for the middle path between arrogance and humility; that a person should always be extremely humble.
Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, the Ramchal, says humility is not only an imperative; it’s one of the highest spiritual and moral levels that a person can achieve. In his great ethical work, Mesillat Yesharim (Path of the Upright), and based on a verse in the Talmud, he sets out an ascending ladder of spiritual greatness – and right near the top of the ladder is humility.
The Ramchal defines humility as a mindset – of not thinking one is better than others, and of feeling oneself undeserving of praise and honour. In this vein, Rav Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenberg, in his commentary on our parsha, points out that Moses, the person who led the Jewish people out of Egypt, who spoke with G-d Himself, who reached the pinnacle of human perfection, could have (perhaps with some justification) looked down on others. A person with lesser gifts than Moses would have had a more natural inclination towards humility. And yet he mastered himself and held others in great esteem, never looking down on them, never succumbing to arrogance.
How do we bring humility into our lives? The Ramchal outlines a four-step formula. The first step is to modify the way we speak, walk and sit: we should speak gently and kindly, we should not walk with a swagger, and we should not jostle for the most prominent seat in a room.
The second step is to get used to remaining silent in the face of insult: arrogant people who hold themselves in high regard take offence at the smallest slight, but humble people, while they recognise their self-worth and are comfortable with themselves, don’t become indignant at offence from others.
The third step to humility is to run away from honour and recognition. This applies especially, say our sages, in the context of leadership. The Torah outlook on leadership is summed up in a passage in the Gemara, where a sage who is appointing two young people for a leadership position, tells them: “Do you think I give you power and lordship [over others]? I give you service!” (Horiot 10a).
The fourth step is to practise giving kavod – honour – to other people. As it says in Pirkei Avot: “Who is honoured? One who honours people.” (Avot 4:1) The Mesillat Yesharim says there are many ways to honour others – from simply greeting people in a warm manner, to being extremely careful not to disrespect another person.
One of the most striking tributes to the value of humility comes from the Ramban – Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman. The Ramban was the Chief Rabbi of Catalonia. In 1263, he was challenged to a theological debate by Pablo Christiani, a Jewish convert to Christianity, in the presence of King James I. The Ramban emerged victorious, though was banished from Europe as a result. Fleeing to Israel, he wrote a famous letter to his son who had remained in Catalonia, laying out a few core Torah values to guide him in life. And it’s humility that features prominently in the letter.
“This sterling quality [of humility] is the finest of all admirable traits,” he writes. He advises his son to “speak gently to all people at all times [as] this will protect you from anger – a most serious character flaw which causes one to sin. Once you have distanced yourself from anger, the quality of humility will enter your heart.”
He goes on to describe humility as the gateway to G-d consciousness. “Through humility the awe of G-d will intensify in your heart for you will always be aware of where you come from and to where you are destined to go…”
He writes of the futility of arrogance: “And now my son, understand clearly that one who is arrogant in his heart towards other people rebels against the sovereignty of heaven, for he glorifies himself in G-d’s own robes… For indeed of what should man be prideful? If he has wealth – it is G-d who makes one prosperous. And if honour – does honour not belong to G-d? If he takes pride in wisdom – let him understand that G-d may remove the speech of the most competent and take away the wisdom of the aged.”
And then he closes the argument. “Thus all people stand as equals before their Creator… he casts down the lofty… he elevates the downtrodden. Therefore humble yourself for G-d will lift you”. (This translation of the Ramban’s letter is, in the main, based on the ArtScroll edition of the letter.)
And so from the Ramban we see the constellation of Torah values which are founded on humility: gentleness, kindness, slowness to anger, awe of G-d and recognising Him as the source of all blessings; and at the heart of it all, the deep-seated belief in the equality of all people.
Indeed, it was this appreciation for the value of every human being that lay at the heart of Moses’ humility. Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel points out that when the verse says: “Moses was the humblest of all people”, the literal translation of the Hebrew preposition used here is actually “from” not “of” – in other words: “Moses was the humblest from all people.” He explains that Moses’ humility was inspired by being able seeing the greatness – the image of G-d – in those around him.
If we adopt this mindset, then there’s simply no room for airs and graces. Humility becomes a natural state of being, and with it, self-mastery. It’s no coincidence that Moses, the greatest prophet ever, was also the most humble human being. Humility and greatness are two sides of the same coin.

2. Article Published in Shul Magazines – Service of the heart
In 2001, a study conducted at Duke University Medical Center on a group of 150 cardiac patients uncovered some extraordinary findings. The patients, all of whom were receiving post-operative therapy treatment, were split into two subgroups – one subgroup had people praying for their wellbeing, the other subgroup didn’t. The findings showed the subgroup that was prayed for had significantly better treatment outcomes than the group that received the treatment alone.
Most notably, the study was double-blind – neither the researchers, nor those being prayed for, knew about the prayers. And it wasn’t a once-off either. A comparable double-blind study, conducted at San Francisco General Hospital’s Coronary Care Unit, demonstrated very similar results.
During this time of year, of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we spend many hours in shul praying together. It’s a good time to reflect on the power of prayer to change our lives for the good. It’s a good time to think about how we can make davening a daily part of our lives. Whether we are praying for ourselves or others are praying for us, the impact that prayer can have is immense. Prayer can be a transformative, inspiring and uplifting experience.
The Gemara (Ta’anit 2a) describes prayer as “service of the heart”. What does that mean? Where does that come in?
At its essence, prayer is about cultivating an emotional connection – a real relationship – with G-d. If done right, prayer can be a direct encounter with the Divine. The Rambam says having kavanah – deep intention, awareness and devotion – is vital. Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik explains that kavanah is a basic awareness that we are in the presence of G-d when we pray; that we aren’t just mouthing the words and going through the motions, but are having a private audience with the Creator of the universe. This state of mind can put us into a very powerful emotional state – and this is what “service of the heart” is all about.
When we pray, we need to articulate the words so that only we can hear them – that is why we pray in a whisper. There is an intimacy in whispering. When we whisper to someone it is an intimate moment. Likewise, when we whisper our prayers to G-d, we feel close and connected to Him. We feel His love for us and we express our love for Him, and that transforms our whole relationship with the Torah, with ourselves and the rest of creation.
Whispering is also an indication of G-d’s closeness to us during these intimate moments. And the fact that we have this private audience with G-d is not something to take for granted. Consider how difficult, or even impossible, it is to have a private conversation with someone in high office or a venerated public figure. And yet, through prayer, we have privileged access to the King of all kings, the Creator of the universe. And we have it whenever we want!
Friends – during these deep, intimate, emotional moments, we praise G-d and give thanks to Him, but most importantly, we make ourselves vulnerable to Him. The heart and soul of prayer is articulating our needs, what we are lacking, where we are falling short. In fact, requests make up 13 of the 19 blessings in the Amidah. The Maharal says that through prayer, we make the declaration that we are completely dependent on G-d for our needs. He explains this is why prayer is called “service”. We are G-d’s servants in the sense that our welfare is entirely in His hands. And during prayer, we turn to Him for help and support, with the faith that whatever the outcome, it is ultimately for our good, and a pure expression of His love.
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (OC 2:24) says turning to G-d in times of need and distress is the ultimate expression of faith. It’s a recognition that nothing in this world can happen without G-d’s blessing; that whatever effort we put in, the result is entirely dependent on G-d’s will. When we pray for the recovery of someone who is sick, or for the success of a new business venture, we do so mindful of the fact that the doctors and the medicines, the business models and strategic planning, are merely the instruments through which G-d works. Our entire existence is in the hands of the One who loves us and wants only what’s best for us.
Prayer is a deep emotional and spiritual experience. It’s the entire basis of our relationship with G-d. Passionate prayer – true service of the heart – brings us close to our Creator. It nourishes us spiritually and emotionally. It has the power to inspire and invigorate every aspect of our lives. As we gather our new year’s resolutions this Rosh Hashanah, let us ensure that prayer is high on the list. Let us make davening a daily part of life. We have the blessing of the siddur, the words of which were crafted by our prophets and sages – heartfelt holy words uttered by Jews for generations. Let us come to shul to connect with Hashem with the merit of community surrounding us. Let this year be one for rejuvenation and inspiration through the power of prayer. And may our prayers this Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur be graciously accepted by Hashem, so that all at the …. together with all of us, are inscribed for a good and sweet year.

 

3. Article Published in Cape Jewish Chronicle – Speaking from the Heart
Our role model for how to pray is one of the great women of Jewish history – Chana, whose life story is told by the Book of Samuel. The Talmud (Brachot 31a) learns its most important insights on how to pray from Chana, who was unable to fall pregnant and came to the Temple to pray. The verse describes her prayers as follows, “And Chana was speaking from her heart. Only her lips moved but her voice was not heard.” (Samuel 1:1-13). We learn from Chana to pray in such a way that only we can hear the words which we say. The Amidah – the centrepiece of all of our prayers – is known as the “silent prayer”. It brings a profound sense of silence and tranquillity into our lives, and provides a few precious moments each day to meditate on and to reinforce our spiritual connection to G-d and to reflect on who we are. We do so in G-d’s presence and connect with Him through our reflection. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains that the origin of the Hebrew word for prayer – “tefillah” is “lehitpaleil”, which means to self-reflect. The silence of prayer allows us to do exactly that in the presence of G-d.
We also learn from Chana about the depth of sincerity required for prayer. The verse says that “Chana was speaking from her heart.” When we connect with G-d in our prayers we need to speak from the heart. It needs to be a deep spiritual and emotional experience, in which we have an immediate and direct encounter with G-d Himself. This direct connection is one of the important secrets of prayer. One of our great Talmudic sages, Rabbi Eliezer, was nearing the end of his life and his students gathered around him to ask him to share some of the wisdom he had gleaned over the years (Brachot 28b). One of the things Rabbi Eliezer shared with his students was the secret of prayer. He said, “When you pray, know before Whom you are standing.” Let us take the opportunity when we pray to reflect on the awesome privilege that we have of being able to engage directly with G-d in an intimate private conversation.
From Chana we learn of the spiritual intensity and emotional inspiration that comes from the experience of prayer. But there is another dimension to prayer as well, and that is that prayer is not only a personal experience, but a communal one as well. As Jews we come together to pray in shul. We come together as a community in a spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood, in a spirit of unity. The words of our prayers have been composed by our great sages and prophets using the plural. We don’t only pray for ourselves. We pray for everyone together. In our prayers before G-d we cannot be self-centred. The experience of prayer is about transcending self – transcending and connecting with G-d, and transcending our own self-interests to be able to see and feel for the people around us. The Talmud teaches about the great merit of praying for another person. We need to see the people around us, feel their needs, their trials and their tribulations; have empathy and compassion and then to pray for them in the same way that we pray for ourselves.
Over this Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur we will be spending many hours in shul praying. Let us embrace this experience and ensure that it is a truly a personal and spiritual experience and an experience of self-transcendence and care and connection with the community. And let us go further and make prayer a daily part of our lives. The siddur is a treasure of spiritual connection, composed by our great prophets and sages, and we are blessed to have wonderful shuls. Let us embrace these blessings and may 5779 be a year of personal transformation through the power of prayer. And may we all be inscribed for a good and sweet year.

4. Letter to Amsterdam Community
It was a wonderful experience for me to visit the Amsterdam Jewish community less than two years ago. I was struck with the warmth and vibrancy of the community. I am also grateful to the Jews of Amsterdam for your enthusiastic embrace of The Shabbos Project, which brings with it Jewish unity and reconnection to Hashem and our heritage. Thank you for your partnership and boldness in making The Shabbos Project happen with such force in your community.
Like Shabbos, Torah learning is a transformational force in Jewish life. Closeness to Hashem that comes from Torah learning defines our relationship with Him. “Avinu Malkeinu – Our Father, Our King”, the poignant prayer said on the Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, refers to two kinds of relationships with Hashem. Rav Chaim Volozhiner explains that describing Hashem as a king reflects our identity as His loyal servants who fulfil His commandments. A servant must obey even against his will. But describing Hashem as a father refers to our identity as His children, which is created by learning Torah. Through teaching us Torah, Hashem relates to us as a loving parent, as a father who sits down with his child to explain what must be done and why. As the child learns, he or she understands the reasons for his parent’s instructions in a spirit of love and respect. The exact sequence of the wording is significant: we refer to Hashem first as our father, and then as our king. This demonstrates that learning Torah is the primary foundation of our relationship to Him and to our duties in His world.
Let us understand more about the power of Torah learning. The secret to this is to appreciate the power of attitude and perception – the way we look at ourselves and the world around us; the way we understand who we are and why we are here. Therein lies the power of Torah learning: it can change who we are because it provides us with an awesome opportunity to look at the world through the eyes of Hashem. And when we are looking at the world the way G-d looks at the world, then we have the right attitude, the ultimate perception. When we look at our personal lives, our families, our purpose, our society, the work that we do, through G-d’s eyes, we have the power to positively transform our lives for the better.
The Book of Mishlei states: “For a mitzvah is a flame and Torah is light.” Referring to this verse, the Gemara in Sotah compares the world we live in to a dark forest. As we walk through it, we are confronted with obstacles and confusion, our every step dogged with danger and uncertainty. By doing a mitzvah, we are carrying a torch that enables us to see a little further ahead. But, still, our sight range is limited. Learning Torah, however, is light itself. It’s like seeing the sun rise: the landscape is lit up, and everything becomes clear. Suddenly, there are signposts everywhere, and a huge vista opens up around us. The sense of confusion and danger dissipates, replaced by a pristine clarity of vision. We know where we are going, and we have clear perspective on our life and our life journey. We become transformed learning Torah.
So, as we approach Rosh Hashana this year, let us all recommit ourselves to learning Torah, which has the power to change our lives for the good in every imaginable way. It is the gateway to transforming our relationship with Hashem and with our Judaism and, indeed, with ourselves. In this merit may Hashem bless the Amsterdam Jewish community, and all of Am Yisrael, with a good and sweet year, filled with His abundant blessings.

5. Article Published in Paarl Post
Why did G-d choose to give the Torah to His people on a mountain? What was His intention?
Often, we are so caught up in our daily tasks, trying to keep up with the pace set by society – checking off multiple items on our infinite to-do list – that we forget what we are doing it for. We fail to stop and appreciate our lives and our opportunities afforded to us by G-d. And we continue on the treadmill, losing all sense of purpose and direction.
We need to stop. We need to step outside of our routine activities and preoccupations, and rise above ourselves so that we can assess where we are going, and take the time to recognise if we are even on the right path. This is what Rosh Hashanah is about.
The Divine value of gratitude and appreciation is often overlooked. Sometimes we take the most important and basic things for granted. We need to be reminded of the importance of gratitude. The Talmud says we must even give thanks to G-d for every breath of air that we take into our lungs. We also tend to take for granted the love and support of those who are closest to us. We need to step back and see the big picture to truly appreciate our spouse, children, parents, siblings and all our loyal friends. Appreciation and gratitude are pillars on which our most precious relationships stand.
The Torah was given on Mount Sinai (albeit a very low mountain to symbolise humility, which is required for the achievement of greatness), which was chosen by G-d to represent perspective: when we stand on top of a mountain, we have a completely different viewpoint of the world. We see the big picture. We look at the world and our lives from the vantage point of G-d’s values, which are as concrete and eternal as a mountain. So often, we get drawn into the changing and fleeting trends of the latest fashions of behaviour. But, rather, we must be rooted in the timeless and foundational values of G-d’s principles for life. On Rosh Hashanah, we take two days away from the chaos of life to reflect on these values and how we can make them part of our lives.
From the transcendent perspective of the mountain of Rosh Hashanah, we can be inspired to change and improve. Rosh Hashanah is a time of hope. It is a time of change. It is a time of opportunity. May G-d bless us all to be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet New Year filled with His abundant blessings.

Rosh HaShana Articles 2019 / 5780
1. Article Published in Jewish Observer – How do we move on in life
On 4 March 1987, then US President Ronald Reagan addressed the American people from the Oval Office about the Iran-Contra Scandal. It involved senior government officials secretly facilitating the sale of arms to Iran, which was the subject of an arms embargo.
Taking full responsibility for his role in the affair, Reagan famously said:
“Now, what should happen when you make a mistake is this: you take your knocks, you learn your lessons, and then you move on. That’s the healthiest way to deal with a problem… You know, by the time you reach my age, you’ve made plenty of mistakes. And if you’ve lived your life properly – so, you learn. You put things in perspective. You pull your energies together. You change. You go forward.”
Unfortunately, this honest, unflinching admission of wrongdoing is often the exception rather than the rule. From Cambridge Analytica to the Panama Papers, Watergate to Harvey Weinstein and Lance Armstrong, public figures have been famously reluctant to admit the error of their ways.
And it’s a practice that goes all the way back to the beginning of human history. When G-d confronts Adam after he has eaten from the forbidden tree, his response to avoid accountability: “The woman whom you gave to me, she gave from the tree to me and I ate it.” (Genesis 3:12). Rather than accept responsibility and acknowledge his wrongdoing, Adam’s first instinct is to shift the blame.
In his commentary on this verse, the Sforno contrasts Adam’s response with that of King David – who, when he was confronted by the prophet, Natan, with regards to his sin with Batsheva, immediately responds: “I have sinned to Hashem.” (Samuel 2:12-13). This is how we should respond when we realise that we have done wrong.
The Torah directs us to fulfil the mitzvah of confession. The verse states, simply: “If a man or a woman commits any sin… they shall confess their sin that they committed.” (Numbers 5:6-7). The Rambam, in his Laws of Repentance, defines the process of repentance and sets out its various components: regretting the mistakes of the past, desisting from that wrongdoing in the present, and resolving not to return to this course of action in the future. But, there’s a fourth element, no less crucial to the repentance process – confession. (Laws of Repentance, Chapter 1). Confession – in Hebrew, viduy – is simply a verbal expression to G-d of the errors of the past and our resolve for the future, an acknowledgement of full responsibility and accountability for our actions. And to confess requires real courage and honesty.
Why is verbal confession central to repentance? The Sefer HaChinuch emphasises the element of transparency – that G-d knows all and sees all, and that by verbalising our wrongdoing, we are acknowledging our lives are an open book before our Creator.
Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik has a different take. He compares confession, viduy, to the mitzvah of reciting the Shema, and of the mitzvah of prayer to G-d. All of these mitzvahs have a deep internal, emotional, spiritual and intellectual component, and yet all are made concrete and tangible through verbal expression which strengthen, give form and shape and make impactful the deep internal processes taking place. So to explain, the internal process of the Shema is to accept G-d as the Master of the Universe and to crown Him as king in our lives. That is a very deep internal process, which is given expression by the reciting of the words of the Shema. Prayer is defined by our sages as the “service of the heart” – deep feeling of emotional and spiritual connection to G-d – yet this hidden aspect is made concrete and tangible through verbal expression using a siddur. By vocalising the prayers, we reinforce, and give shape and form to, the deep internal processes happening beneath the surface.
In a similar way, the mitzvah of confession gives verbal expression to the deep internal psychological and emotional process of personal change and repentance. The words of the viduy help us articulate and concretise the deep feelings of regret for the past and resolve for the future.
Confession is also about repairing the damage our actions have caused, specifically to our relationship with G-d and with those we have wronged. The repentance process is about healing those rifts, and restoring our connection to the people we have hurt, and to our Creator. The Hebrew word for repentance is teshuva, which literally means “return”. Through teshuva, we return to that pristine state in which there was no distance or disconnect in our relationships.
The Rambam says when it comes to wronging other people, it is sometimes necessary to confess not only privately to G-d, but to make a public confession and apology to the people harmed, in order to rectify the damage. In addition to confession, we are also obliged to ask those we have wronged for forgiveness, in situations where we have caused harm to another. The Rambam further writes that the victim of our misdeed needs to act with compassion and graciously grant forgiveness, and in this way, the relationships that have been damaged by our wrongdoing can be fully restored.
When it comes to restoring our relationship with G-d, our confession is made before Him alone. The purpose, says the Maharal, is to help us restore our closeness to G-d, a natural state of being which is disturbed by our wrongdoing. Through the process of confession, we pour out our heart, and affect a deep, emotional reconciliation with our Creator.
Teshuva is an incredible G-d-given gift to restore that which has been broken. Our sages teach that through the simple act of taking responsibility, of doing teshuva – acknowledging and sincerely regretting our wrongdoings, desisting from them in the present, resolving not to repeat them, and confessing before G-d – we are given the opportunity to travel back in time and undo what has been done.
Through honesty, accountability and true humility we return to a point in time in which our relationships were undamaged, and we renew and reinvigorate our connection with G-d and with those around us. It’s a second chance, the gift of a new start, an opportunity to begin afresh so the future is not destroyed by the past – and so we can look ahead with fresh energy, new hope and optimism.

2. Article Published in Jewish Report – Kindness changes everything
Amidst the smouldering ruins of Jerusalem, a conversation takes place between two great Jewish leaders of the time. Their words reverberate through history, and have a life-changing message for us as we approach Rosh HaShana 5780, almost 2,000 years later.
One of these leaders, Rabbi Yehoshua, utterly distraught, bemoans the inconceivable loss of the Temple, and especially the power of the offerings to effect atonement (Avot D, Rabi Natan 4:5). The Temple service enabled people to make a fresh start, to begin again after stumbling, and to reclaim their innate purity. Of course, it had to be accompanied by a process of inner change and repentance – by sincere regret, and a real resolve to do better in the future, and by a willingness to confront personal failings with real honesty. But with the Temple gone, would true atonement be possible?
Rabbi Yochanan consoles Rabbi Yehoshua. He explains that there is a force in the world which has the same potency as the Temple itself to atone for sin. That force, he says, is kindness. The simple act of reaching out to others – providing them with help, support, comfort, and strength in their time of need – can rewire the spiritual universe in much the same way as the ancient sacred Temple services. Kindness, says Rabbi Yochanan, can unleash a force of Divine forgiveness in the world that changes everything.
This has profound implications for us as we approach Rosh HaShana – Yom Hadin, the Day of Judgement. Of course, at this time, we have to confront our wrongdoings and find a sincere way to become better in the year ahead. But the words of Rabbi Yochanan remind us that there is a powerful force which can help drive this inner journey.
Bringing up an offering in the Temple was a moving, transformative experience, rich in symbolism and spiritual power. Rabbi Yochanan’s insight was that acts of kindness are equally transformative. Emotionally, psychologically, spiritually, the person we were before doing a kind deed is not the person we are after it. Kindness purifies and elevates us, and thereby atones for our misdeeds.
We learn about the transformative power of kindness from Moses. We read in the Torah that Moses “grew up” (vayigdal) in the house of Pharoah, and immediately after, in the next verse, the Torah repeats the fact that he “grew up” (Shemot 2:10-11). The Maharal explains that the first mention of “vayigdal” refers to Moses’ physical growth, and the second refers to his spiritual and moral growth. He became a “gadol”, a great person – “Moses grew up and went out to his brothers and saw their burdens”. The act of opening his eyes to the suffering of his brethren enlarged Moshe in a very real sense. He could have remained in the privileged and protected environment of the palace, yet he gave it all up because of a concern for those around him.
This is precisely what it means to be great – to see the people around you, to be aware of their plight. And when you alleviate another person’s pain, ease another’s burden, put another’s troubled mind at rest, meet someone else’s basic emotional, psychological or physical needs, it transforms not just the recipient of your kindness, it transforms you.
The message to us here in South Africa is clear. We need to see the suffering and the pain around us. South Africa is a country with so much promise, and at the same time, so much suffering. As the Jewish community, we need to feel that, and counter it with acts of kindness.
All South Africans watched with horror at the recent wave of xenophobic attacks. Shopowners, workers, people simply going about the business of earning a living, were subject to merciless beatings, and worse, at the hands of angry mobs. Equally alarming is the surge in violent crime against women. Attacks on women have doubled over the past two years.
And we have to unleash corresponding waves of kindness. There are many Jewish-led organisations and initiatives doing just that. But each of us can make a difference in our own personal capacity; we should confront, with kindness, any person we encounter.
We have a particular responsibility within our own community, too. So many are struggling with various challenges – health issues, financial difficulties, emotional strain. We need to feel others’ pain – and use that to spur us into acts of kindness. We are called on to become a “partner with G-d in creation” (Shabbat 10a). G-d created the world in six days, but it didn’t end there. The work of “creating” the world – of nurturing and sustaining human life, of making the world a better, kinder place – is an ongoing concern. And, as G-d’s partners, we are part of this process, we help drive it. Through simple acts of kindness, we change the lives of others, and by fulfilling our G-d-given mandate to do so, we create cosmic change in ourselves. We become G-dly.
We see this on a practical level. Time and again, even a small act of kindness – a greeting, a gesture, a smile, a visit – can transform a person’s day. Or even that person’s entire life. Showing warmth and kindness and comfort to someone who is mourning the loss of a loved one, or who is facing serious illness, can change a life. Helping a person going through difficulties with emotional support, but also with physical and material support, can change a life. Acts of kindness are soft and gentle, but their impact is powerful and awesome.
And so, as the South African Jewish community, let us welcome in the new year, 5780, by rededicating ourselves to bringing kindness into our world; into our country, into our community, into our families. Let us ensure everything we do and everything we say is infused with its spiritual light. Let us be beacons of kindness, to follow in the ways of G-d, Whose “compassion extends to all of His creations” (Psalms 145:9).
And as we approach Rosh Hashana, let us unleash wave upon wave of kindness, and in so doing, change not just the lives of the people around us, but our own lives – who we are in the deepest core of our being. In this way, may we merit G-d’s blessing for a good and sweet new year.

3. Article Published in Shul Magazines
I would like to share some personal reflections on the blessing of our eldest son getting married a few weeks ago. It was a profoundly moving experience, and it filled me with gratitude to Hashem, and with so many other powerful, and conflicting, emotions. I felt joy and inspiration, an overwhelming sense of love and abundance. But I also felt anxiety.
As parents, we all want to protect our children, to watch over them every moment of every day. These feelings are felt most acutely at the moment of birth, yet with each passing year, we take another step back to give our children the space to flourish independently, to chart their own path in life.
And then, please G-d, they get married. It’s at this point that, as parents, we step back completely – and that requires faith: faith in the Torah values and upbringing that we have given our children; faith in the fact that we’ve given them all the tools, all the grounding, they need to face the world and flourish. Of course, we continue to support and love our children, but once they get married, they follow the path of their own destiny.
I have been thinking, in this context, of the faith that G-d has in each of us, to give us the independence to make our own way in life. In a remarkable gesture, G-d grants every human being the power of free choice to make decisions and to decide for themselves how to live. The principle of free choice is foundational to Judaism. Hashem guides us, and even commands us, through His Torah and mitzvot, but ultimately, we are left to make our own decisions. We bear the consequences of those decisions – as we reflect and repent on Rosh HaShanah and throughout the Ten Days of Repentance, culminating in Yom Kippur. But through the gift of free choice, He gives us the space, the right – the confidence – to chart our own lives.
But, stepping back and giving our children the space to build their own lives raises other fears and requires deep faith in Hashem. As much as we might wish to, we cannot protect our children from life. Moments of great challenge and difficulty, even pain, will arise. And our children will need to face them, just as we face our own challenges, difficulties and pain.
We don’t face them alone, though. It’s at moments like these that we realise, on the deepest level, that we are all in Hashem’s hands. What I have been thinking about recently is that, ultimately, we are all children – as the Torah puts it: “You are children of Hashem, your G-d.”
This is profoundly comforting, and even empowering. When we were children, most of us experienced, in one way or another, the sense of comfort and security of having loving parents who looked after us. What is so transformational is to remember that, in a fundamental sense, we remain the children of G-d throughout our lives. Like a loving parent, He loves us, takes care of us and only wants what’s good for us. In front of Him, we are vulnerable, but we feel safe and secure in our vulnerability because we know He is looking after us. It doesn’t mean that things will always turn out the way we wish them to – children come to know that they don’t always get their own way – but it does mean that whatever happens is part of G-d’s loving plan for us, and we remain in His loving embrace. This awareness empowers us to embrace our vulnerabilities, and to face life with all its opportunities and challenges with confidence.
We refer to G-d in the davening over Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur as Avinu Malkeinu – “Our Father our King”. G-d is our King in that He gives us commandments to fulfil, and we acknowledge His power and authority. But before G-d is our King, He is our Father. As Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv, one of our great sages of the past two centuries, points out, Avinu comes before Malkeinu. Our primary relationship and interaction with G-d is as our loving parent.
And so, at this awe-inspiring time of Rosh HaShanah, even as we appear before our Maker in judgment, we reflect deeply on our faith in G-d as our loving parent. It is this faith that enables us to enter the Day of Judgment with joy and confidence. It is remarkable that Rosh HaShanah is not only a time of trepidation and deep introspection and repentance – but it is also a Yom Tov, a day of celebration with good food and family. This joy is a remarkable reflection of the complete faith and trust we have in G-d as a loving parent. We trust Hashem that whatever lies ahead for us this year is an expression of His love and is ultimately for our good – even when we cannot see it.
As we watch our children grow up, get married and chart their own path in life, we can step back and know that even though we cannot look after them every moment of every day, we are all ultimately the children of Hashem – He is looking after them, and all of us, and we are all in His loving embrace.

4. Article Published in Cape Jewish Chronicle
Humans of New York is a hugely popular blog and best-selling book that has impacted the world – and changed the way we see people. It all started in 2010 when street photographer, Brandon Stanton, began posting pictures of ordinary New Yorkers going about their lives in unremarkable ways. Together with the photographs, he shared extracts of interviews that he conducted with his subjects. His blog has become a global sensation, whose significance is discussed in a book by well-known social activists, Henry Timms and Jeremy Heimans. They write:
“Humans [of New York] reaffirms a belief that stands out in a world of shiny celebrity: normal people matter. Stanton’s portraits are love letters to the ordinary. These love letters get shared a lot. Stanton has 17 million Facebook followers who have over time built a sense of community with each other. Each picture offers them something of real value, a daily demonstration of our common humanity.”
Stanton’s apparently novel concept, which has struck a cord among so many millions of people, is, in fact, rooted in a Torah idea that goes right back to the beginning of time.
Rosh HaShana is the anniversary of the creation of the first human beings, Adam and Eve. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 37a) makes the point that when G-d created the animal and plant kingdoms, he did so en masse, and yet with human beings he created all of humanity from one man and one woman – from whom every human being on earth is descended. He did so, the Talmud explains, in order to teach us the eternal lesson that to save one life is to save an entire world, and to destroy one life is to destroy an entire world.
Every human being is an entire world, filled with unique hopes and aspirations, concerns and disappointments, joys and pains – and we are called on to treasure and respect the preciousness of every human being. As our sages teach in Pirkei Avot, “Beloved is the human being created in G-d’s image” (3:18). Likewise, the Midrash (Tanchuma Pinchas 10) points out that just as no two faces are the same, no two souls are alike, either.
The impact and resonance of Humans of New York comes from this acknowledgement and appreciation for the uniqueness and preciousness of every human being. And from this mutual appreciation and recognition emerges the idea of community: a group of unique individuals, who, through their specific contributions, and mutual support, and shared vision, create a collective that is greater than the sum of its parts.
The Torah tells us that to be a Jew is to live not just as an individual, but to live as part of Klal Yisrael, “the community of Israel”. Klal Yisrael is more than just an amalgam of individuals; it is a living, breathing entity in its own right, a unified whole, in which each is responsible for the other. Through community, we enlarge ourselves, and in enlarging ourselves, we enlarge others.
In this spirit, as we strive to nurture a sense of community here in Cape Town, and across the broader South African Jewish community, we have the Torah to guide us. So many of the mitzvot are devoted to teaching us how to relate to one another: how not to speak negatively about each other (lashon hara), and address one another gently and respectfully; how to grieve and celebrate together; how to conduct ourselves ethically in business; how to reach out with kindness and compassion, and give generously.
These are the ways we build community. These are the ways we celebrate and support the Divine spirit within each one of us. These are the ways we connect with each other and with G-d Himself, who has created each of us and imbued us with a common Divine soul.
These are the ways we realise the perfected world G-d wanted us to create.
5. Article Published in Cape Jewish Chronicle
Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The sea and the mountains and their magnificent combination are breath-taking. To be surrounded by such beauty on a daily basis is a blessing from G-d. But it also comes with a great challenge. It is part of human nature that the first time we experience something it has the greatest impact. Subsequently the impact of the experience diminishes as we get used to it and become familiar with it. Familiarity and repletion dull the experience. A first time tourist to Cape Town is overawed by its beauty. Is it possible to recapture that sense of awe? Is it possible for a person who lives in such beauty to recapture that sense of awe?
And this is not just a question in the context of Cape Town, it is a question in the context of life itself. One of the great sages of the Lithuanian Jewry in the early part of the twentieth century, Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, known as the Alta of Slobotka (Alta), throws this challenge out to us. He gives direction for how a person can connect with the joy and the inspiration of life and its bountiful experiences. He says that we are called upon to see this world as new and fresh and with new and fresh eyes. As we acknowledge in our morning prayers that G-d is the One who, “renews in His goodness creation every day continuously”. And so our challenge, but actually our opportunity, is to see the world not through tired eyes which only see the familiar and the old, but to see the new and the fresh. How is this achieved? How can this be done?
The Alta of Slobotka says that our sages of the Talmud gave us a way of connecting with the joy and the inspiration of life’s experiences. They did so by formulating blessings for us to say each and every single day, blessings and prayers which acknowledge the miracles. From the moment that we open our eyes in the morning we thank G-d, through the prayer of the “Modei Ani”, for the fact that we are alive once again. We stop and appreciate life itself. In the morning blessings before the day begins we thank G-d for opening our eyes, for allowing us to stand up straight, for giving us the gift of a soul in our bodies which brings energy and inspiration to us. Every experience in the day that we go through, whether it is eating a simple apple or bread or seeing lightening or hearing thunder, our sages gave us blessings to say where we acknowledge G-d as the Creator of the world, as the Creator of the fruits of bread and everything else that we experience. Through these blessings we become mindful and sensitive to everything around us to the point where as the Talmud says, we are able to give thanks for every breath of air that we take.
And then there is the inspiration and the awareness that comes from personal growth and development. The Alta of Slobotka points out that parents become overjoyed when their child says their first syllable and then letter and then word and then begins to speak and walk. Each milestone is a joy which is celebrated. And he says we need to access that same kind of joy in our continual journey of growth and development as a human being and as a Jew. As we grow and develop our character traits and become more refined and elevated people, people of greater compassion and kindness, people of greater wisdom and insight, those milestones should fill us with joy. In particular, he says that we can connect with the joy of learning Torah, which is a journey of discovery and a journey of growth and development. We have blessings in the morning to thank G-d for the fact that we have access to His wisdom in His Torah, from which we derive light and inspiration and the joy of becoming a person of greater understanding and depth.
And the ultimate joy, the Alta explains, is the joy of knowing that each of these gifts of life are coming directly from G-d Himself. The awareness that the King of all Kings is shining the rays of the sun on our faces, has created the majesty of the sea and the mountains, has the beauty of the human relationships around us, is truly inspiring. When we make the connection between the blessings and the joys and the experiences of life to the fact that these are all Divine gifts, that is what fills our lives with the greatest light.
So at this time of year as we begin the year 5780, this Rosh HaShana, and as we reflect on our lives and everything that we are doing, let us take this moment and this time to reflect on the joys of the experiences of our lives as gifts from G-d and to find the inspiration and the joy of that.