Jewish Life Digital Edition July 2013 | Page 3

FROM THE TEAM FROM THE EDITOR WWW.JEWISHLIFE.CO.ZA WELCOME CREDITS PUBLISHER & MANAGING DIRECTOR EDS PHOTOGRAPH: ILAN OSSENDRYVER I was privileged to attend Sinai Indaba III recently, and was truly energised by the incredible spectacle of Joburg Jewry of all walks of life coming together with a thirst for Torah knowledge. I had braved the freezing cold, was recovering from flu, and should have been in bed, but boy was it worth it. The diversity of the thousands of participants was inspiring and electrifying, and we are truly blessed to have leadership the calibre of Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein (read more about his other project, Generation Sinai, on page 52). I’m a little bit petrified to do so, but I’d like to share something UK Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks spoke about at the opening address. Globalisation. The buzzword of the modern world, but something, in fact, that Jews have excelled at for thousands of years. The Jewish people is a family dispersed across the globe, and for the most part, we’ve had very little to unite us over the centuries – no common land, no common language, culture or circumstance. Yet, if any Jew anywhere is in distress, we all feel a bond with him or her that speaks volumes about our common peoplehood. This is what the world needs to learn from our people. With conflicts and bloodshed on nearly every continent, it is our responsibility to reveal that there is another way. The dignity of diversity. Our common humanity far outweighs OUR COMMON HUMANITY FAR the things that divide us. There is a place in Olam Haba for every OUTWEIGHS THE THINGS THAT DIVIDE righteous human being – Muslim, US. THERE IS A PLACE IN OLAM HABA Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Bahai, FOR EVERY RIGHTEOUS HUMAN BEING Shinto, and the list goes on. We – MUSLIM, CHRISTIAN, HINDU, don’t need to think the same, look the same or act the same in order BUDDHIST, BAHAI, SHINTO, AND THE to be one family. LIST GOES ON. WE DON’T NEED TO THINK Such a simple yet powerful THE SAME, LOOK THE SAME OR ACT THE message, and to teach it to the world, we must continue to live it. SAME IN ORDER TO BE ONE FAMILY. Another speaker at Sinai Indaba was Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi, who suggested we read Psalm 20 every day of the month of Tammuz, having in mind a specific fellow Jew in distress. We need to show G-d that we care about each other, to repair the awful division and baseless hatred that destroyed our Temple and sovereignty in Israel in the year 70 CE. As the psalm goes: “How good and pleasing it is to see brothers sitting together as one.” As a parent of squabbling siblings, how true this rings; how much nachas do we feel when our children are good and kind to each other! Let’s give our Father in Heaven that same nachas. Enjoy this special Unity edition. COVER: JEWS UNITED IN PRAYER AT THE WESTERN WALL PHOTOGRAPH BY ILAN OSSENDRYVER CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS: Congratulations to Leslie Herring who wins a copy of To Kindle a Soul – Ancient Wisdom for Modern Parents and Teachers by: Lawrence Keleman. Mazeltov to Lynesse Bew our winning subscriber who wins her choice of luxury accommodation at either Rosebank’s 54 on Bath or Tsogo Sun’s Southern Sun Maharani and Elangeni. Martyn Samuels [email protected] EDITOR Paula Levin [email protected] OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Linda Superfain [email protected] FEATURES WRITER Chandrea Serebro COPY EDITOR/PROOFREADER Heidi Hurwitz ART DIRECTOR Rizelle Hartmeier [email protected] PHOTOGRAPHER Ilan Ossendryver [email protected] DIGITAL MANAGER David Blumenau [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS NICKY BARNES, DAN CHAITOWITZ, RACHEL FALKSON, TZVI FREEMAN, DR LINDA FRIEDLAND, RABBI AKIVA GILBERT, BEV GOLDMAN, RABBI YOSSY GOLDMAN, CHIEF RABBI DR WARREN GOLDSTEIN, RABBI DOV HELLER, WENDY KAHN, SERENNE KAPLAN, TRACY MILNER, ILAN PRESKOVSKY, RABBI ILAN RAANAN, LIZ SAMUELS, MOIRA SCHNEIDER, RABBI ARI SHISHLER, RABBI SHRAGA SIMMONS, ROBER SUSSMAN, MICHELLE VINOKUR, RABBI RYAN ZAIL Printers Paarlmedia kzn Distribution Neil Jacobson Mel Levitt JEWISH LIFE is published by Total Publishing (Pty) Ltd ©2008. If you live within the boundaries of the eruv, feel free to take this publication home with you. THIS PUBLICATION CONTAINS WORDS OF TORAH. PLEASE TREAT IT WITH THE RESPECT IT DESERVES. ISSN 1994-8670 Total Publishing (Pty) Ltd PO Box 52339, Saxonwold 2132 The views expressed in this issue of Jewish Life are not necessarily those of the Publisher or Editor. ABC 100% AUDITED CIRCULATION Certified for the period January to March 2013: 13 029 JEWISH LIFE ISSUE 64 1