Jewish Life Digital Edition July 2013 | Page 3
FROM THE TEAM
FROM THE EDITOR
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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
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Ilan Ossendryver
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CONTRIBUTORS
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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
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Neil Jacobson
Mel Levitt
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