Category: Rabbinic Thoughts
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Metzorah: Only one month to go, and election day is here.
25 years after the first democratic election. Many things have changed since then, and still much more needs to change, bringing more healing and more equality to our country.Therefore, it is no wonder that campaigning has returned to South Africa, as many politicians and parties have very different ideas on how to solve the problems…
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Tazria: There is always the possibility of Teshuva
The portions of Tazria and Metzora are perhaps, for many of you, very uncomfortable portions of the Torah, dealing with all kinds of issues related to ritual purity and impurity.Ritual impurity, or tumah, has nothing to do with hygiene. Instead, tumah is a spiritual state that prevents a person from participating in the worship life…
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Shabbat Parah Adumah ?!
Shabbart Parah Adumah ?!The Shabbatot surrounding holidays are often permeated with the holiday themes, creating the mood for an upcoming festival, reflecting or enhancing festival themes, or easing the transition from a holiday back into the weekly flow of Shabbat.A special Shabbat usually includes a special Torah or Haftarah [prophetic] reading that either replaces the standard…
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A joy that has no bounce
Each month in the Jewish calendar symbolises many things, one of which is the general energy for that month. The energy of the month fills through every aspect of our lives, if we pay attention. The month of Adar, the month in which Purim falls, is the month of Joy! What better month to make…
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Shabbat Zachor: God’s outcry
It is an interesting co-incidence that on this Shabbat we commemorate all the violent and destructive attacks on the Jewish people in the past while we also begin with the reading of the third book of our Torah—Leviticus, Vayikra in Hebrew.Leviticus is known for its long and detailed descriptions on how and when to bring…
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Vayakhel: I feel blessed to work with these wonderful women
The Torah portion Vayakhel presents Moses’ speech to the Israelite community at one of the many special gatherings during their wanderings in the desert. The speech opens with a brief restatement of the commandment to keep the Sabbath. However, the topic of Moses’ message is the building of the Tabernacle. Moses solicits gifts—gold, silver, copper,…
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Tetzaveh: Why is light the most common symbol for God?
Friends, Our Torah portion speaks about the ner tamid, which is often translated as the “eternal light” but it would be better to understand it as “always light” because it always had to be tended to. The Hebrew suggests this meaning rather than the more familiar eternal light. The ner tamid is the only commandment…
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May the Eternal bless you and guard you.
Friends, One of our Friday evening highlights during services is, without a question, the blessing of our children. As you can see from the picture above, there are quite a lot of them joining Kani and Deborah each week for the Kids’ Club, and us for the kiddush in the Shul.To bless the children is…
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Mishpatim: Taking a bribe is no different to digging a pit and not covering it properly.
Friends, A story is told of two men in a boat when one suddenly decides to start drilling a hole underneath his seat, the other man protests – “what are you doing, we’re all going to drown”. But the man drilling his hole says “it’s none of your business, I want to drill a hole,…
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Parashat Yitro: We can create a beautiful world
Friends,Some people think that the real meaning of Judaism is to pay attention to God through ritual. Other people think that the real meaning of Judaism is to pay attention to other people through acting ethically. Guess what? They are one and the same. When God gave Moses the Decalogue, the first five commandments—the “God…
