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When Johannesburg teenager Lolo Porter, 17, needed help in finding her way around Harvard, she had no idea the person who would come to her aid...
(JTA) It was a blunt statement in the midst of a cordial conversation: “I’m wondering why you’re here.”
It’s estimated that one in 40 people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent test positive for the BRCA1 or 2 breast cancer susceptibility genes. Those testing positive for...
The House of the Wannsee Conference is a grand structure with high ceilings, artistic finishes, a lush garden, and a spectacular view of a placid lake....
“I’m always worried about my boy’s safety. He often he goes into the field, and I can’t contact him for days at a time,” says the...
The director of the Israel Centre in South Africa, Dr Liat Arran, is a natural community builder and change maker. She is passionate about bringing together...
I found a news article in The Star newspaper last week particularly eye-catching. It related how 21-year-old Antoinette Nthabiseng Thabapelo has initiated a programme, Adopt a...
World War II started 80 years ago this month. Adolf Hitler’s forces invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, and on 3 September, Britain and France declared...
It’s midnight. The dark hills of Shechem (Nablus), a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, beckon in the moonlight. Escorted by the Israeli army, our...
Guilt is out of fashion these days, like sports jackets, courtesy, humility, and handkerchiefs. It has a sepia-tinted Victorian air about it. It belongs, so it...
The high holy days are a time of introspection, and for many, it’s a chance to apologise to those we may have offended, hurt, or cut...
Every Rosh Hashanah we go back to the point at which G-d decides whether mankind as a whole is worth recreating, and whether we as individuals...
Rosh Hashanah is almost upon us, we can just about taste the sweetness of the honey-drenched apple slices and the sound of the shofar lingers evocatively...
History has been merciless. Nations have risen and fallen. In spite of the seeming invincibility at times of empires which have reached glorious crescendos of power...
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur attract more Jews to shul than any other time of the year. Unlike other new-year celebrations, ours includes a significant amount...
“Today is the birthday of the world.” We say these words repeatedly after hearing the sound of the shofar. It’s a moment of solemn celebration. We...
Round challot, apples and honey, and a roast in the oven don’t just mean it’s yom tov, it signals family time.
“Apples dipped in honey, we do eat. We daven to Hashem to make the new year sweet.”
I clearly remember the most powerful time I led a congregation in prayer. It was in the thick of the Second Intifada in 2002, and the...
“Sometimes we have to find the strength to forgive, not for the other person, but for our own peace and ability to move forward,” says clinical...
(JTA) Yom Kippur is one of the most, if not the most, important day on the Jewish calendar. For many Jews, fasting and being in synagogue...
Zog the alien comes to Earth. The first human that Zog meets is you. And, as you explain life on Earth, you get to the Jewish...
The curtain on 5779 is about to come down, and the dawning of 5780 is upon us. Our mystics teach that an unusual cosmic occurrence happens...
At the centre of the Rosh Hashanah festivity is the meal, laden with everything from an entire fish with head sans tail, to granny’s gefilte fish,...
Jewish holidays continue to be associated with food – or the lack thereof. Yom Kippur is certainly no exception, considering that we abstain from all food...
(JTA) I can’t help but wonder why Hallmark and the retail world at large haven’t co-opted the Jewish New Year. True, while there may “only” be...
Ever heard a shofar in Zambia? Presumably it’s blown in the Jewish community that still exists there. However, it was somewhat surreal to be in the...
Faith is a loaded word. When hearing or reading it, one person’s heart can swell with serenity and connection, whereas their neighbour’s heart might contract with...
Amulets, exorcisms, and incantations might seem the stuff of fantasy, yet they aren’t foreign to Jewish life. Since the days of the Tanach, the relationship between...
Rosh Hashanah is more than just a holiday. It’s Judgement Day. That’s why the traditional greeting at this time is not “happy holiday”, “good yom tov”...
On 7 September 2019, a new Facebook group sprang into existence. At the time of writing, #ImStaying had 118 000 members, and was growing every hour.
Even during times of persecution, oppression, expulsion, and hardship, Jews found ways to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – often at great risk.
(JTA) Rosh Hashanah menus, while traditional and delicious, can also get a little stale year after year. With Israeli food trending across the globe, now is...
Impress your friends and family with these little-known facts about the Jewish new year.
While Rosh Hashanah reminds us that G-d is the “true judge”, there’s no denying the fact that as human beings, we often judge one another. How...
In these tough economic times, lavish Yom Tov and breaking-of-the-fast meals are often a thing of the past. But just because your budget is tight doesn’t...
(JTA) What did I do to deserve the child who doesn’t eat when she’s supposed to – if she eats at all – who doesn’t sleep...
(JTA) A lot happened in 1989. The Berlin Wall fell, the Iron Curtain crumbled, and a young political theorist named Francis Fukuyama announced that with Western...
What are the chances of two Jewish guys from Cape Town making it big in the New York fashion world? Quite good, it seems. Sivan Miller...
I recently made the mistake of stopping on orange in Joburg, instead of speeding up to beat the red light. The guy behind me slammed his...