When jacarandas bloom, it’s exam time

MARY KLUK

The month of Tishrei, with all its Yamim Tovim, usually coincides with the Unisa examinations, and inevitably this results in instances where exams are scheduled on the chagim. The Board has worked closely with the university over the years in dealing with such cases, and earlier this year we were delighted to arrive at what will hopefully be a permanent, long-term solution.

According to this, religiously observant Jewish students write their papers immediately after the holiday in question under our auspices at Beyachad, now designates as an official Unisa exam venue.

Invigilators are provided for by the university and paid for by the Board, which also is responsible for ascertaining that the students are indeed strictly Shomer Shabbat and, through the Beth Din, formally commit themselves to respecting the integrity of the examinations process.

This system, as in past years, was followed again this time round, with several dozen students writing their papers on the Motzai Shabbat following Succot and Shemini Atzeret. We greatly appreciate the willingness of Unisa, and where required other universities, to accommodate us in this way.

Currently, we are experiencing problems with the University of Johannesburg, where some exams are set on Shabbat, but hopefully it will be possible to reach an acceptable accommodation for next year and thereafter.

Examinations will currently be very much on the minds of hundreds of senior Jewish school learners around the country as they go about writing their matric papers. I wish all of them every success, and hope that the efforts they have put in will be crowned by deserved success. Afterwards, we expect many such youngsters to flock to the coast for the traditional post-matric “rage”.

We in Durban look forward to this, but as ever, I urge our young visitors not to get carried away by the heady feeling of recently attained freedom, but at all times to act responsibly and avoid putting themselves at risk.  

Security over the chagim

For various reasons, the need to maintain a high level of communal security over the chagim was of particular concern this year. Our CSO throughout the country truly did an outstanding job in this regard, devoting countless hours around the clock to ensuring that our shuls and other installations were protected and to this end working closely with the leadership, the security establishment and the community at large.

On behalf of the community, I warmly commend and thank them for this, as well as for everything else they do on our behalf throughout the year.

The Shabbos Project

The conclusion of the long religious festival period usually heralds the onset of a “coming down” phase, but this weekend the high we have experienced will be prolonged through the holding of the second Shabbos Project. All those involved in last year’s inaugural project will remember what an inspiring success it was year.

Remarkably, it has resulted in our relatively small community becoming international trailblazers, since this year our counterparts in dozens of cities around the world will be following our example.

Once again, we congratulate Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein and his team for introducing and following through with this wonderful initiative.

• Listen to Charisse Zeifert on Jewish Board Talk, 101.9 ChaiFM every Friday 12:00 – 13:00.