The low standard of Hebrew in our schools is a cause for great concern.
It is the key to three great pillars of religious Jewish life: learning Torah, davening, and living in Israel, so how can it be so neglected?
Monthly Archives: May 2014
The importance of Informal Education
Informal Education is an essential but often underestimated part of Chinuch in today’s world
If you ALSO have fun with your students, take them on trips and camps, you will bond better with them and ultimately give them a greater love of Torah.
the same Rabbis who educate in the classroom also have to educate outside the classroom and serve as role models in normal, everyday life.
Whatever money is spent on this is MORE than justified, and those who feel it is a “waste of time and money” suffer from a serious loss of vision.
Why the D.A. lost Gauteng- lessons from Khayalitsha
WHY THE DA LOST GAUTENG- LESSONS FROM KHAYALITSHA
Much hoped was placed in the opposition “Democratic Alliance’s” David vs Goliath campaign to take South Africa’s wealthiest province from the A.N.C.
In a province where the local A.N.C. branch opposed President Zuma’s re-election as A.N.C. president, and where frequent power outages, the e-tolling debacle, and crimehave had a serious impact on home and business alike, the charismatic and black Mmusi Maimane should have been swept to victory.
However, those of us who feel shocked and disappointed that despite some growth in Soweto and Alexandra, the masses in those great bastions of the anti-Apartheid struggle stuck with the comfort-zone of the party they know and trust, despite its failings and corruption, should look to the province we all jealous of for some guidance.
the DA has been in power for no short time in Cape Town and the Western Cape, and has had plenty of opportunity to garner support and loyalty by changing the lives of the impoverished masses in its own black townships like Khayalitsha and Gugulethu- it certainly promised much in this area.
It even promised a rapid transport system between Khaya and the city before the last local elections, which does not seem to have materalized.
Yet the results speak for themselves- the DA won the Western Cape again due to its non-black majority, in fact with an increased majority.
in this ward in Khaya, however ,and many others, it coudln’t even manage 2% of the vote:
NATIONAL RESULTS FOR19100095?
PARTY VALID VOTES SEATS %VOTE
ANC 17 191 88.77%
EFF 1 309 6.76%
DA 256 1.32%
If in a province where the black minority is a relatively small percentage of the population, the DA has been unable to change the lives and loyalties of the urban poor blacks of the townships, and certainly hasn’t got the votes to show for it, how could we honestly have expected their cousins up on the Highveld to swallow Helen and Mmusi’s promises of free rent and 6 million jobs?
It is only when the D.A. is able to win the black vote in its own “success story”, the Western Cape, that it will have a chance of convincing the masses in Soweto and Alex to give it a try too, and this should be its focus in the next 5 years, not just planning for the coming local elections.
The ANC might be corrupt, but at least it gave its people water,electricity,and hope, so their monopolistic tyranny and arrogance has been given yet another 5 years, not because of their greatness, but because of the lack of real alternatives that people can trust.
Maybe the people aren’t as stupid as some think?
the biggest loser in these elections is the constitution
The biggest loser in the 2014 elections in South Africa could be our constitution
With all the hype around how many seats the ANC and the DA will secure, and whether the ANC will get a two thirds majority, one very poignant fact seems to have been ignored:
For the first time ever, left-wing parties with serious support and a serious socialist/populist agenda, will have far more than a two-thirds majority in parliament.
Should the ANC , under Cosatu pressure, or for its own ideals, wish to alter property rights enshrined in the constitution and allow Zimbabwe style land grabs, for example, the EFF will happily lend them its support, and any such amendments will easily pass, democratically, and constitutionally.
Not bad news for those who think the Zimbabwe model is good for growth
Those who believe in the free market, and that liberty should outweigh equality, should cry the beloved country……….
White South Africans returning to South Africa
over 300,000 White South Africans have returned from overseas to live in S.A. again- some people seem to think life’s not so bad here after all!
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27252307?ocid=southafrica_SAD_ppc_outbrain
haAretz bias shows even in article on Johannesburg Jewry
Pretty good analysis on the state of johannesburg Jewry by haaretz- but did they have to give away their bias with that picture of “Temple Israel”, one of the few reform shuls in the country, from all the many shuls they could have picked?
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-features/.premium-1.588447
July 2013 survey of winter strawberries in Johannesburg
Johannesburg Winter STRAWBERRIES found by us to be BUG-FREE!
I performed a survey with two experienced mashgichim this Friday with strawberries in Johannesburg, South Africa:
3 boxes of strawberries were bought from Woolworths, Fairmount, and 3 boxes from Freshfellas, Glenhazel, both good quality suppliers .…
We were interested in establishing whether any of these strawberries were infested with any insects, in particular the much talked about thrips, after various cleaning methods were followed.
As a special incentive, the mashgichim were offered R20 for every insect that they found during the survey.
Before the checks were performed, outdoors in good sunlight, with a magnifying glass for verification only, 3 methods of cleaning were used:
For each supplier:
i. One box was simply rinsed well under a steady stream of water after the tops were cut off
ii. The second box was soaked in soapy water and rinsed a second time after method one was followed
iii. All the strawberries from the third box were brushed over individually after methods one and two were done
After the cleaning, both mashgichim inspected every single strawberry from all 6 boxes, in good light, using a magnifying glass to verify if anything suspicious was indeed a bug, looking carefully for the small whitish thrips.
I myself inspected a large percentage of the strawberries from the first box (method 1)
The results were as follows:
Woolworths:
1. Box 1 : Method 1- NOT ONE BUG FOUND
2. Box 2: Method 2 – NOT ONE BUG FOUND
3. BOX 3: METHOD 3- NOT ONE BUG FOUND
Freshfellas:
1. Box 1: Method 1- NOT ONE BUG FOUND
2. Box 2- Method 2- NOT ONE BUG FOUND
3. Box 3- Method 3- NOT ONE BUG FOUND
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=544555172272368&set=a.494325060628713.1073741825.476148969112989&type=1&stream_ref=10
Anyone volunteering to repeat this experiment in other cities and countries?
It is important to note that it was winter in Johannesburg- it is possible, though it would need to be proven, that results in summer would be different
p.s.- see reports re clean followup summer survey result in March 20124!
Forbidding a whole species should not be an option
Banning any fruit or vegetable is NOT an option
“Behold, I have given you every seed bearing herb, which is upon the surface of the entire earth, and every tree that has seed bearing fruit; it will be yours for food.”
[Beraishis 1/29]
…I often wonder why our sages never banned any of the many species that Kashrut organizations claim are too “infested” with bugs to be permitted.
The thought came to me today that the answer is simple:
There is a well known rule in Halacha that although the Sages have the authority to forbid things that the Torah never forbade, in order to strengthen Torah law (Rabbinical transgressions) , they do NOT have the authority to forbid things which the Torah EXPLICITLY permits. [Taz Y.D. 117/3]
In the parsha this week, the Torah explicitly permits eating ALL species of fruit and vegetables!
So whereas checking commonly infested species before eating is required, banning an entire species is not an option.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=581514328576452&set=a.494325060628713.1073741825.476148969112989&type=1&stream_ref=10
Let Kashrus Authorities not venture where even our Sages didn’t have the authority to go!
Shabbos with Rav Oppenheimer Shelita
Shabbat with Rabbi Oppenheimer in Buenos Aires!
A great highlight of our time in Buenos Aires was spending Shabbos Vayigash with the unofficial “Chief Rabbi of Argentina”, Rabbi Daniel Oppenheimer Shelita.
Head of a leading Torah school, Rov of the leading Ashkenazi community in the city, and the head of South America’s largest Kashrus Organization, Ajdut Kosher, this tzaddik of a man is also l…iterally one walking Mussar Sefer who serves the food in his home himself with his wife, like Rabban Gamliel in the Mishna.
Everyone in town seems to know and love him, and he has time for everyone.
What man of this stature would come out at midnight to meet some strangers from South Africa at a local restaurant just to say hello and help us with Shabbos plans.
An oldstyle graduate of the Mir Yeshiva, this Talmid Chochom is really someone special!
Being kosher on the inside
Of a man who kept strictly kosher but refused to give his wife a get, the late Chief Rabbi L.I. Rabinowitz once said “I am quite sure that his pots and pans will go to heaven”
yoniisaacson.com 