ב''ה

An enquiring mind
Means never
Getting bored

I was born with an enquiring mind. In some ways it is a gift from G-d. In others, it’s a curse.

The gift part is that one never needs to get bored. Stand in along queue and you can just look around and wonder “What” and/or “When” and/or “Why” and/or “Who” and/or “How” about anyone and/or anything around you. No matter where one is, it’s enough to keep boredom away for several days.

The pain in the posterior part is that an enquiring mind is not something one can simply switch off. It is there, with you, all the time. Even when you don’t want your mind to wonder, you find yourself wondering about stupid things. The answers to your questions are quite unimportant in the greater scheme of things. The answers have no product value. Whatever the answer is, is completely irrelevant. Oftentimes, I wish I could just switch it off.

Examples of good questions that enter an enquiring mind - but to which the answers themselves have no relevance, are:

• How come teabags draw so much quicker than they used to? What the heck is the difference, maybe it’s the bag, maybe it’s the tea. What’s the difference, they just do!

• Where does the word ‘car’ come from? Answer: horse and carriage became motorised carriage became motor carriage became motor car became motorcar became car. But so what? Why did I have to ask myself the question and then feel the need to research this. It just is!

I could go on and on (as my mind does so often). But lets leave that for another day.

Last week I was stopped behind a car that had a huge sticker, a World Cup remnant, across the entire back. It was a German flag followed by the words: Deutschland Uber Alles! My enquiring mind immediately had my eyes look for the car’s badge. It was Japanese!

Ode to our Banks

Another thing: Why is it that SA banks charge us more and more to give us less and less service. I understand the technology revolution means we can do much more ourselves (i.e. they can do much less for us) which has huge cost of service implications. But why are we now doing all the work while they pocket all the extra profits?

I had to deposit a cheque the other day. So I went into Absa at Norwood Mall (yes, let’s play the name-and-shame game). The queue extended OUTSIDE the door. No space for push-button/seal/push-another-button security here, they just bypassed all that so they could have only three of the five teller stations in use.

Once the queue allowed me to get inside the door, I realised (there’s that enquiring mind again!) that they actually plan to give us poor service.

Firstly, there is a table where you can pour yourself a complimentary cuppa. I expect that at a tyre dealer where I will have to wait for an hour while they fit my purchase. Not at a bank which should plan to get me in and out of their place asap.

Then I saw that they have added new facilities in banks. “Additional tellers?” you may ask. Yeh. Right! At every place where one could possibly queue, They have added benches for clients to take the load off your feet while you stand in their pre-planned queues. It became increasing clear to me that they were trying to give me a message: “If you want some service, you had better be prepared to wait for it.”

I haven’t been inside a bank for a while – but I wasn’t ready for all these changes to accommodate their planned lack of service. I noticed that they have now added a pensioner’s teller. Too right. Their older clients would be dropping like flies if they had to endure the wait I was subjected to.

The last straw came after three quarters of an hour. I was now close enough to the tellers to be able to read an internally printed A4 sign in front of the tellers’ counter.

In case I hadn’t already picked up the message they were trying to convey, they put up a sign which said, something like:

“Have people pay you electronically. You won’t have to stand in queues and you will get your money immediately. A cheque deposit takes up to ten working days to clear.”

What?!?

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Prevailing World Cup Euphoria
Creates countless opportunities
for SA's Jewish community

Any South African would agree that the outcome of our hosting the World Cup has had an incredible impact on the national psyche. From our pride we have gained so much self respect. From our sharing the passion we have experienced the biggest single advance in nation-building in the thousand-plus years of our multi-multi-cultural history.

The potential outcomes for the SA Jewish community, however, are less obvious but similarly significant.

Of course we have also raised the esteem of SA and Africa as a whole in the eyes of the entire planet. All of a sudden, all eyes are on Africa. The staggering potential outcome for country and continent is inestimable. A new age is not coming for SA and Africa – it is here!
And so are two significant opportunities for South Africa’s proudly South African Jewish community.

The first opportunity arises from the incredible multi-cultural goodwill that has emerged. I doubt Jewish South Africans have ever felt so South African. Even foreign Jews living in SA feel proud to be doing so. Our community is used to the constant dichotomy between being South African and being Jewish (with allegiance to Israel). Most South Africans also experience the opposing forces of culture vs. country.

Right now, however, the cultural tolerance in SA is probably higher than it ever has been. It won’t last forever, however, and it may just be at the highest level it ever will be.

Clearly this creates enormous opportunities for the Board of Deputies and all other Jewish organisations whose purpose is to represent the interests of our community with SA at large. To go out there and capitalise on both the national spirit of community and sense of pride.

The second huge opportunity is to leverage South African interests with the world at large. Institutional, commercial, organisational, developmental and fund-raising interests are all there for the taking. We have the respect and attention of the World.

Jewish individuals and institutions in SA (and in general) are famously exceptional at capitalising on opportunities. It would come as no surprise to see the community’s organisational and commercial leadership capitalising on the moment.

In fact, I would be most surprised if we don’t.

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Someone had better intervene
before fists start flying.

But Who, and How?

On Thursday evening I witnessed the intimidation of community members by missionaries in the form of Jews for Jesus at the entrance of PnP in Norwood Mall. And, nogal, during one of the busiest shopping spells of the month.

One particularly large and abrasive Israeli who had gone religiously west was harassing a small old lady. But help was always at hand as other members of the community shooed away the unwanted missionaries. It was evident as the tensions heightened that fists could start flying at the slightest provocation.

Jews for Judaism have reported increased missionary activity by Jews for Jesus in and around Joburg over the past weeks, specifically targeting members of our community in Rosebank (during the recent Israeli Film Festival, and at Sandton and Highlands North.

Says Jews for Judaism head Darryl Frankel: “While we all agree that the actions of these missionaries are abhorrent, their actions themselves are not illegal, and there is little that can be done to prevent them.”

Frankel says the solution to this problem “lies not in attacking these unfortunate souls or in destroying their property, but in strengthening our own bonds to our Yiddishkeit.”

Jews for Judaism will continue to monitor the situation, says Frankel. “Our trained staff is available to assist individuals and families in crisis. Please notify us of any missionary activity in your area, whether direct or indirect.”

Whilst I have the greatest respect for both the passion and the methodology of Jews for Judaism, My recent personal observations of the tension created at both Rosebank last week and at Norwood yesterday leads me to believe that either side is as likely as the other to resort to fisticuffs soon. And, with the westerners invariably substantially outnumbered by those of us who have stayed true to our eastern roots, I fear we will win the scrap and be portrayed as the aggressors.

That something needs to be done before it inevitably leads to this, I have no doubt. But, given the fact that no laws are being broken in the process of the Jesus preachers doing what they are doing, I have no suggestions on what can be done.

Maybe a good zetz will turn out to be the only way to stop the harassment. I, for one, am tired of turning the other cheek while a big and burly Israeli convert picks on a frail elderly Yid going about her business of buying supplies for the Shabbas meal.

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The one war that
Israel always loses

I know and accept that the media war is something Israel can never win. But it does get my back up when the discourse among Jews illustrates the naïveté one would expect from gentiles. How can any Jew, Zionist or not, expect of Israel that it allow unfettered access to Gaza by ‘aid’ ships and boats? Am I missing something here? Are the Jewish exponents proposing that Israel allow any vessel through if it says it is carrying aid? Can anyone out there please explain the alternative strategy?

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The war of the media is something Israel can never hope to win. It is a weapon that her enemies will always use because they know that there is no way to counter it. But a war of words between Jews is another matter entirely.

We have all experienced how difficult it is to explain the simplest of things that we take for granted to gentiles. And it is all the more difficult with gentiles who have not been exposed to Jews, to our culture, our history, our feelings. (i.e. I am not referring to Glenhazel, Sea Point or New York gentiles.)

Jews, as people, are forced to live by different rules that the general body of human society. A simple example is this website, which, despite being highly interactive with its users, has to moderate almost every bit of user content to ensure that Jews do not get insulted and don’t insult gentiles. Comments are audited, often edited and sometimes unpublished. In almost all cases where posted comments are not allowed (or edited) the writer was completely innocent of any intent to malign.

Israel, as a country, has to make some special rules as well. I say ‘has to’ (as against ‘chooses to’) because her survival depends on making and enforcing thousands of special rules. In so many facets of everyday existence. Of course, all countries have to have special rules to suit their special circumstances. Every country (and people, for that matter) have special and specific needs of their people that need to be met.

But little old Israel and Jews have more special needs. And they are harder for the broader society to understand. In many instances, they are all-but impossible for the wider world to fathom. This makes us an easy target.

Take anti-Semitism for example: it is easier for someone to turn his peers against Jews than against other groups. Why? Because we are harder to fathom – people expect that, say, Greeks will be different to South Africans. They can understand the differences. But when it comes to Jews, the differences are often unfathomable to gentiles. The anti-Semite instigator will always prey on those who don’t understand - and turn that lack of understanding into a fear of the unknown.

It is very much the same with Israel in the world of 200-odd countries. Gentiles don’t understand. This fear of the unknown makes them vulnerable to abuse. And the enemies of Israel, like the anti-Semite on the school playground, will always exploit this situation.

I know and accept that the media war is something Israel can never win.

But it does get my back up when the discourse among Jews illustrates the naïveté one would expect from gentiles. How can any Jew, Zionist or not, expect of Israel that it allow unfettered access to Gaza by ‘aid’ ships and boats? Am I missing something here? Are the Jewish exponents proposing that Israel allow any vessel through if it says it is carrying aid? Can anyone out there please explain the alternative strategy?

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Activists try to
Lynch Paint-Gun
Commandos

Yekutiel Guzofsky makes some very ‘think-worthy’ points on his blog. He says Israel's attempt to "look pretty" was doomed to failure.

The Voice of Judea had predicted and published last Friday, before the event: "Israel lacks the means to offset anti-Israel bias ... in the international press ... she will be portrayed as the culprit ... extreme stupidity and a mere exercise in futility to enter that uneven playing-field ... Israel needs to make it clear to any and all that if they penetrate Israeli waters, they will be immediately sunk. Nothing will be gained by placing our soldiers unnecessarily at risk by having them physically board the ships ... [No] sane country in the free world that would have operated any differently."

Israel ... bends over backward and risks the lives of its soldiers to show they are not aggressors. But in the end, they get condemned anyway, like eaters of stinking fish.

Read on if care to read more right-wing rhetoric...

In his blog: Arabs Try to Lynch Israeli Paint-Gun Commandos – Myths and Facts about the Israeli Naval Operation, kindly sent on to me by Shtetler ‘Babchon’, Yekutiel Guzofsky makes some very ‘think-worthy’ points

If it wasn't so sad it would make great material for a comedy. The Israeli government sends its most elite military unit - its navy seals - to overtake the Turkish terrorist supply ships as they penetrated into Israeli territorial waters with the stated intent of breaking the Israeli naval blockade around the terrorist Hamas entity that controls Gaza.

That Israel sees it as a priority to continue blocking the free flow of weapons into Gaza is not the problem. However, the feeble tactics used by the Israeli government to enforce the blockade needs to be studied and never again duplicated. Did Israel use disproportionate and excessive force? The absolute opposite is true – Israel armed its fighters with toy paint-guns, and gave specific orders to all troops not to open fire with their pistols unless their lives were in danger. In fact, the poor soldiers refrained from shooting back until some of their comrades were already being lynched, shot at, firebombed and stabbed.

The Israelis had spent tens of millions of shekels to set up hotel-suite jail cells, cake and coffee, and promised that they would not use unnecessary force to reroute the ships to the Ashdod port, where they would run a security check of all of the items and then transport the cargo, free of charge into Gaza. Israel also announced in advance that they would send all of the Turks and Europeans back to their countries of origin at Israel's expense.

The European and Turkish Hamas sympathizers had two goals - to break through the blockade thereby easing present and future restrictions to transport and smuggle weapons freely into Gaza, and to embarrass Israel - knowing just how sensitive and obsessive Israel is about international public opinion. Israel also had two primary goals: To minimize damage to its image and to prevent direct passage into Gaza. In Israel's suicidal and futile quest to be loved by the Gentiles and to look good in their eyes, Israel once again risked the lives of is finest soldiers and civilians, lowering them onto the boats, one by one, armed primarily with toy paint-guns. This was after having undergone weeks of mental preparation to be "sensitive" to the terrorists who were known to be on board along with their radical supporters who came along for the voyage.

Israel's futile attempt to look pretty was doomed to failure from the onset, as the Voice of Judea predicted and published Friday, three days before the dangerous debacle at sea that resulted in severe injuries to several Israeli soldiers and in the deaths of some 15 Hamas sympathizers on the boat. In the prophetic words of that Judean Voice issue: "Israel lacks the means to offset anti-Israel bias on campuses and in the international press. Whatever Israel does, she will be portrayed as the culprit. It is nothing more than extreme stupidity and a mere exercise in futility to enter that uneven playing-field, where the deck (no pun intended) is stacked against Israel. Whatever Israel does she will be treated like an Apartheid state. Thus Israel should focus on one thing and one thing only – the prevention of the ships entering into Israeli waters, by any and all means necessary. Israel needs to make it clear to any and all that if they penetrate Israeli waters, they will be immediately sunk."

We continued in our Friday commentary - "Nothing will be gained by placing our soldiers unnecessarily at risk by having them physically board the ships, and face off with terrorists and whatever unknown weapons and surprises await them. We have our limits and our borders and whoever penetrates them do so at their own risk. There is not a sane country in the free world that would have operated any differently than the way we have suggested when faced with a terrorist enemy who seeks to destroy them and to smuggle in weapons to annihilate them."

We even predicted the exact outcome: "Unfortunately Bibi lacks the backbone and the faith to do anything else but to play right into the hands of the terrorists, as he already promised to transport all of he ship's loads to Gaza, while on the other hand, he will not be able to avoid the bloody broadcasts of the Israeli commandos overtaking the boats – giving the Hamas the very victory that he is so frightened to deliver to them. This is the true danger of a secular head of state who lacks faith in G-d and the justice of his cause. For one who is scared of the prophetic scenario for Israel to "dwell alone" in separation and in isolation, and one who places his faith in Washington and who sees the Biblical isolation blessing as a dreadful curse, will inevitably lose out on all fronts and in all worlds. And we urge all to watch closely the unfolding of this saga at sea, because it is apparent that we will see yet another rerun of frightened myopic Jewish leaders, who with all of their insane preparations to greet the enemy boats with kid's gloves - it will all be to no avail. The same tons of supplies will be brought to Gaza and Israel will lose the media battle regardless."

What should be done?

Firstly, we must not leave any doubt in anyone's mind that we will not risk one soldier unnecessarily, and we couldn't care less about international opinion. We must do what needs to be done to protect the integrity of our borders and the lives of our people. And if you as much as think about entering Israel by sea, land or air, we will blow you to kingdom's come. Bad P.R.? Better to stay alive with bad P.R. that makes the world boil over with anger at us, than to die and "benefit" from the sympathy at Yad Vashem as they come to cry their crocodile tears and place wreaths of flowers, wreathed with smiles and pity for the helpless Jewish victims. There is no way to buy the love of the Gentiles with misplaced mercy of fools.

However, we can achieve respect and fear by taking the necessary steps to secure our borders thereby fulfilling the verse, "And the fear of the Jews has befallen the nations".

Indeed the time has come to recover from our Jewish ghetto complex of seeking favor in the eyes of the Gentile, and to replace that with faith in G-d and Jewish power. That is the Jewish way, and the only way to restore Israel's deterrent factor lost at sea and lost when Israel fled Lebanon, surrendered Gaza, froze "settlement" growth, permitted Iran and Syria to pump weapons into Lebanon with impunity and forfeited her sovereignty over the Temple Mount. The situation will continue to deteriorate as long as Israel chooses to fight her battles with toy guns in the futile hope to gain favor in the eyes of her enemies.

The Saga at Sea and the Eaters of Stinking Fish

This latest saga at sea can only remind us of that famous Jewish story where a king sends his servant out to buy him fish. The servant returns with fish that stinks. The enraged king offers his servant to choose one of three punishments: to eat the fish, to pay for the fish, or to take 20 lashes. The servant, not wanting to fork over money, tries to eat the fish, but it is so disgusting, that he stops in the middle, and chooses to suffer the lashes. But the whipping is so painful, that he stops in the middle and finally offers to pay for the fish. And so, the servant ends up paying for the fish anyway, but only after suffering all the other punishments as well. The parable is clear: Israel is so worried about it's world image, that it bends over backward and risks the lives of its soldiers to show they are not aggressors. But in the end, they get condemned anyway, like eaters of stinking fish.

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Truth be told, I was, in fact, baiting the Lion of Cape Town

Why?

Because, much like myself, our blogger Lion613, calls things as he sees them. Not that he needs much baiting to get going on a topic close to his heart, mind you, but I am pleased that he took the bait and this one.

SEE THE DEBATE. And add your own chirps if you would like to.

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Is lone Cape Lion
baiting a Buffalo?

Had Lion not read my blog ("Denigrate Darren's brands at your peril")last week? Or could it be that Lion, in his charming but parry-and-thrust style of parody, is purposely baiting UOS director Darren Sevitz on the kosher chicken commission – a subject close to his heart.

"READ THE FULL BLOG"

"READ THE CHIRPS"

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In his always-charmingly written style, Cape Town blogger “Lion613” chirp’s the Beth Din’s Eruv Division, about lack of such facilities in Cape Town. Then, he promptly takes a side-swipe on the Chicken commission of enquiry issue.

Had Lion not read my blog “Denigrate Darren's brands at your peril” last week? (SEE BELOW)

Or could it be that Lion, in his equally-charming but parry-and-thrust style of parody, is purposely baiting UOS director Darren Sevitz on the kosher chicken commission – a subject close to his heart.

A lion needs to be pretty much on the brink of starving to take on a strong and healthy buffalo single ‘pawedly’. I have a feeling we’ll see more chirping on chickens and eruvim in this tussle.

READ LAST WEEK'S FULL BLOG BELOW

"READ THIS WEEK'S CHIRPS" and, registered users can click the subscribe button below the story to get e-mails of any further comments posted.

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Or, better still, share YOUR views! Anyone on the site can leave their own comment, either in their own name or anonymously.

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Denigrate Darren's brands at your peril
The web never ceases to amaze me with its real-time efficiencies. A case in point: at 16h09 we posted a story on an Eruv being down. Two aspects we were able to glean from the UOS were that: (i) “This is as a result of the disappearance of 50m of fencing along Club Street;” and (ii) “The BD Eruv Team is working to replace the fencing as soon as possible.”
Just 50m of fencing and the E-Team on the job led us to postulate: “We are confident that the Beth Din ... will have it up well before Shabbas.” Not! Less than an hour later, there was Darren...

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The Linksfield Eruv is down and staying that way for some time

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Only 50m of fencing and the Beth Din’s E-team on the job led us to postulate: “We are confident that the Beth Din’s Eruv Team will have it up well before Shabbas.”

Here’s where the web becomes such an incredible communication medium.

At 17h02, a mere 55 minutes later, The Executive Director of the UOS, Darren Sevitz, posted the following comment below the story:

”Don’t be too confident. This is a large exposed area and requires a special kind of fence. It will take time to repair and will definitely NOT be up this Shabbat, and possibly for a few weeks thereafter.

Now Darren is a very keen Shtetler. One of the most active. Say an angry word attached to any/all of the following and he will be on you like a bad rash: UOS, Beth Din, Kashrut Dept, Office of the Chief Rabbi, etc, etc.

I kid you not. Try it and you’ll see. I don’t know how he gets there so quickly.

Last year in August there was some chirping going on regarding the Beth Din. I knew Darren was away, in Israel on business, and wondered if the chirpers knew this and were taking the gap. While the brand manager is away the mice will play so to speak.

Not! Again I say, Not!

From his hotel room, board-room, heaven-only-knows-where, there was our Darren defending his brands. Almost as quickly as had he been in Jo’burg.

I was so amazed back then I even did a story about it Brouhahas: UOS answers Shtetlers. And here we see Darren and the Web in action again. Instant communications and brand support. This guy is wasted at the UOS! Coca Cola, Walt Disney, France – someone is going to snap him up for sure.

Don’t misunderstand me, Darren isn't grumpy. Anyone who knows him knows he has a great sense of humour. Actually, I’m pretty sure most all Shtetlers have been exposed to his (very) sharp wit when commenting on stories on this website.

But, make no mistake Shtetlers, denigrate the brands he is paid to protect at your own peril.

Read: ERUV DOWN ALERT

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My own tochus has landed on that deck more than once

Thank G-d that the owners of the Genesis Centre, Shtetl-central, have elected to fix the architectural faux pas of the tiling that turns into a skating rink in the rain.

It is a very short-term nightmare to use the centre while all of the slippery tiles are being lifted and one has to feel for the traders this week. But even the subsequent attempt to protect shoppers and residents by covering the silly tiling with retro-fitted rubber matting didn’t make using the centre any easier.

Truth be told, I’m sure that the youngsters that hung out at Genesis on rainy days to laugh at shoppers landing on their tochuses left right and centre will be disappointed to have to find their kicks elsewhere. But, speaking as one whose tochus hit the deck more than once, I am as pleased as punch with this new development.

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Ignorant & slapgat vs. Gemorrah-quoters

I was at a dinner table in Cape Town recently. The fact that there was a Jo’burg couple at the table led to the inevitable discussion about the differences between the Jewish communities in the Mother City and the City of G-ld.

During the course of the evening, I overheard one Capetonian talking to another about what Jo'burg Jews think of CT Jews: "Cape Town's reputation amongst the Charedi crowd ‘up there’ is as an ignorant backwater populated by slapgat Jews."

The response was a reference to the: "Bible-thumping, gemorrah-quoting erudition of the Jo'burg crowd."

Both pretty harsh but accurate assessments of what we thing of each other, I’d say.

This came back to mind because of the schism we are going through at the moment over the Goldstone bar mitzvah debate. It is between left and right. Between religious and secular. Zionism-comes-first vs. Judaism-comes-first.

On the one hand, this is a troubling development. On the other, it is a coming of age.

World Jewry has, by force of circumstances, spent several generations sticking together through thick and thin. We needed to. We have flourished as a result. In South Africa this has probably lasted longer and been more pervasive than anywhere else in the world.

The coming of age issue is that it is nice to see ‘normal’ societal discourse
emerging. We don’t all think and feel the same. We don’t have to leave our destinies completely in the hands of the various leaderships that are in place to look after our affairs. We can speak up. We can act as we deem fit.

The troubling aspect of all this is that this newfound ‘maturity’ will inevitably take place in public. And when it gets ‘exciting’ and defies the norm, it becomes news. And we are then (often mis-) judged for our behaviour by the broader society.

I suppose it is all part of the process of growing up. But it should be handled with care.

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Would/Should a Rabbi convert a Hitler, Haman or Charles Taylor?

So, I bought a copy of The Africa Report’s annual round-up mag in December. Somehow, it kept being pushed to the bottom of the pile of my essential reading which, obviously, always gets cleared out at Pesach.

Never mind the Chametz, in my life, eight days of reading always gets all the half-read and unread mags out of the house – without having to sell them to goyim!

Yes, so back to that copy of the French-published Africa Report which (oh so wrongly) turned out to be the very bottom of the barrel)... it finally get it’s read on Monday and Tuesday. And what a great read it was.

But why am I telling you this anyway? Because in a ‘nib’ at the top right hand corner of page 19, under the simple headline “G-d”, I see a passing reference referring to: “Former Liberian leader Charles Taylor’s conversion to Judaism while on trial at the Hague for war crimes in Sierra Leone...”

What!?!!

Obviously this became the main topic of discussion at the family’s last Pesach dinner-table. And, I’ll have you know, a learned table it was. The question centred, as it so often does with goyim, around whether the term ‘converted’ was used loosely or referred to a rabbinical conversion.

This led to a further discussion: Would a rabbi be obliged to convert anyone who wanted to convert for the right reasons – no matter what they had done in the past? Even our advanced rabbinical student-in-residence was stumped by this question (but obviously keen to find out the answer asap after Pesach).

So was my enquiring mind. I couldn’t wait for Pesach to end so that Google and I could do the research on this.

Firstly, I needed to test the assertion that Mr Taylor had (at least claimed) to have converted. As the publisher of a Jewish website, I was disappointed in myself for not having picked up on this story in the first place. It turned out to be true, and my friendly resource, Google, confirmed articles in hundreds of media spaces on the story between late June and early July 2009.

Self-proclaimed

Silly, silly me for missing the story at the time. The authenticity of Taylor's conversion is doubtful, to say the least. The stories I looked at all led back to the fact that there is no evidence that he has been studying with a rabbi or that his conversion is anything but self-proclaimed.

Furthermore, the august Mr Taylor actually missed one of the primary tenets of the faith in that he was widely quoted as still believing in Christ and was reportedly planning to follow both religions simultaneously.

Okay, so that cleared it all up for me. Mr Taylor was hedging his bets for his (clearly gonna be difficult) Judgement Day. I would think he needs to hedge some more. If he is not sure who he is going to have to account to up there, I’d say he should prepare for the Hindu gods, Buddha, Ra, King Kong, and even, perish the thought, Mohamed.

Secondly, there was the question that stumped our dinner-table. Would/should/could a rabbi convert him? The closest thing to an answer Google and I could find, turned out to be no answer at all.

More questions than answers

I was clearly not the only one who had engaged in this thought. In a well researched article in Haaretz entitled “When bad people want to be Jewish” by Rebecca Dube of Forward.com, I found information.

Unfortunately, as is so often when exploring deep issues, the ‘answer’ does nothing to answer the question, it simply opens the door to many more questions.

For the sake of brevity I will paraphrase the outcome of Ms Dube’s research:

What if Taylor sincerely wanted to become Jewish? What if the former dictator - accused of creating an army of child soldiers who went on murderous rampages - actually, genuinely wanted to convert? Would any rabbi take him on as a student? Should they?

The answer: Yes, no or maybe, depending on whom you ask. Questions of good and evil aren’t always as black and white as they seem, and opinions varied widely among religious leaders.

We have enough natural-born Jewish bums
"My first reaction is, we have enough natural-born Jewish bums, we don’t have to import one from the outside," said Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg of Beth Tfiloh Congregation in Baltimore, the largest Modern Orthodox synagogue in America. It's true that religion can change people for the better, Wohlberg said, but he added, "The Jewish community is not a recovery house."
Repentance and forgiveness are important concepts in Judaism, but occasionally a person commits acts so heinous as to disqualify him or her forever from conversion, said Rabbi Robert Levine of Congregation Rodeph Sholom, one of the largest Reform synagogues in New York City.
A Hitler, Haman or Charles Taylor

"You would not permit a Hitler or a Haman or a Charles Taylor to say, 'Hey, I want to change my ways [and convert],' when they've shown themselves to be a monster," Levine said. "Judaism is an interlocking system of rituals? and ethics... There is a small group of people whose total lack of ethics and morality would dismiss them at the outset."

But not everyone would close the synagogue doors to Taylor.
Crime in and of itself is not a bar
"The whole idea of conversion is that one is changing radically," said Rabbi Avi Shafran, director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America, an ultra-Orthodox umbrella organization. "An intelligent beit din would have to see some evidence of him wanting to change his ways, but crime in and of itself is not a bar to conversion."

One person who knows firsthand about the spiritual transformation of people with evil pasts is US Rabbi Michael Weisser. A white supremacist named Larry Trapp, state head of the Nebraska Ku Klux Klan, began threatening and harassing Weissner and his family. Trapp had a long history of terrorising black, Asian and Jewish families.

Weisser decided to confront Trapp. He and his wife met with Trapp and inspired him to renounce racism and antisemitism. Eventually, Trapp converted to Judaism at Weisser’s Reform synagogue, B'nai Jeshurun - the very synagogue that Trapp once had planned to bomb.

Anyone can change, and therefore, anyone can be a candidate for conversion, Weisser said, even someone as bad as Larry Trapp or Charles Taylor.

"There's a spark of decency in everybody, no matter how bad they've been," Weisser said. "The truth is, human nature is good, not bad." In Trapp's case, Weisser said, the former KKK Grand Dragon truly repented for his many sins and expressed remorse, asked for forgiveness from those he’d wronged and tried to set things right. Trapp called and met with people he used to harass to apologise and beg their forgiveness, and he spoke publicly to high schools and other groups about how he had repudiated bigotry and hate.

When Trapp first mentioned converting to Judaism, Weisser said he was concerned that guilt was the motivation. But Trapp studied hard, reading about 50 serious books on Judaism, and showed a genuine desire to join the faith for positive reasons. "If we believe what we say we believe [as Jews], how can you go against it?" Weisser asked. "I think when Larry died, he died a good Jew."

For someone with an evil past, the process of teshuva, or atonement, should happen before conversion is considered, said Rabbi Morley Feinstein of University Synagogue, a Reform congregation in Los Angeles, who pointed to Trapp's conversion as an example - but a very rare one.

"I'm happy to study with anyone, but that doesn't mean I'm going to take that individual on as a candidate for Judaism," Feinstein said.

Nero did it

Both sides of the debate can point to precedents in the Talmud. The Roman Emperor Nero, known for his tyranny and debauchery, may be the most infamous convert: While historical sources say he committed suicide after the Roman Senate ordered his execution, the Talmud holds that Nero fled Rome and converted to Judaism.

If Nero did it, the ultra-Orthodox Shafran asked, why couldn't Taylor? "The implication [in the Talmud] was that it was a good and laudable thing."

The Talmud says King David (himself the descendant of one of Judaism's most celebrated converts, Ruth) told the Gibeonites that the Jewish people were compassionate and modest and performed acts of loving kindness. "Only he who cultivates these three characteristics is fit to join this nation," the Talmud says. Taylor is unlikely to pass one of these tests.

Most rabbis don't have to worry about an international war criminal showing up for conversion class. But what about everyday criminals, sinners and just-plain-bad people who might want to join the tribe? There’s certainly no background check required for conversion to Judaism. While most rabbis will get a general sense of a candidate’s moral and ethical grounding during the conversion process, the basic question, "Are you a good person?" is unlikely to ever be asked.

Rabbinical guidelines are silent

The "Guidelines for Rabbis Working With Prospective Gerim" created by the Central Conference of American Rabbis in 2001, is silent on evaluating the moral and ethical history of would-be Jews, said Reform Rabbi Jeff Goldwasser.

In his experience with converts, Goldwasser said, "I feel confident in saying that the candidates who make it all the way through the process are those with a strong understanding of Jewish beliefs and ideals and who wish to apply those standards to themselves." Still, he said, it might be a good idea for future guidelines to include something explicit about considering the character of potential converts.

Is the person ready to stand at Sinai?

Even if that happens, rabbis still will have to consult their own consciences for guidance if a Charles Taylor-type knocks on their doors, seeking to join Judaism.

"Agreeing to bring someone into the covenant is not just a matter of checking off boxes," Rabbi Levine said. "It's a question of, is this person really ready to stand at Sinai?"

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Last post before Pesach:

Chag Kasher V’sameach to all our staffers, friends, users, visitors. Don't miss your newsletter on Thursday!

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Responsible retail chains

A big thank-you is due, once again, to a retail chain for being a responsible kosher supplier.

One has become used, of late, to manufacturers responding to kosher alerts about wrongly marked “kosher” products promising to ensure that future packaging will be printed correctly.

Of course that isn’t good enough. One would expect such products to be withdrawn or a sticker placed over the incorrect Hechsher.

This morning, a kashrut alert was issued about a Pick n Pay-branded product which was found to have an unauthorised Hechsher printed on it. Their reaction: an apology and an immediate recall of the product. And so it should be.

Checkers, too, recently changed their approach to the issue of kashrut and agreed to respect the Beth Din strictly.

This is the type of responsible and understanding behaviour the kosher community should be able to expect from manufacturers as well.

Click to read the PnP story

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There is no room to comment on your comments – perhaps there should be? You say… “As a publisher, it is of concern that the Beth Din has yet to release even a provisional Kosher-for-Pesach product list for consumers”

I honestly don’t think it’s such a concern. The published lists are very valuable, to be sure, but ourcommunity know well enough to buy only from the KFP sections in the supermarkets, and only products bearing a reliable hechsher. And while the list may make it somewhat easier to plan and budget, it doesn’t really make that much of a difference when navigating the aisles. -Darren Sevitz, Executive Director, UOS

So, Purim’s done and Pesach looms

It is one scary experience going into a supermarket in the Shtetl right now. They are all frivolously unpacking Pesach stocks. In February!!

It’s not that I didn’t know that Pesach would be early this year, but seeing the shelves being stocked so early, sections being moved around, everyone interested in what’s going to be available this year and what not, it really was a wake-up call for me, as a consumer and as a publisher.

As a consumer, it says: “Get ready to call the bank manager, ‘China,’ the outpouring of the credit card is nigh.”

As a publisher, it is of concern that the Beth Din has yet to release even a provisional Kosher-for-Pesach product list for consumers. We at MyShtetl will be launching a digital Pesach guide in the first few days of March – and we will include the product guide as soon as we can.

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These guys really rock

Sensational! Versatile. Frum compliant. Stunning! These guys were nothing that I would have expected, and much more. Read the review on this sensational show...

When one attends a media premier, it is work, business, often little more than a drag. Part of the fun and hype is always to mingle with the celebs and the paparazzi. And to watch the TV interviewers doing their jobs among that constant strobe of photographers’ flashbulbs.
In short, you learn over the years not to expect too much from the performance. It’s not like you have looked at all the shows on offer, chosen one and have some level of expectation. I attend to review. To see and report on whether a show is worthwhile, is “frum-compliant” (this one is).
And sometimes, like happened this week, one gets blown away – having gone from “no expectation” to an “earth shattering” performance.
The Twelve Irish tenors were nothing that I would have expected. I’d seen the promo posters, of course. But I didn’t take too much note. Tenors are tenors (we just seem to make the line-up increasingly long). Tenors are barrel-chested (and often pot-bellied) middle-aged to mature and they need to be to have powerful voices. Right? Wrong, actually.
When these 12 scrawny, hip-looking youngsters (I doubt any of them are over 25) walked onto the stage I was pretty convinced I was going to have to make that call as to whether to sneak out at interval or not.
Let me tell you that by the time these youngsters got to their third number, I was hoping the performance would be a long one. By the time interval arrived on the scene, I couldn’t wait to see how they would top their performance in the first half of their act. But, did they ever? The second half just got better and better, it was one of those performances where you keep thinking, “Okay, so now you have reached your peak, that was so good it can only go down from here.” And it never did.
You must (not should, Must) go and see the Twelve Tenors. Let your hair down, sit back whenever you can, stand shout and scream when you can’t help yourself. Be sure to book as the show has a two-week run at the Civic only and ends just after Purim.
Oh, and to top it off, their repertoire of songs, which is varied and could seem to have been selected to offer something for everyone, turns out to have everything for everyone. I challenge anyone attending this show to choose a best and worst number. These guys just blew us away.

READ ANT's ACTUAL REVIEW

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Govt must keep Alliance partners true to what we all fought for

Few were as involved in the struggle for freedom in SA as the Jewish community. This has always been recognised by the ANC and the ruling party is always at pains to separate their international politics as relates to Israel and the bi-lateral support between themselves and Jewish South Africans. Unfortunately, this distinction is often lost on the Alliance partners.

Govt must keep Alliance partners true to what we all fought for

Few non-black South Africans were as involved in the struggle for freedom as the Jewish community.

This has always been recognised by the ANC and the ruling party is always at pains to separate their international politics as relates to Israel and the bi-lateral support between themselves and Jewish South Africans.

Unfortunately, this distinction - between SA and Israel on the one hand, and the SA Jewish community on the other – is often lost on the Alliance partners.

A case in point is the SAHRC finding that Cosatu spokesman Bongani Masuku was guilty of hate speech and gave him 14 days to apologize to the SAJBD or find himself in front of a “real court” without further notification. Despite all efforts to get Masuku to apologise for his inflamatory anti-Semitism, he has continued to openly defy the Human Rights Council without consequence. CLICK to read story

His case has not been referred to the Equality Court. He does not seem to have been censured. Cosatu does seem to have been censured. The Alliance remains strong and everyone is silent on the defiant stand against human rights by one of its number.

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Publisher Ant Katz addresses an open letter to
Dep. Pres Motlanthe.

An open letter to the Deputy President:

Sir,

It was refreshing to hear you open your address with the word Shalom, for this word is both a greeting, as in “hello” and also the Hebrew word for “peace.” It was equally nice that you closed with the word Toda.

Yes, it is correct that Madiba told us that: "We fought injustice in order to preserve our humanity."

And we, too, remember that President Zuma, on opening the SAJBD conference last year, stated the ANC’s position on the Middle East conflict, by stating: "The SA government supports all international efforts to find lasting peace and security in the Middle East,” and that it “unequivocally condemn(s) all forms of violence from whatever quarter, particularly where civilians are targeted."

Who can forget the words of Chief Albert Luthuli that one needs “courage that rises with danger.” We remember the significance of his important observation that “no government can claim authority unless it is based on the will of the people.”

So, yes, we do believe you when you say that SA “is interested in finding a sustainable and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” And that you “do see peace being implemented in our lifetime in the Middle East!

All that is required,” you say, is “compromise and conciliation from both sides.”

Miguel de Cervantes is moving

And we are moved by the sentiment expressed by Don Quixote author Miguel de Cervantes, that "the worst reconciliation is better than the best divorce."

But, Mr. Deputy President, your choice of quotations just indicate a lack of understanding of the circumstances that prevail in the Middle East. The reality, Sir, is that this is not parenting 101. It is not a question of a reasonable parent telling two teenage siblings embroiled in rivalry to shake hands and make friends.

We will kill you, friend or foe

No, Sir. What you have here is a proud people being told by its neighbors that whether you befriend us or ignore us or whatever you may do, our stated goal is to destroy your society. To push your people “into the sea.” We feel entitled to kill as many of you as we can, be you friend or foe.

We will fire thousands of rockets into your towns and cities, indiscriminately maiming and killing as many civilians as we can. We are coming to kill you. Like it or not, friend or foe. “Our constitution says that you must disappear off the face of the earth.”

Mr. Deputy President, your government continues to speak of reconciliation in terms of "the worst reconciliation is better than the best divorce."

Can I respectfully assist, Sir, in improving the government’s understanding of the issues in the Middle East.

The lesson can be neatly encapsulated into three questions. Answer as honestly as you can.

1. How is even the “best reconciliation” possible when your adversary insists that you have no right to exist, and that their entitlement to kill you all, men, women and children? Even the “best reconciliation” will get you as an individual, and your people as a whole, killed off.

2. Were the Lesotho state and military to rain thousands of rockets onto Bloemfontein, indiscriminately, what would SA do? If international mediation failed, if the UN stood motionless, if the State of Lesotho refused to desist from killings South Africans, what would your government do?

3. While this is going on, imagine Losotho publically denounces SA’s right to exist. Imagine if they told the world they plan to kill all South Africans. Changes their constitution to reflect their feeling that all South Africans must disappear off the face of the earth.

Now, Sir, can we agree that Miguel de Cervantes was not referring to the Middle East? He could surely not have been that naive. And, certainly, neither was our own Chief Albert.

I would sincerely like to believe that Madiba is far too astute a humanitarian to believe that his comments on the struggle in SA could in any way relate to a reconciliation in the Middle East.

I agree, Sir, that reconciliation is possible and desirable. Even in our lifetimes. But not where one party to the discussion has a point of departure that says: “Please make it easier for me to kill you!”

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Let us come together and celebrate the life of Mendel Kaplan

SA Jewry should be grateful to have had such a legend among us in our time. Someone who can literally touch everyone’s lives. A once-in-a 500 year opportunity.

All South African Jews (and many in the broader community) have benefitted from Jill and the late Mendel Kaplan’s philanthropic efforts over many, many years. They stand legendary to us in SA. They have been back-bone funders of the elderly and the poor, of Jewish affairs and education to Judaism and to Zionism. And to the Arts. Oh how they have funded the Arts! Some say they have kept Arts alive in Cape Town.

People talk about once-in-a-generation legacies. Mendel Kaplan’s was way beyond that.

In terms of SA Jewry, the community should be grateful to have such a legend, who can touch everyone’s lives, more than once in 500 years.

And in terms of global Jewry, the Hebrew people should count their blessings if they find such a philanthropist once in a century. Mendel Kaplan was among the best known Jews in the world. Witness family friend and UK Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, joining us next Sunday to celebrate with Jill.

We should all join them in celebrating the life of an icon. A legend among Jews, and a truly great Jewish South African.

But how many out there realise that Mendel was also the “statistician general of the SA Jewish community?

Mendel Kaplan funded all the recent research on Jewish South Africans. And he analysed and published his theses on the researchers’ findings compared to older surveys from as far back as the ‘70s. Mendel published a booklet: The Future of South African Jewry, Comments and Observations, in 2006.

MENDEL’s STATS ON THE JEWISH COMMUNITY make fascinating reading. MyShtetl.co.za is publishing a series of articles based on Kaplan’s booklet.

Here’s a taste of what’s on-site - through the eyes of Mendel Kaplan himself:

86% of Jo'burg kids at Jewish schools in 2005 (1974: 29%) - - - 92% ‘very likely’ to stay in SA in 2005 (1998: 71%) - - - Pretoria most frum in 2005 @ 18% (Jo’burg 17%, Durban 12%, C-Town 5%) - - - 9% attended Progressive Shuls in 2005 (1998: 8%) - - - 10% attended Chabad Shuls in 2005 (1998: 4%)
Follow "The Future of SA Jewry" on MyShtetl.co.za. HOW MANY JEWS LIVE IN SOUTH AFRICA? Mendel Kaplan had a strong point of view on this subject. Read his estimation (and those of other stake-holders) in a forthcoming article in this series.

Surely it is now incubant on the the benefitting organisations to immortalise Mendel Kaplan for future generations. To form a memorial committee. And, jointly and/or severally, to erect busts, commission portraits, ensure that this legacy stands as a proud example to future Jewish South Africans.

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Laws by and
for Bigots

Unlike plural constitutions such as South Africa’s, English law assumes everyone is a WASP (White, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant) and pays no heed to those who are not.

This constitutional bigotry allows little or no room for judicial interpretation and is severely prejudicial to all non-Wasps in their midst. This week’s Supreme Court ruling is a case in point where the complexities of “Jewishness” are not taken into account.

Under the letter of the UK law, Jews have been convicted of racial discrimination against Jews. But this decision is founded on the UK law’s interpretation of who and what constitutes a Jew. The courts ignored millennia of Torah law. Even if they wanted to bring ‘our’ laws into account, ‘their’ law doesn’t offer them the option to do so.

This week’s decision won’t change the way Jews do business. Nor will it change the famously bigoted British people - and the legal system they have opted to adopt.

But it does risk changing the relationship between Britain’s Wasp-society and the country’s millions upon millions of non-Wasp citizens.

The rise of British nationalism will continue to suppress any intervention to make its society representative of its residents. Its citizenship grows increasingly culture diverse. Yet they must live within its Waspy framework.

Ken Livingston: A typical English bigot

A wonderful illustration of the bigoted nature of the British Wasp was London Mayor Ken Livingstone.

In 2008 Livingston lost his post to the anti-European right-wing Conservative, Boris Johnson. During the campaign, then-MP Johnson had used the offensive word "picaninnies" to describe young African children. He also referred to their "watermelon smiles." (The last MP to use the word "picanannies" in British politics was Enoch Powell, who used the expression in his notorious Rivers of Blood speech which led to his dismissal from the Conservative front bench.)

During the campaign, and since, Johnson couldn’t stop apologising for the offence his language has caused.

By contrast, his defeated opponent Livingston refused to apologise after he compared the Jewish journalist, Oliver Finegold, to a Nazi.

Early in 2005, Finegold was reporting for the London Evening Standard and tried to get some quotes from Livingstone. He had a recorder with him and caught on tape Livingstone turning to Finegold as the reporter tried to put his questions.

Livingstone: What did you do before? Were you a German war criminal?

Finegold: No, I'm Jewish. I wasn't a German war criminal ...

Livingstone: Ah right.

Finegold: I'm actually quite offended by that. So how did tonight go?

Livingstone: Well, you might be, but actually you are just like a concentration camp guard.

Unfortunately for the mayor of London, this comparison of a Jewish journalist with a Nazi became a massive political story which resulted in considerable damage to Livingstone. He adamantly refused to apologise to Finegold.

Jews everywhere in Britain were shocked and hurt by the crudity of Livingstone's comparison.

Everyone from prime minister Tony Blair to the Jewish deputy mayor of London, Nicky Gavron, pleaded with Livingstone to say sorry for the offence caused. He refused.

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President Zuma must act quickly and decisively

Racism is ugly.

There is no place for Racism in South Africa, not in any form or guise. No peoples in recent history could have endured this more than the Hebrew people and the Black South African people.

SA’s recent history of anti-Israeli bias is well documented. But that’s politics. Government-to-government relations is a political matter. The nature of politics is that it is partisan. It relates to government and not to a “people.”

Racism, however, is never anything but Racism. It’s personal. It’s about people. 'A' people. It is perpetuated by (a segment of) a people and against another people.

The wave of Black-on-Jew Racism that has emerged in South Africa since Operation Cast Lead must be taken extremely seriously. One needs just read the SAHRC finding to see how dangerous it can be.

It must be stopped. The Board should be commended for acting quickly and decisively.

Alas, the wheels of public institutions always turn slowly. And all the more slowly in SA. The nine months wait for a ruling was not unexpected,

But when it did come, the SAHRC ruling was clear, absolute and frightening.

It should be the most sincere hope of South African Jews and Israelis living in SA that last Friday’s ruling will be a call to action against this type of institutionalised Racism.

President Zuma is now required to act to bring a stop to this. He must read the ruling and apply his mind to the societal risks it warns of. And he must act firmly and punish harshly to ensure that this cancer of our times is cured once and for all.

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I have been unseated!

My blog used to be well read. Then very well read. It is still very well read.

But our blogger “Chabadgirl” is by far and away Shtetlers’ favourite read. Please don’t misunderstand me on this. I am in no way jealous, upset or moody about being unseated. Rather, I am flattered that we are able to host a great blogger like “Chabadgirl” on MyShtetl.co.za.

In fact, she is my personal favourite read as well. When I saw she had posted her latest blog on Sunday evening, my life once again stopped until I had read and reread her posting. She seems to have that effect on Shtetlers.

She can get hundreds of ‘reads’ a day. And on most days, she gets the longest read of any page on this website.

My readership is still growing. Hers is meteoric!

Far from being offended at being unseated as the most popular blogger, I’d love to have more of you blogging for the community and surpassing my readership.

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Who decides who’s the best Chazzan?

So we get to see “the World’s Leading Chazzan” at a Jo’burg benefit concert in February. I’ll be there.

Still, his billing begs the question: “How does one become Chazzanic Top Gun?”

Is it like tennis, run by the “ATP” (Alter Tallis Patrol)? Or maybe they hold a Miss World-type parade.

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How did they decide who’s the best Chazzan?

So we get to see “the World’s Leading Chazzan” at a Jo’burg benefit concert in February. Chazzan Helfgot got all my attention. I’ll be there, it’s my kind of concert.

Still, his billing begs the question:
“How does one become Chazzanic Top Gun?”

Is it like cricket? Does a “WCC” (World Chaz Council) have a firm of accountants monitor test outcomes and create world Chaz rankings?

Or like tennis, where the “ATP” (Alter Tallis Patrol) creates their own rankings based on masters tournaments where Chazzes battle it out on the centre-bimah while the congregations enjoy strawbs-(washed like dishes)-and-cream.

Maybe it should be an Olympian affair with the “IOC” (International Association of Chazzonim) inviting hopefuls to a massive sing-off at one Shtetl or another every four years. Maybe “World’s Leading Chazzan” means Gold Medalist.

Or could it in ‘reality’ be a show where Chazzes compete to see who can go without herring for the longest, who can bake the best Kichel on an open fire and vote and vote and vote until one Survivor remains? He wins $1m and gets to be called “World’s Leading Chazzan.”

Maybe they hold a Miss World-type stage show with Chazzes parading in classifications like: Best Beard; Tallest Headdress; Biggest Chest/Boop. And the Mr Popularity title goes to the least grumpy one.

How about we pick the one who can imbibe the most on Simchas Torah each year?

Or we run a worldwide sms vote at R5 a pop in aid of a new Chazzes academy?

Seriously, though, however they chose him I look forward to hearing the Chief Chaz at the Lyric Theatre on Sunday 7 Feb 2010. And I’ll be adding my few dollars towards the completion of the Ashdod Medical Center (Centre?).

CONCERT DETAILS: http://www.myshtetl.co.za/category/site-section/leisure/arts/reviews/wor...

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Seriously interactive, with one small and obvious reservation

Our registered Users (“Shtetlers” as against visitors) are growing exponentially. By about 10% a week! We thank you. And we will be rewarding you once again next month with another ‘fun’tastic round of competitions.

Together with our franchise parent, Avusa Media’s MyBackyard business unit, we have developed this platform to be at the absolute forefront of interactive technology for our community. Anyone can comment on anything, at any time.

We do, however, have one huge and obvious reservation. We have an obligation to protect the community from the risk of MyShtetl.co.za being used as a tool for negativity.

There are many who espouse hurtful issues, hate speech, racism, political extremes, and others. We believe in freedom of speech. Unfortunately we have to pre-screen and approve overly sensitive user/visitor comment before we release it into the public domain of SA Jewry.

We make no apologies for our fastidiousness. We have been blessed with tens of thousands of visitors monthly. It is our duty to intervene where required.

Please understand the short delay between posting a comment and it being released onto the site.

Of course Shtetlers can always do a lot more than visitors. Like place free classified ads, download great free graphics and cell phone ringtones, win big prizes, etc.

Two of the very best advantages of being a Shtetler, are that you can be a Live-Poster and you’re your own free-hosted blog.

We dubbed what we so uniquely needed as “LivePost.” This grants permission to users to post their comments live, directly onto the website. Shtetlers furnish a few details, we verify their credentials, and Bobba’s-your-uncle.

When we open the tap and grant a Shtetler LivePost permission, we explain the courtesy, the do’s and don’ts. And we provide a dictionary of everyday words used by Yids which may offend others.

So, folks, post your comments. Share your views, signed or anonymous, with your community!

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Good Yomtov from all of us to You and Yours

From a humbled “Us” to a fantastic “You”, we wish all our users a Joyous Rosh Hashanah and an Easy Fast. Thank you for the overwhelming support.

Some days you spend a collective 4,000 minutes-plus on this website. Even on the quieter weekends, “Shtetlers” can always be counted on to linger with us for ages. Bless you all.

Please take notice of, and please support our fast-growing sponsoring advertisers.

Saying: “I saw you on MyShtetl.co.za!” will make them smile. Try it, you’ll see.

And, of course, the more they smile, the more we can bring you.

From Ant, Chon, Yosef, Josh, Jonathan and the team at MyShtetl.co.za.

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Thank you. Thank you! Todah rabah!
Yids made 26,991 hits on MyShtetl.co.za in our first two weeks of publishing.
Thanks to the thousands of South Africans who logged on. Thanks in no small way too, to the hundreds who logged on from each of Canada, Israel, Oz, the US. And to the dozens who came from the UK and Europe.
Bearing in mind the old adage that “one lives and one learns”, we have sure learned a lot in the past two weeks.
You have overwhelmed us with your registrations, your mails, your stories and events and your advertising enquiries. We were ready a lot but not sure what to expect. Thank you.
Thanks for the positive and constructive comments and criticisms. It has allowed us to begin work on 1.1, an altogether upgraded version of MyShtetl.co.za with easier navigation. We will roll this out as soon as possible.
And thank you too for all the warm wishes and offers of assistance.

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Have a great Shabbas, all.
Jacob Zuma is scheduled to make a speech at the SA Jewish Board of Deputies’ annual conference in Sandton shortly after Shabbas. MyStetl will bring you the news from that as quickly as we are able to – watch out for it. It will be interesting to see what he has to say.

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A brief introduction: My name is Ant Katz. I am the publisher of MyShtetl.co.za. Born, brissed and bred in Jo’burg, published community newspapers at the coast for 30 years, back in Joburg for 5 years doing my day-job as a media consultant. Now investing my time in creating this self-sustaining Community medium.

I hope we’ll be engaging regularly in the days, weeks, months and years to come. Not just you and me – but with thousands of other like-minded members of the Community. We’re interactive. We can all talk to each other.