Dear Friends,

Well, we haven’t had such an exciting AGM for years! Since the days of individuals campaigning for specific positions on the Executive, there hasn’t been such a lebedig, interesting, (and dare I say ‘entertaining?’) Annual General Meeting of our Congregation.

The meeting on Wednesday evening was well attended and all was proceeding in traditional humdrum mode, chaired by Harold Novick with reports by him, me, Rabbi Stern, Meyer Gelbart, Ingrid Seeff and Jonty Cohen - until Stan Brasg asked for Judge Phillip Boruchowitz to be given the podium on a ‘constitutional matter.’

The learned judge gave a very interesting ‘shiur’ on the distinction between the Shul’s Constitution and its By-Laws. Whereas to amend the constitution one would require a Special General Meeting and a two-thirds majority, to simply change a By-Law only requires any officially constituted meeting and a simple majority. (I would like to think that the judge’s weekly attendance at my Gemorra Shiur has further honed his fine legal mind!).

To make a long story short, the upshot was that all those who put their names forward for Council were ‘elected’ without a vote being necessary. The good news is that for the first time in a long time, we now have a solid group of successful young people who have volunteered their time and talents to our Shul. This augurs very well for all of us and I look forward to a superb synergy between veterans with experience, and the younger people with their new energies and enthusiasm. I am delighted to welcome all the members of the new Shul Council.

They are: Steven Crouse, Tali Frankel, Meyer Gelbart, Nachi Kay, Julian Nathan, Harold Novick, David Pimstein, Benjy Porter, Harry Rosmarin, Stanley Seeff, Ingrid Seeff and Larry Smith.

Thank you all for offering your services to the Shul. May Hashem bless the work of your hands and grant you success in strengthening and uplifting our community. The official Induction of Council will take place next Friday night, 6 August, PG.

One of the things I touched on was the incredible vibrancy of our Shul and the almost non-stop events that make Sydenham Shul such a busy, bustling, happening place. Last Friday night, Rabbi Stern’s Dinner on Main for young adults was an outstanding success. Stan Matthews gave an incredible talk filed with true stories, intriguing name–dropping, humor and, most importantly, a powerful message on values and integrity so valuable for young people. He was joined by star Bafana Bafana player, Bongani Khumalo, who was interviewed by Myron Michel and showed himself to be both charming and humble. We wish him luck for his trials with Tottenham.

The Working Mom’s Breakfast with Samantha Cowen of 94.7 fame is almost full so please do not delay in making your booking. It promises to be a very successful morning and well done to Tali Frankel and her team for putting it all together so well. I’m sure it is going to be great. Don’t miss it. Tali has just become Chairman of the Shtibl. (Don’t worry, we’re not going Reform! She won’t be sitting in ‘the Box.’ There will still be male Gaboim.)

The upcoming CAJE event for Singles is starting to cause a stir in town. Please do spread the word out there. It’s on Facebook now and I can’t wait to see it on Twitter too! Singles, Soulmates & Shidduchs will feature three eloquent experts and will be followed by a Social Singles Mingle with a Cocktail Bar and a Coffee & Cappuccino Bar for people to socialize after the talks and Q & A are over. See the Jewish Report or the provoking posters around Shul and all over town. The date is Tuesday 10 August. Thank you to Protea Diamonds for sponsoring this event.

Then on 22 and 23 August, High Shul Musical will again take to the stage at the Victory Theatre (don’t worry, it will still be there). The show will still carry the same storyline but there will be some nice changes and also new musical material and new acting talent. So even if you attended last year, it will be worth your while going again. Tickets are now on sale at Computicket. Only if you cannot possibly manage Computicket, feel free to call the Shul office for tickets. All tickets are R180.00 and are available on line at computicket.com or you can visit any Computicket kiosk or Shoprite Checkers. First come, first served. Get there quickly to get the best seats.

At the AGM, I also made mention of our strong weekly Shiurim and Minyanim. In fact, at our 7am Minyan, the other day we had 25 men and not one was there to say Kaddish! That challenges the old, cynical Yiddish proverb that ‘the malach hamoves feeds the Shuls.’

Good luck to Rebbetzin Rochel and Women of the World for their Annual Women’s Breakfast this Sunday 1st August at Sandton Sun Hotel where Premier Helen Zille will receive the Woman of the World 2010 Award. Over 400 women will be attending.

A whole lot of people (including the Chef at Shelley Geffen) told me they saw me on SATV 1 the other day. I remember recording a long interview about Judaism in Shul one day some months ago. I wish they would have told me when it was being broadcast. I would have let the community know. Sorry. Apparently it was pretty good except some of the graphics they used weren’t so ‘kosher.’

Mazel Tov to our Barmy Boy, Yossi Bank (he, too, is Yosef Yitzchak and we share Hebrew names) and to his dad Warren and Sharon Bank and his mom Penina Bank as well as grandparents Natalie Cumin and Ronnie and Jeanette Bank. Yossi scored only 97% on his Bar Mitzvah test so I think we’ll give him a Certificate after all. He is also a musician and played the drums for us on Purim in the sun (but under a sombrero). Lots of nachas.

Mazel Tov for their upcoming wedding to Cara Aron and Marc Garnitz. May you build a beautiful Jewish home together. Congrats to their parents Milton Aron and Allen and Barbara Garnitz.

Mazel Tov to Louise and Lance Fleiser on the birth of a daughter and to the grandparents Ian and Barbara Cleminson and Barry Fleiser. Lots of nachas.

Mazel Tov to Arnold and Denise Suttner on the marriage of their first grandchild. Now that’s a milestone of note! I remember the bride’s mother as a young girl attending my Shabbos Shiur here at Shul years ago.

Mazel Tov to Rebecca Friedman on her Bat Mitzvah. This is a big milestone for Martin and Adine too. We wish you much nachas.

We extend sincere condolences to Linda Orkin on the loss of her dad, Aaron Ephron. Long Life to Ashne and the entire Ephron family. Aaron was small in size but big in stature. I still remember his strong grip whenever he shook my hand in Shul. His grandson, Rabbi Yosef Orkin, spoke very beautifully about his Zayde.

The Unveiling of the Tombstone for the late Dr Solly Greenspan will be held on Sunday at 11 am. Solly was a long-standing member here at Shul and was actually a lantzman of my father (may he be well) from the town Shedlitz in Poland.

The Parsha is Ekev and continues with Moshe’s Last Will and Testament given in a series of sermons before his passing. In this Parsha we also find the Seven Kinds of produce Israel, the land of Milk and Honey, is famous for: Wheat, Barley, Grapes, Figs, Pomegranates, Olives (oil) and Dates. There is the second chapter of the Shema as well as and the source for the Grace After Meals (Bentching) also comes from here. Ekev means ‘because’ but also means a heel (literally). From this the Sages taught that we should not trample upon the seemingly unimportant Mitzvahs. Every Mitzvah is very important, big or small.

Please feel free to forward this What’s Nu as widely as you wish. Good things are always nice to share. Spread the word. Please remember the Shul’s new email address: sydshul@sydshul.co.za. That sounds nice and it’s easy to remember too.

• Shabbos Candles: 5: 23 pm

• Friday Mincha: 5: 25 pm

• Shabbos Shachris: 8:15 am

• Parsha Shiur: 4: 35 pm - Rabbi Yehuda Stern

• Shabbos Mincha: 5: 05 pm

• Pirkei Avot: Chapter 5

• Shabbos Ends: 6:14 pm

G-d bless. See ya in Shul. Shabbat Shalom

SydShul AGM on Wednesday

Ensuring sustainability??