Our Jewish Life OUR JEWISH LIFE
T
he Theodor Herzl School is a living proof that people of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds can, indeed, live, function and thrive in harmony. The Judaica department strives to provide the children of Port Elizabeth’s small Jewish community with quality Jewish education. At the same time it promotes the value of tolerance for others and the understanding of different cultures and religions without compromising and diminishing one’s own.
Mrs Esther Levitan
Just three days after the beginning of the school year we celebrated Tu B’Shvat, the ‘New Year of the Trees’ with the emphasis on the importance of recycling. Purim, as always, was a highlight with all three schools dressing up and participating in a parade in the spirit of this joyous festival. In preparation for Pesach, the Festival of Freedom, elderly Jewish members of Club 42 came to see the Memory Wall. The Jewish learners entertained them with Pesach songs when they were treated for tea in the library. The Judaica Forum ran an assembly for the High School, the Primary School had a mock Seder and the whole Primary School, as well as the Pre-Primary children, participated in a Pesach presentation. Our Jewish learners were asked by the Jewish community to take part in the Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Day, commemoration and the Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations which took place during the school holiday. Lag B’omer was celebrated in ideal weather conditions with customary activities around a blazing bonfire. On Shavuot, non-perishable foods, fruit and vegetables collected by the Primary School were donated to the underprivileged. Our Founders Day was celebrated in the Glendinningvale Synagogue on Saturday, 9 August, Shabbat Nachamu. It was gratifying to hear Nathan Franklin who has recently celebrated his becoming a Bar Mitzvah, reading Maftir and his father following with the wonderful “Nachamu, Nachamu Ami” Haftarah.
Judaica Forum From left: Seth Bulkin, Gemma Meyers, Mrs Esther Levitan, Jodi Goldberg, Jessica Mandel (Chairman)
The month of Tishrei ushers in the New Year in the Jewish calendar with one meaningful holiday following another. The whole school gained some insight into the significance of the Tishrei Holy Days. The senior Pre-Primary children joined the Primary School in an assembly run by the Grade 7 boys. The Jewish pupils sang songs for Rosh Hashanah and illustrated the values of forgiveness and compassion, which are particularly pertinent now, in presentations directed by Daniel Goldberg. The Pre-Primary had a Rosh Hashanah concert at their school. The High School Judaica Forum started a new tradition with an assembly taking place, for the first time, in the school synagogue. The Primary School joined the High School for the customary Tashlich service at the bottom of 14th Avenue, Walmer, where they, symbolically, cast away their sins into the Baakens River. My sincere thanks to Latti Liss and to our new Judaica member, Robyn Botha, to Bevan Franklin for his assistance at all times and to Hilly Golombick, the present acting spiritual head of the PE Jewish community for his participation in recent Judaica school events. We wish Jessica Mandel, Jodi Goldberg, Kayla Shefer and Isabella Liss, our new Judaica Forum much success in their task of preserving and promoting the Jewish ethos of the school. May Theodor Herzl continue to go from strength to strength. ~
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MRS ESTHER LEVITAN HEAD OF JUDAICA