STANTGSM Rosh Hashana 2025

THE GOOD SHABBOS MAN

THE GOOD SHABBOS MAN

PO BOX 47, Wendywood, 2144. www.stantgsm.com

From the beloved country may you have a shana tova and easy fast.

May Hashem inscribe all of you for a healthy and prosperous year

S

The past year has been very busy with sport again, with the ‘Rugger’ World Cup ending after Rosh Hashana last year, and this year has been jam packed with Rugger, cricket, Tennis, Sokka and of course the ‘OY’LYMPICS………which brought

in a huge amount of traffic to the website…….Going forward , I reckon the Maccabi games will create huge interest, as it takes place in July in Israel, and ‘OUR’ Local ‘Manne’ are already putting the final touches to one of the biggest squads to leave ‘Souff Effrikka’……

‘ROOTS’ is still a ‘Humungous’ thing on the website, with soooo many Yidden worldwide, ‘Zuching’ (looking) for their Roots, and it is sad how we only start looking when the older generation are already gone, and it makes it harder to trace roots…..I went to ‘Der Heim’ (Lichtenburg) recently and it was an E-mazing trip, after 45 years………. and the interest it has ‘Koched’ in the small Lichtenburg ‘Yiddisher’ community that is left was ‘Tukka’ E-mazing……..

Simcha’s around the World of Souff Effrikken ‘Yidden’ is huge, and I get many requests for contacts as people see others that they know…….Had 16 requests from ONE reader from OZ for various details… …..’Mishuga’ ???? No, as people

want to be connected to people they knew ‘Amolikke Yoren’………

The release of Shani Krebs from a Thai prison was a very emotional event recently……and Shani has been very Seriaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas with his message “ Don’t do drugs….

Shani has been on many talk shows etc, bringing the message to all, especially the ‘kinderlach’ who are soooo vulnerable ….

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ing?!?!?

Planning a wedd Guide See our Simcha on page 19

tan The Good Shabbos Man is a weekly ‘Mishugas’ on the internet www.stantgsm.com …..Why a Yomtov newspaper…???

Many ‘Yidden’ in the Beloved Country’ do not have access to the Internet, and this is a way of them getting a feel of the weekly letter……. over the years (12), the Website following has grown tremendously, with e-mails from all over the World including some VERY remote areas……. The aim is not to see how many people it can reach, BUT…. the quality of the correspondence …. I get soooo many requests for a variety of tasks, like connecting friends / families, various info that people need etc.

September 2015 • stan yom tov edition • www.stantgsm.com

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September 2012

C/O ‘Beloved Country’ for his weekly inspirational ‘Vort’ which is well received by thousands each week…..

I hope this Newspaper edition for the Yomtayvim finds you well and a ‘Gutte Yomtov’ to alllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllll

THE

TZVAH EDITIO RMI N! BA

Stan The Good Shabbos Man www.stantgsm.com

The Shhhhhhhhhhhhhwekey Tour was really GR888888888 for the Community, as was the Huge success of the Sinai Indaba…….

These huge events help bring the whole community together……….

The various stories that I write on bring huge responses……BUT… no place to write more…Visit the website on www.stantgsm.com for weekly updates……

I would like to thank my sponsors (Chavers) for their support, which allows me to print the Yearly Shabbos Newspaper, and to Rabbi Yossy Goldman, Sydenham Shul,

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STAN THE GOOD SHABBOS MAN Rosh Hashana

2025

STAN TGSM 2020

MATZAH MAN STAN 20TH ANNIVERSARY PESACH ISSUE OF ‘STAN THE GOOD SHABBOS MAN’

PESACH - APRIL 2020

STAN PESACH 2020

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STAN ROSH HASHANA 2020 1

STAN THE GOOD SHABBOS MAN

Rosh Hashana 5783 STAN ROSH HASHANA 2022 1

STAN THE GOOD SHABBOS MAN Rosh Hashana 2024

Shofar, Soooooo Good Sketch by Ari Lyons…..

STAN ROSH HASHANA 2024 1

Capture blessings, share memories.

‫שנה טובה‬

Celebrate in focus.

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STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 2

From the beloved country may you have a shana tova and easy fast. May Hashem inscribe all of you for a healthy and prosperous year What started out as an exercise to learn how to use a Komputta 25 years ago, I started sending a weekly Shabbos letter to my family & friends overseas….and it grew into my hobby …..For the few years, it was virtually only overseas Yidden reading the letter….. It grew like wildfire, as the Politics were Tukka ‘U get what I see” and the Jokes were a ‘Bietjie’ ‘Vuil’ (Rough…). …and each week, more and more people were asking to join the letter….

It became a hobby, and it was very easy to do, as I wrote the weekly Meisa, which was 2/3 pages, and got replies which I do reply to….. ….The problem with sending out big newsletters is that eventually they get spammed/not delivered ….. The readers have aged with me, and as I am in my seventies, many readers are also aged, and battle to get the letter……… With the help of the Late Hilly Golombick, I started the website, so that those that don’t get the letter can always access it on the website…..The little Hobby had turned 360 degrees, into a very ‘Lebbedikke’ hobby, with me posting up to 10,000 Pichaaaaa’s each year, and the subscribers grew and before I knew it I was getting soooo much correspondence, and I must say that 98% of all personal E-mails were replied to, and the news I receive each week, keeps the stories rolling…….

In the 25 years of the letter, 3 Main events happened…Firstly 9/11, then Covid and presently the tragedy of 7th. October, 2025 …

In 2001 when 9/11 happened, a year after I started, the correspondence was huge, and it was virtually all on e-mail ……Things have changed, and a still get many e-mails, BUT…… WhatsApp at the moment are king, BUT I am sure that in future twitter/ X etc will take over….???? Progress they say methinks it’s a ‘Kop Dreynis’……. Covid put a damper on the World, and sometimes I questioned if it would ever pass, but it did….. WhatsApp traffic was at a premium….. I have always pointed out that the letter is generally a happy go lucky letter and no Seriaaaaaaaaaaas stuff, BUT 7/10 has changed that and one cannot ignore what has happened not only to Israel and Yidden worldwide, BUT…. in fact the whole world…….. The actual question of who is correct has been distorted by the ‘Galeria’s’ and they knew how Israel would act to their Barbarism, and the world has been turned upside down……. When we look at Campus invasions in America that were funded, rioting around the world, in honour of ‘Hamas’(Sic, not Palestine) it’s shocking and one wonders how this Drek will ever come to an end…… The poor hostages who have been held like animals for years, are Tukka the Hero’s and Yidden worldwide pray for their release (alive) which seems to be getting further & further away……Although the majority have been freed…… It’s the last remaining 50 that is so difficult to live with…

Our very own Government in the Beloved Country has been totally against the ‘Yidden’ before our elections, and currently a lot of the anger has subsided…..Was it a ploy to get votes, which went horribly wrong, and the ANC are no more the dominant party they were…… A few Ministers, like Gayton Mc Kenzie has come out strongly in favour of the Yidden of Souff Effrikka, and we no more see many parliamentarians wearing their ‘Keffiyea’ to work……. It has not been proved, BUT…..funds were most probably received from Iran, to start the International court cases…..and the Men from the Ministry continue to bash Israel at every opportunity and some countries that were always with us are starting to gang up with the Galeria’s….

Hopefully, the New Year will bring stability to all Yidden around the World…..

Like to thank my sponsors who assist in keeping the ‘Letter’ going, and to Rabbi ‘Yossy’ Goldman for the weekly Vort, which arrives without fail….

A ‘Gutte’ Yomtov to Allllllllllllllllllllllll Stan The Good Shabbos Man https://www.stantgsm.com/

STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 3

Wishing all our clients and the Jewish community a safe, healthy, sweet New Year and well over the fast.

Securing Safety and Peace of Mind 24/7 CALL CENTRE: 0861 101 000 www.mantissecurity.co.za STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 4

WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT ROSH HASHANAH?

By Rabbi Yossy Goldman Let me begin with congratulating Stan the Good Shabbos Man on this, the 25th Anniversary of his popular Shmooze Newsletter.

Stan, I wish you many more years of writing and schmoozing in good health. You are a great raconteur.

I believe there is much value in this publication. South Africans appreciate the need for Chaverschaft, and not only here but beyond the borders of sunny SA. I know that many emigrants look forward to it to keep abreast of what’s happening back home “in der heim.” Frequently, I receive feedback from my own sermonettes, so I know for a fact that people are reading it.

As a regular contributor, I guess I should begin with a disclaimer, though. The humour is not under any rabbinical supervision, and certainly not mine!

And now for a more serious thought, or as Stan calls it, a Vort.

Rosh Hashanah is more than just a holiday. It is Judgement Day. That’s why the traditional greeting at this time is not Happy Holiday, or even Good Yom Tov or Chag Sameach, but rather Shana Tovah or, in Yiddish, Ah Gut Yohr. The Heavenly Court will be deciding our destiny and determining our fate for the new year, so we wish each other that these days of reckoning go well and that we each be blessed with only good things for the New Year.

And this is precisely what makes our New Year observances distinctively different from those of so many others around the world. For Jews, New Year’s Day is sober and sombre. No latenight partying for us. No ‘Happy, Happy!’ and no drunken revelry as the clock strikes midnight. Actually, I’ve often wondered whether New Year’s Eve partygoers are just having a harmless fun night out or there is some kind of subconscious drowning of sorrows in drink as they mourn the passage of another year and all its unfulfilled dreams.

I’ve often wondered what we Jews would do without Rosh Hashanah. This is the season of Cheshbon Hanefesh – spiritual stocktaking and making our most personal, intimate inventories.

We reflect on the year gone by, our successes and our shortcomings. We consider and reconsider our relationships with G-d and with our fellow men and women. We try to pinpoint our failings so that we may correct them for an improved New Year to come. We make amends with those we may have been hurtful to in the year gone by. We put an end to the petty faribels of life and look forward to a better, happier, more serene and peaceful future.

But what if we didn’t have Rosh Hashanah? What if there was no annual season dedicated to appraisal and self-assessment?

Would we have created it on our own? And if not, would we ever emerge from the rut we work ourselves into over a long, hard year? In all probability, I imagine we would just continue along the same tedious treadmill of life until something drastic might suddenly arrive out of the blue to jolt us from our lethargy. Would we ever stop to consider whether this is the way we really want to live? Would we ever pause to become pensive enough to rethink life’s game plan? More than likely, we might just keep running the rat race and, as some astute observer once remarked, “In the rat race, even if you win you are still a rat!”

Unless we are on the absolute fringe of Jewish life, Rosh Hashanah is a time when we are virtually compelled to sit up and take notice; to put the brakes on the mediocre merry-goround and shout “Stop the world, I want to get off!” These Days of Awe compel us to think about life, about ourselves, about our families, relationships, and our way of life. And if necessary, to do a re-think. It gives us the chance for at least a once annual ‘compass reading’ to establish our sense of direction, so that if necessary, we may alter course and re-route ourselves. How does the lady inside our GPS put it? “Recalculating.” Most of us do need to recalculate from time to time.

So, if we didn’t have this once-a-year challenge and opportunity of personal introspection, what are the chances we would sit down of our own volition to do it? Probably very small indeed.

Well, thank G-d we do have Rosh Hashanah. And the time for stocktaking is now. And as the legendary Hillel put it in Pirkei Avot, “If not now, when then?”

In our chaotic, often mad world, we ought to appreciate and embrace this wonderful annual opportunity. Honestly and truly, what would we do without Rosh Hashanah?

I wish all the readers of Stan’s newsletter Shana Tovah. May we all be inscribed in the Book of Life for a happy, healthy, peaceful, prosperous, safe, secure, and spiritually rewarding New Year.

May we hear only good news from Israel. May our enemies be defeated and may our hostages be redeemed safe and sound, please G-d very, very soon

STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 5

Stan & Pete

and of course Riva Flax Caterers was also my student ‘Amolikke Yoren’…….

This is the 25th year that I am out of Stan & Pete, which is quite E-mazing…..when I left Stan & Pete I started sending the ‘Stan The Good Shabbos Man letter to learn who to use the computer …..When I started at Hotel School in 1972, I started to dabble with my Late mother & Bobba with Catering……. I started by getting order for Cheese Blitzes and soon had a few thousand on order each week, mainly to three outlets….Chrystal’s (where I worked from the age of 12 @ Rosebank and then Killarney for many years ,Kookies (Marcelle Busch) and Birnam Foods (Mrs Karpes) ….My old Chaver Ralph Lewinsohn could make hundreds of pancakes per hour and I filled them….. We then moved onto doing a few Simcha’s here and there and did a BIG Barmy weekend in Welkom, 1973 which put us on the map ……..

We finished Hotel School, Ralph went overseas and Pete joined me in Stan & Pete 1974…..the next year Dennis Cohen (also ex Hotel School) joined us and in 1978 Pete left and travelled South America for a year ….My ‘Cuzzie’ Late ‘Sarge’ Norman Weitzman joined us till we sold the business 25 years ago…… We had a kitchen in the heart of Jeppe, which was already quite a ‘Skrikky’ area, and we catered all functions from 18 Auret Street,Jeppe…

Catering was/is a tough Industry and people always ask ‘Do you miss it” and I always say” No, it is not a career for older people…… When I look back, over the past 60 years that I have been dabbling with food, it was Lekker while it lasted, BUT…one has to say goodbye…….. When I was 12 I started working at Chrystal’s which was a well-known superb Yiddisher bakery/Delicatessen, and my 12 years at Chrystal’s Killarney was E-mazing…..Used to start at 7.00 am and finish at 6.00 pm for R4 a day….. 1964 ….. It was an incredible learning curb, and my main duty was cutting the Smoked Salmon, which in those days came full of bones, and had to spend hours taking out the fish bones and preparing the sides of Salmon….. The ‘Viber’ (Ladies) used to fight for the off cuts, as they used to pull the scraps of salmon from the off cuts and make savouries for their card games….and then someone invented Sathe, which was scraps in aa bottle, and the Salmon purveyours overseas started producing cleaned sides of Salmon with no bones, which makes it easier to cut ….Over the years I taught many Chef’s & my Chaver Dennis Cohen how to cut Smoked Salmon…..These days, as long as it is a reasonable quality Salmon ,its much easier to cut……. A few weeks ago a request came for me to Carve Salmon @ a Chasene which I did and Dennis & I carved Salmon together last year for an engagement @ the Sydenham Hall …….

Not bad for 72 year old AK’s…..

In the early years, my Mom was still at Walter A . Chipkin and we met up with a rep she sent, the Late Hannes Dorfling, who remained our Chipkin’s rep throughout….The Late Walter A Chipkin and his Zunnelle’s Mervyn & Bernard helped us beyond in those early days lending us cutlery & Crockery every week for the first year, and then I started buying Smoked Salmon with Walter…..In those days he imported the Nova Scotia Salmon from Canada, and we served Salmon with virtually every Simcha in those days…..so we put in big orders and got E-mazing prices…… My Late Mom worked there for ‘Amper’ 40 years and they were quite unbelievable to us, and we bought everything from them, sometimes getting 3 deliveries a day….It Tukka was a SERVICE company…….

Like Chipkin’s, we stuck with many of our suppliers throughout….

Nussbaum’s, with the Late Shmuel & Rochelle Lurie were there, and our veg man Carlos De Souza and one of our best suppliers & Chaver was Harold Wolberg, who supplied all our fish for all the years we were at Stan & Pete….. In those days Harold used to order thirty thousand east coast soles for the season, and it was Tukka a Michiel to use his products …… Hard to believe that we sold the business 25 years ago…… I have helped various Kosher Caterers when they needed it, and Gary Friedman Caterers who took over our Jeppe premises we helped for many years, STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 6

Shana Tova

THE OPTICAL STUDIO, RUN BY SHAUN DE VRIES, HAS MOVED INTO THE SHTETL, OPPOSITE KOSHERWORLD……

LOTS OF MAZEL ‘SHAUNIE’ ….. I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW…..

Hymie walks into the Optical studio and Shaun says “You need glasses!”

Hymie asks “How do you know?”

Shaun replies, “I could tell when you walked through the window.”

(Oy….vy) Never trust an optometrist who won’t look you in the eye Sign @ an Optometrist’s Office: “If you don’t see what you’re looking for, You have come to the right place.”

Abe was passing Shaun’s Opticians shop and noticed an old man standing inside with his underpants and pants off.

Curious , he went inside the shop to see want was going on with this old man. He then heard the female optician saying to him. ‘’ No, no, Mr. Unterhuizen , I said to you show me your spectacles not your Testicles.’’

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Consolidation 2025………………………

What is actually going to happen to the ‘Yiddisher’ community in the ‘Beloved Country’ looking ahead..??? Yiddisher immigration is picking up and ALL the Infrastructure built up over years is starting to take strain …… Covid smashed the economy, and in Souff Effrikka the July riots were ‘Skrikky’ and we saw Yidden that were sitting on the fence, making decisions to move to greener pastures ….Are they Greener???? (Methinks there is so much Bobbameises, that the grass grows greener and thicker….)

What happens to the Community that is left, which will be much smaller, BUT….still have the infrastructure that has been created, to take care of….???? Methinks that because the community is a very close knit unit by and large, things should stay the same…

BUT…….it is not what the ‘Yiddisher’ community want, BUT….what the country wants, and methinks that things are very volatile at the moment, and the insecurity with our Government ‘Balabatim’ is at danger point ……. With the ‘Buffalo’ (Cyril Ramaphosa) the Presidente, without much power…… That is a reality…….. And the Jacob Zuma supporters are all over the cabinet still, with only a few side-lined …. Going forward, things will become more difficult, and the ‘Yiddisher’ community are already battling to make ends meet….

People have become unemployed, with very little chance of finding new employment.

Since ’94, the position/condition of the majority of the population has Tukka gone down, and only a small amount of previously disadvantaged people have benefited and of course the High fliers, who have been scoring off Tenders fraud/ state capture etc. …How long can Souff Effrikka afford the cost of ‘Gunvining’ on the humungous scale that has been going on…….???

There is a definite slow down since Cyril Ramaphosa came in, BUT….. soooo much still to do… .

The Souff Effrikken ‘Ethos’ has been destroyed by the Governments continual inaction against crime, Kamikaze Taxi gangsters, Unions etc……. and now the latest bombshell is the ‘organized’ Rioting / looting that took place in July……..This is a ‘Groiser’ one, and I believe that by now, someone should have been arrested as the Ringleader of the Tzorris…..…. BUT….looking back at past mistakes by the Government in dealing with these things has been disastrous, and one only has to look at Eishhhhhkom, Hellkom, SAA etc, and be very worried about how they will manage to successfully put an end to such destruction…. Looking at R50b minimum……from one Rioting event, which is not that much compared to what is being stolen by the ‘Comrades’ on a daily basis ….

The recession we find ourselves in, will get worse before it gets better, and the population are suffering, big time….. Not an industry that has not been affected, and what remedial action do the ‘Men from the Ministry’ take - None…..With the 30% tariff hike in place from the USofA things are Tukka going to get much worse, and the Government have just ‘poer poered’ and did not get down to Seriaaaaaaaaaas negotiations with Donald Trump’s mense ????

Then there are a small minority of the population called ‘Yidden’ trying to carry on ‘as normal’…..not possible, and NOTHING has been done to start consolidating resources, and NO one has stepped up to make it happen…..????….. Unfortunately, the community is an ageing community, and it is that much more difficult to maintain

the huge infrastructure that we have…… Emigration is a reality, and according to stats, many Yidden have starting making Aliyah, as it has become too difficult for families to manage in the normal Emigration haunts like Oz, USofA ,UK and Canada ………… and might I add, countries that are becoming hostile to Yidden ….Times are very hard at the moment, and proper leadership is needed to keep the community intact ….Continually stretching scarce ‘Yiddisher’ resources, will see a total collapse of the community…. We saw that Our Parents’ Home in Oakland’s had to be closed down, due to failing numbers and rising costs…. And many of the Shul’s are battling to stay open, due to the failure of congregants not returning after the Covid pandemic and deaths during Covid, and Emigration which is a big one….. How long will all the Yiddisher Schools be able to be viable, with numbers dropping every year….????? … We recently experienced the closing of Victory Park Kind David ….We have seen Shuls curtaining off part of the seating, so the Shul’s do not look ‘Umadik’ (Empty)……

On the brighter side (if there is one) many Yidden are starting to make Israel as their first choice for Immigration, and that is wonderful to see…..Not only youngsters as in the past, BUT….. many family units are starting to make Aliyah ……it’s wonderful to see, but we are losing many top members of the community……..

At the moment there is a ‘Skrikky’ amount of Yidden who have fallen on bad times, and in most cases it is a question of not how they got into these situations, BUT…..with the Coronavirus / economy as weak as it was, and the difficulty for 40 / 50 year olds that have been retrenched to get employment is really sad, and methinks it will still going to get worse, and I am not convinced that we will get out of the tough cycle quickly, and it could take many years to come right..?????? What we have to ask ourselves, what happens now…???? Does the Community keep growing in every direction, or should we not consolidate, and work together…??????

Time for the ‘Balabatim’ to make some wise choices……

‘Amolikke Yoren’ we had Captains of the Yiddisher community……

Guys like the Late Mendel Kaplan, Gerald Leissner, Bertie Lubner, Solly Krok and many others who stepped up and did E-mazing work to keep the community strong…… I don’t see this type of leadership these days…… There definitely are Yidden making a difference currently, BUT…..not like ‘Amolikke Yoren’……… The time has come to amalgamate various schools/shuls/charities etc, to be able to have a strong front……

What the ‘dreamers & schemers’ don’t realize is that the Tzedakah pool has shrunk, and for such a small community to have for example 50/60 ‘Charidy’ events a year is just not viable, as people are being stretched to the limit Forward planning for the community is the answer ….. Making sure that any new expansions/developments are carefully thought of before going forward with the project……. ‘Demographics’ of Yidden is the most important factor when planning anything for the future……In the past many suspect areas were chosen, and investment lost ……..

I end with a famous joke. …..

Why are there no more café’s in the ‘Beloved Country’???

Because every time one closes they open a ‘Shteibel’ Stan The Good Shabbos Man.

STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 8

E-Mazing Pictures!

‘Comrades Legand’ Reb Shlomo Wainer & ‘Amolikke Yoren’ Chilli Pip @ Kosher Nando’s Champion, Dale Shein

‘Cuzzies’ Rabbi Ricky Seeff & Warren Kaplan

‘Dan The Man’ Stillerman & Vivienne Fox

Anthony Glass & Gary Allen

Abramowitz with Bernard Kromlick

STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 9

My Barber’s Tony & Karmen As most of you know, I started having my haircut at the old Italic Centre in Plein Street, opposite Park Station in town…..

Tony & Karmen were on the ground floor, and Nick has been cutting my hair for the past 53 years, and celebrated his 86th. birthday…

Quite E-mazing…… They are now in popular the Blu Bird Centre Over the years its, E-mazing how many Yidden I have met there……Nick actually knows more about Jewish holidays than most Yidden….

Karmen retired a few years ago, and Stuart has been with Nick for 30 years….

HAPPY 86TH. BIRTHDAY NICK

Tony & Karmen

E-mail: nathan@idealfurn.co.za for 53 years!

Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm • Saturday 9am to My 1pm Barber • Sunday 9.30 am to 1pm NATHAN FINE & AND MENDEL MEYER AND THEIR FAMILY WISHES ALL THEIR FRIENDS, FAMILY & CUSTOMERS A HAPPY NEW YEAR AND WELL OVER THE FAST.

STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 10

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STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 12

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For over 55 years, we’ve been helping our community protect what matters most.

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FOLLOW US

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2026 AND A TRIUMPHANT MACCABIAH Following on from our successful attendance at the European Maccabi Games in London in 2024, the past year has been focused on preparations for the 2025 Maccabi Games.

Unfortunately due to the security situation in Israel, on 16th June Maccabi World Union (MWU) had to make the difficult decision to postpone the Games to 2026. This was of course hugely disappointing after all the hard work and preparation ahead of our July departure, but it was the right decision. The safety of our delegation has always been a priority and it was clearly no longer feasible for the Games to go ahead. Organising a Maccabiah is an enormous undertaking and we thank MWU for their support, leadership and ongoing efforts to try host the Games in the most difficult of circumstances.

Team Maccabi SA consisted of 131 athletes aged 14 - 77 years across 12 sports. Despite initial registrations of interest of over 700 athletes, the final team was smaller than usual due to a combination of cost and timing clashes with other youth programmes. We recognise that the Games are expensive, which is due to the massive size and scale of the event, however it delivers excellent value for money with an unparalleled sporting, cultural and social experience. Other countries also entered considerably smaller teams, mostly impacted by security concerns.

One of our greatest challenges this past year has been fundraising. Many of our regular donors are understandably rather supporting important Israel causes, while sponsors are reluctant to risk the association with Israel. We were able to raise enough funds both at home and abroad for our bursary programme to Generic Advert(PR).pdf

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pay for 21 athletes to attend the Games and we are very grateful to those individuals and companies who supported us.

We look forward to 2026 and competing in our 21st Games in a peaceful and prosperous Israel, in what will surely be a memorable celebration of sport and the Jewish people. MWU has adjusted the junior age categories to allow those selected for 2025 to keep their places, while we expect to increase our numbers through additional sports and teams. We are in the process of obtaining our Section 18A which will likely attract more donors and we also have various fundraising activities planned.

As part of our MWU mandate to establish the Maccabi Africa Confederation, we have been in discussions with members of the Sub-Saharan African Jewish alliance (SAJA) whose goal is “to unite Jewish leaders from across the continent to discuss issues that affect all Jews in Africa, find solutions to those issues together, and build lasting relationships with one another”. SAJA has agreed to explore expanding their mandate to include sport, which will then align with Maccabi and our expansion into an African Confederation.

As always, we extend our grateful thanks to our dedicated team of volunteers – coaches, managers, administrators and medical personnel – all of whom give so generously of their time and expertise.

Wishing all Shanah Tovah U’metukah and well over the Fast.

Our thoughts and prayers remain with Israel and the safe return of the hostages.Am Yisrael Chai.

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FOR ALL YOUR PERSONAL & BUSINESS INSURANCE NEEDS Contact info@garrun-group.co.za 011 694 5000 www.garrun-group.co.za

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Maccabi SA Junior Girls Futsal Team

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L’shana Tovah Tikatevu

AFRICA

Maccabi SA Chairman Cliff Garrun and Head of Medical Committee Farrell Cohen, who will both be attending their 6th Games in 2026

FOODS

May this New Year be filled with Health and Happiness for you and your Family.

www.agtfoods.co.za STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 15

E-Mazing Pictures!

Basil Kletz (Ou Lichtenberger)

Biltong in Bloem.....

Bunny, Brandon, Amber & Marcelle Bolnick

Cecil Sher & Paul Kletz Ou Lichtenberger

Chanuka in Slaaaaaapstad

Chazzan Avron Alter

Chedva & Moshe Lichtenstein

Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein & Ronnie Kaplan

Chilly & Shana Chrysler

Cindy Herring with Tata Ronnie Kaplan

Cliff Gruskin & Ami Bolnick

David & Kiara Slotow

STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 16

Jokes……

Paddy had long heard the stories of an amazing family tradition.

It seems that his father, grandfather and greatgrandfather had all been able to walk on water on their 18th birthday.

On that special day, they’d each walked across the lake to the pub on the far side for their first legal drink.

So when Paddy’s 18th birthday came around, he and his pal Mick, took a boat out to the middle of the lake, Paddy, stepped out of the boat ....and nearly drowned!

Mick just barely managed to pull him to safety.

Furious and confused, Paddy went to see his grandmother.

‘Grandma,’ he asked, “Tis me 18th birthday, so why can’t I walk across the lake like me father, his father and his father before him?”

Granny looked deeply into Paddy’s, troubled blue eyes and said, “Because ye father, ye grandfather and ye great-grandfather were all born in December, when the lake is frozen, and ye were born in August, ya stupid idiot!”

Cheder was never like this…..

The Cheder teacher was describing how Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt,when little Yossy interrupted, “My Mommy looked back once while she was driving,” he announced triumphantly, “And she turned into a telephone pole!”

A Cheder teacher said to her children, “We have been learning how powerful kings and queens were in Bible times. But, there is a Higher Power. Can anybody tell me what it is?”

One child blurted out, “Aces!”

The Rabbi asked Chaim if he said his prayers every night.

“Yes, Rabbi.” Chaim replied.

“And, do you always say them in the morning, too?” the Rabbi asked.

“No Rabbi,” the boy replied. “I ain’t scared in the daytime”

weeks, after we had finished the nightly prayer, Kelli would say, “And all girls.”

This soon became part of her nightly routine, to include this closing. My curiosity got the best of me and I asked her, “Kelli, why do you always add the part about all girls?”

Her response, “Because everybody always finish their prayers by saying ‘All Men’!”

Moishe a Jewish cowboy rode into town and stopped at a saloon for a drink.

Unfortunately, the locals always had a habit of picking on strangers, which he was.

When he finished his drink, he found his horse had been stolen.

He went back into the bar, handily flipped his gun into the air, caught it above his head without even looking and fired a shot into the ceiling.

“Which one of you sidewinders stole my horse?!?!?” he yelled with surprising forcefulness.

No one answered. “Alright, I’m gonna have another beer, and if my horse ain’t back outside by the time I finish, I’m gonna do what I dun in Texas! And I don’t like to have to do what I dun in Texas!”

Some of the locals shifted restlessly. The man, true to his word, had another beer, walked outside, and his horse has been returned to the post. He saddled up and started to ride out of town.

When my daughter, Kelli, said her bedtime prayers, she would bless every family member, every friend, and every animal (current and past). For several

STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 17

The bartender wandered out of the bar and asked, “Say partner, before you go... what happened in Texas?” The cowboy turned back and said, “I had to walk home.” ( Ag Neeeeeeeeeee……)

Hotel School 1972-1974…..

My thoughts on the Hotel School that started in Italic Centre in Plein Street, and then moved to the Smit Street Campus. It was part of the Witwatersrand Technical college, which in those days was a powerful ‘Trade’ college covering many disciplines …….

The Hotel board in those does set up the Hotel School to train locals in the Hotel Industry, and I was in the second intake at the school ….We went to Italic centre for the first few months, which was VERY cramped, and had a small training restaurant, and at the entrance to the building, on the ground floor was an Italian Barber Shop, with 5 barbers, with not a spare inch to spare….It was known as Tony & Karman, and 53 years later its still going, and Nick has been cutting my hair for 53 years…. Nick just turned 86 …..

When we moved to Smit Street, we Tukka had the best of the best training facilities, with a Bar, reception and of course the ‘Famous’ Hotel School Restaurant, which was fully booked when it was open to the public…..Such a fantastic memory of fine dinning,with all cutlery pure silver……. The Balabos was Mrs Johnston and his assistant was Mr Fisher and their wives, who were brought out from the UK…….

We had some very good Chefs like Mr Fenema & Doinet training us…. ‘Pops’ Lewis was also a Chef, and in those days I used to buy ducks eggs from him to make the 1,000 of cheese blintzes we made every week to sell…,Accounting we had ‘Chalkie’ Kirsten, French Mrs Weck, Hotel business Mr Schmaman , whose Zunnelle Ryk was with me at Highlands and English was Mr Aspos who came from Parktown boys to teach us Zulicks…..

He realy was given a rough time and he always threatened to go back to Parktown at age 70…..Doc Renier Morne Mornet arrived from the Elizabeth Sun and taught Management, for many years, and became head of the Hotel School for many Golden years…

Still in contact with him….

was to teach us items on a 5 Star level, and we did was served Menu’s (table ‘d hote) and of course when you got into the real world A ’la carte was the rage…… and when asked to make eggs on the Breakfast shift, had no clue, as we were taught the ‘Finer’ things, and not the basic’s……Learnt very quickly once we entered the commercial world …..It was an E-mazing stepping stone, and quite a few Students from various years have become Captains of the Hospitality Industry, BUT……sadly, in our year most left the food/hospitality Industry and went into various fields….A few Manne that made it to the top were Arthur Gillis, Ken Forester and many others…. The Late Sol Kerzner invested money in the Hotel School and it moved from Smit Street to the old Goudstad University in Auckland Park, and in our years they took MAX 80 students in all disciples……These days they take over 500 a year, and the ‘Magic’ of the old Smit Street Campus is gone for ever…

The sadness is that we lost soooo many of our Chavers very young….. Guys like Dave Clark, Peter Van Dam , Wally Roome etc, passed away in their 30’s and as time has passed, more of our Chavers have passed on and we are a small circle that is left, and I try and keep in touch with them …..

To say that the Manne could drink, is an understatement, and I say Manne, as there were only two Meidlach in our year, Anita De Beer and Lizzie Bruwer …Trips to Durban for a weekend Piss up were regular, and although I have always been a teetotaller, I shlept along to bring you Chaver Ralph Lewinsohn home……That Uncles Moustache on the beach front was THE drinking hole & in Joburg the Devonshire/Sunnyside & Milpark holiday Inn……

The Hotel School Manne used to virtually take over the Gary & Spider evenings at the Milpark Holiday Inn…..

The things they got up to were Tukka below the belt, BUT two have stuck in my mind all these years…. First was when they stole drums of dish washer from the Demo kitchen and through it in the Library fountains, and the whole area was just covered in foam, and the second was one night in the Restaurant ‘Nugget’ Hill came running through the full restaurant with a large carving knife covered in blood, shouting ‘Where is that mouse’, which ‘amper’ got him expelled….

What a GR888888 life experience that 3 years at Hotel School was……. Did we learn anything???? Very little as the main focus STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 18

Back; Dave Clark , Fabio Pasqualoto , Dave Haysom , Dave Green, Martin Landau , Mike Davy , Stan Smookler, Mc Cloughlin Middle; Andre VD Merwe , XX ,Colin Knowles , Ralph Lewinsohn , Tich Middleton , Els, Maritz Front; Les Valley, Wally Roome, ‘Scully’ Maritz , Piater, Pete Toich, Chris Muir

Graham Hill (Nugget) Dale Schroeder, Late Peter Van Dam, Cloete, ???? Ronnie Podlas, Lawrence Hart , Flip Lochner Lizzy Bruwer, Cesco Quatroceccerie, Graeme Black, Peter Hoffend, Peter Arnold, Chris Sharp , Wally Gardner, Anita De Beer STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 19

E-Mazing Pictures!

Dennis Cohen & Brian Haarburger

Doc. Arryn Greenspan (Tooo-Run-Tooo) & Stan E-mazing GLASS marquee (By MPR Hiring) Smookler

Eitan Steinberg & Brozin

Elaine & Julian Chilewitz

Geoff van Lear, Ray Mordt & Stan

Gerald Harris & Henry Cohen (Both my ‘Cuzzies’) Harold Jankelowitz (Sydeny) & Stan Smookler

Heidi & Howard Feldman

Henry Cohen & Rodney Bome...Two OLD Jewish Hilton Cohen Guild bowlers STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 20

Familia

E-Mazing Pictures!

Ira Singer & Laureen Shalpid

Johnny Birin with Joel & Ryan Shefts

Jules Hirschowitz,Maish Novick & Howard Lipman -Ou Highlanders

Leon Blumberg & Michael Bagraim

Linton & Linda Lurie

Luvly Chuppa set up ....By Nutti Crouse

Maxine & David Jaffit

Mazeltov Rabbi David & Raphi Shaw

Michael Cohen & Michael Newfield

My Zunnelle Martin with Weitzman (Boca)

‘Cuzzie’

Irvine Peter Hallendorf, Steve Romberg & Darren Riva Flax & her Dad Bernie Berman Pogir- Pogir group STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 21

Jokes……

A blonde received a certificate for helicopter flying lessons for her birthday.

One day she was bored and decided to take advantage of the opportunity.

When she arrived at the place, the instructor said, “Well, there’s only one helicopter here and it only has one seat.

If I show you how to do it, do you mind going up solo?”

“Oh of course not! I can handle it,” the blonde replied.

Well, he showed her the inner workings of the helicopter and sent her on her way, only asking that she radio in every 400 feet just to make sure everything was going smoothly.

At 400 feet, she radioed in saying, “Wow! This is so much fun!”

At 800 feet, she radioed in again saying, “This is pretty easy, I can do this all day!”

At 1,200 feet, she didn’t radio in. He waited and waited, and didn’t hear from the blonde.

Seconds later, he heard a crash in the field next to the station.

He ran out to see what happened -- the blonde crashed! Luckily she survived.

“What happened?” the instructor exclaimed.

“Well, I was doing fine, but I started to get cold so I just turned off the big fan!”

and he’s there to blow the shofar for them.

But before he does, he decides to ask them a relevant question.

So hiding his shofar behind his back, he says to the class, “Shalom, boys and girls. I have a question for you.

Can anyone here tell me what we will see in Shul on Rosh Hashanah but which we would not normally see in Shul at other times of the year?”

Little Samuel puts up his hand and says, “I know the answer, Rabbi.

It’s my Uncle Joe and Aunt Betty.” ( OY…………..VY).

I was interviewing a jeweller for a story I was writing on giving new life to old jewellery, and I asked him to tell me about his most memorable client.

“It was a divorced woman who had me make a pair of earrings from her inscribed wedding band,” he remembered.

“One earring read, ‘with all,’ and the other, ‘my love.’

When I asked why she had wanted it done that way, she answered, ‘To remind me that the next time anyone says that to me, I should let in go in one ear and out the other.’ “ ( Net soooooo….)

As a way to compensate for their absence, a group of golfing buddies decided to all pitch in twenty bucks and one with the best golf score would take their wife dancing and dinner.

The wives liked this idea since it was more than they had before.

Fred’s wife was especially wanting him to win and the moment he returned after golfing she excitedly asked, “Are we having a special dinner tonight Fred?”

“Yes we are my dear, how does Peking Duck sound?”

She said, “That sounds great.”

Fred replied, “Good, while driving over the pond on the 7th hole, I accidentally hit one.

All we need now is the recipe.” ( Einaaaaaaaaaaaaah…..)

An old , but wise Rabbi, is teaching his grandson about life.

“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,”Which wolf will win?”

The old wise Rabbi, simply replied, “The one you feed.” (What a Yomtovdikke message)………

Ruben is out shopping with his wife Golda, but this is not a shopping expedition that he’s enjoying. For over 45 minutes, he’s been ‘stuck’ with Golda in the ladies department of the John Lewis store. And he can’t leave because she’s ordered him to stay with her until she finds a suitable new outfit.

So he’s getting very tired and irritable.

Then, for the seventh time, Golda comes out of the changing rooms wearing yet another outfit. He looks Golda up and down and then says, “OK, darling, that’s the one.

Not only does the outfit fit you perfectly, but it’s your favorite color as well.

So buy it now and let’s go get something to eat.”

“You ‘Shmo’, Ruben,” says Golda, “This is the outfit I came here in.” (Sounds familiar…….)

An atheist was spending a quiet day fishing when suddenly his boat was attacked by the monster. In one easy flip, the beast tossed him and his boat high into the air.

Then it opened its mouth to swallow both.

As the man sailed head over heels, he cried out, “Oh, my G-d! Help me!”

At once, the ferocious attack scene froze in place, and as the atheist hung in mid-air, a booming voice came down from the clouds, “I thought you didn’t believe in Me!” “Come on G-d, give me a break!!” the man pleaded.

“Two minutes ago I didn’t believe in the monster either!” ( Einaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah…)

Rabbi Bloom enters the first grade Hebrew class. It will soon be Rosh Hashanah

The Rabbi Levine’s fine retort . . .

Two elderly ladies, Miriam and Naomi, meet for the first time for many, many years and decide to catch up on things over a coffee and a bagel at Kugel’s Kosher Snacks.

“So, Miriam,” says Naomi, “it’s been a long time. How have you been getting on?”

“Oy, Naomi,” replies Miriam, “you shouldn’t have asked me that question. I think old age is terrible. I’m 75 years old and I’m 5 foot 3 inches tall. Yet when I was in my twenties, I was nearly 5 foot 6 inches tall.”

“I know exactly how you feel,” says Naomi. “When I was twenty-one, I was 5 foot 5 inches tall. But now I’m nearing eighty, I’m only 5 foot 2 inches tall. Old age really sucks.”

Miriam and Naomi do not know that sitting right behind them is Rabbi Levine.

As he gets up to leave, Rabbi Levine says to them, “Ladies, I wish you long life.

Please God you should both live to 4 foot eleven inches tall.” ( Oy…vy)

A young woman on a shidduch date, hoping to learn more about her potential mate, asks the young man sitting opposite her.

“Is it difficult for you admit when you’re wrong? What about apologizing - is that hard?” Without hesitating he replies, “No, not at all.

It comes easy to me, but fortunately I never need to apologize because I’m never wrong.”

Saul decided to tie the knot with his long-time girlfriend.

One evening, after the honeymoon, he was cleaning his golf shoes.

His wife was standing there watching him. After a long period of silence she finally speaks.

“Honey, I’ve been thinking, now that we are married I think it’s time you quit golfing.

Maybe you should sell your golf clubs.”

Saul gets this horrified look on his face.

She says, “Darling, what’s wrong?” ”There for a minute you were sounding like my ex-wife.”

“Ex-wife!” she screams, “I didn’t know you were married before!” ”I wasn’t!“ ( Otazay…………………….! ! ! ! !! ) Japanese couple arguments Husband : Sukitaki.

Wife replies : Kowanini!!!

Husband replies : Toka a anji rodi roumi yakoo!!!

Wife on her knees literally begging : Mimi nakoundinda tinkouji!!!

Husband replies agreely : Na miaou kina tim kouji!!! !!

En hier sit jy en lees die KAK as of jy Japanees verstaan. (Yislaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaik).

An elderly fisherman wrote to a mail order house the following: “Please send me one of those gasoline engines for my boat you show on page 438, and if it’s any good, I’ll send you a check.”

In a short time he received the following reply: “Please send check.

If it’s any good, we’ll send the engine.”

Koos, from Loeriesvlei, daar onder in die Bosveld, sets foot in Gauteng for the first time in his life.He tries to cross a street in Sandton, but every time he steps off the pavement, a Porsche or a BMW or a 4x4 nearly knocks him over.

A spietkop sees the struggling Koos and shouts, “Hei, there’s a zebra crossing just a little way down the street.”

Koos says, “Well, I hope he’s having better luck than I am!” (Ag Neee…)

STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 22

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Simcha’s, Glorious Simcha’s…………..2025 When I think back about Simcha’s ‘Amolikke Yoren’, I am quite E-mazed as the Simcha’s have changed soooo dramatically…… In the Seventies, the Barmitzvah scene was totally different, with the ODD Barmy being a Dinner/Dance……and most Barmitzvah’s were celebrated with a Brocha/ Luncheon straight after the Shul ceremony Batmitzvah’ s were rarely celebrated with a function……. Chasene’ s were ALWAYS served meals, with the ODD Chasene having a Dessert Buffet…….and every Chasene had a live Band…. In those days the Jack Chiert Band, Duggie Finch & Benny Michel Bands did most of the ‘gigs’…….

These days, anything goes ….and Barmitzvah’s are mainly Evening KKinderlach Simcha’s , with Disco’s the In thing for music……. And Chasene’s are also starting to use Disco’s instead of live Bands, which in my Opinion is really sad……A Band just elevates a Simcha onto another level, and the modern bands also offer the choice to add a disco towards the end……. Bat Mitzvahs are as big & glamourous as Barmitzvah’s these days, and things have certainly changed……..

‘Amolikke Yoren’ it was fashionable to have Simcha’s in your home, and use a Marquee, BUT….due to weather/safety concerns, most Simcha’s are held at Venues/Clubs/ Farms etc……. These days everything is available for Simcha’s, from mobile toilets/refrigeration/ glass Marquees etc…..

There seems to be more options for Venues and providers, BUT…Alas ,there are less Clients around……. Among them is MPR hiring, who I have used for the past 50 years, and Derek Tukka has the widest range of equipment on offer to hire for a Simcha, and his Zunnelle Jay has the most advanced Portable Toilets & Mobile fridges available for hire……They can even air condition a Marquee …….

When I stared 50 years ago, this type of equipment was unheard of……

The Food has changed dramatically over the years, and gone are the days when you went to a Bris, and they served Salmon on rye, Kichel & Herring and Cheese cake…. Today, it is Sushi, and all kinds of Gerichten that are foreign to us elderly Yidden, BUT….. That’s progress……. When I think that Hot Beef on Rye was the most popular dish on the Menu, today you very seldom see it at Simcha’s, and the ever popular Soles have totally disappeared…. WWW ….What Was, Was…

Segell’s, etc…..

Things have changed drastically since In the past 25 years….

L’Chaim

A Yomtov Turkey recipe ……

This recipe is perfect for those people who just are not sure how to tell when a Turkey is cooked thoroughly but not dried out. Give this a try……….

BAKED STUFFED Turkey 6-7 lb. Turkey 1 cup Pareva 1 cup stuffing 1 cup uncooked popcorn salt/pepper to taste Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brush turkey well with melted butter, salt and pepper.

Fill cavity with stuffing and popcorn.

Place in baking pan in the oven. Listen for popping sounds.

When the turkey’s ‘Tochus’ blows out the oven door and flies across the room, the turkey is done … ….OY VY………………….( For the Kaylikka’s, this is a joke..)

riccigoldsteinphotography@gmail.com

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I always get asked why I don’t put some recipes in the Magazine, and my answer is always the same…… When you put a recipe in a magazine, it is usually an impossible recipe, very difficult to prepare and of course something VERY different, which few people would actually try and prepare……. To me a simple recipe/popular dish are always the best, and over the years, the International Cook Book put out by WIZO ‘Amolikke Yoren’ is still my best…..and of course if you have the basic recipe, you can always ‘Tzuk’ (change) it to your taste…… For Yomtov we still like Salmon, Mock Crayfish in Avocado, a Biesel Gehackte Herring and of course Danish herring with pickled cucumbers ….Whole Briskets /Humps crusted in Mustard … Amolikke Yoren we always used to have Smoked Turkey from Nussbaum’s, BUT……there have been no Turkey’s in the Beloved Country for quite a few years now….. Enjoy your Yomtov cooking…..

A problem I see is that as the community shrinks, so the Beth Din “ Seem” to have become VERY lenient, and rules that have applied for the past 50 years, don’t seem to hold these days, and the ‘Kosher Style’ Catering has become ‘Rosh’…..

I have been asking for the past 50 years.. ”What is a Kosher Style Caterer…???

And no one, including the Beth Din has an answer, BUT…..the past year has seen the creation of at least many Kosher Style Caterers / coordinators….Some advertise Kosher, not under Beth Din, other advertise Kosher Style, Meat is Kosher, don’t mix Meat & Milk etc… Very puzzling why none of them want to go Kosher under The Beth Din…..???? Very puzzling…..

We still have good Kosher eateries /caterers /Deli’s etc…… Riva Flax, G & T (Gary Friedman ) Caterers, Food by Flavours (Delores Fouche) & Estelle Sacherowitz are the main Caterers plus a few smaller ones, Sharon Sheer and Jodi Kruger who have Beth Din approved Co-ordination licences (not sure what this category means) and the rest of the Caterers are ‘Kosher’ style….. Virtually every Kosher food outlet, from butcheries to Bakers to Candlestick makers do some sort of Simcha catering… and in the Resturant line there is Frangelico’s, Phat Joe’s, Burger & Brew ,RTG ,

Let’s get in touch to discuss your dream wedding. contact me at riccigoldstein@gmail.com or 082 821 6265.

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7 /10 This event will always stay with me as a reminder of the tragedy…….

When I was at Hotel School in 1972, I met up with a Yiddisher student from South West Africa (Namibia), Ralph Lewinsohn…..On the second day he was having an argument with the biggest Oke in the Class Albert Odendaal…..It was the age old argument that Albert believed that the Yidden owned everything….Albert came from Prince Albert and knew very little about Yidden generally, BUT….assumed that what he heard was true….I Separated them, and asked Ralph wahy he was protecting Yidden, and he started arguing with me….Calmed him down and he undid his buttons on his shirt and he was wearing the smallest Magen Dovid I have ever seen, and he was sun burned from Namibian sun……

Never thought he was a Yid`From that Day we became VERY good Chavers and I got him a place to board down the road from me in the Grove……

Ralph spent most days after School making Cheese Blintzes at my house….After we finished Hotel School Ralph went to Germany to get his German passport and end up in Israel and came back to Souff Effrikka for his Chasene which I catered at the Simon Kuper where he married Barbara Solow….. and went back to Israel and moved into Kfar Azza over 40 years ago, and I stayed there on one of my Israeli trips The main Gaza crossing was a Kilometre away from there Kibbutz…..

While at Hotel School I did a few trips to Suid Wes with ralph, and we schlepped my Late Boet Hilton on one of the trips……. Went all over and spent time in Swakopmund, which was E-mazing…Fishing at Sandwich harbour where the Sand sharks and fish actually jump into your boat there are so many ….Ralph has a passion for Namibia and has visited many times, on holiday and he is a very good Tour guide in Israel, and organized a few Namibian tours for Israeli Tourists…Was back last month to ‘Gib another Kuk’…… He has taken MANY Souff Effrikkens on tour in Israel, including the Sydenham Shul and the potato preacher farmer Angus Buchan, a farmer and evangelist from South Africa who preached in Ein Gedi, Israel And brought a hundred followers with him….

On 7/10 I woke with the shocking news of attacks, and Kfar Azza……..

Tried calling Ralph and eventually in the evening got word from his Boet that he thinks Ralph and family are alive?? Only was confirmed in the early hours of Sunday : Ralph’s notes; HELL ON EARTH 7 /11 6.30 Saturday morning it started with a not uncommon severe barrage of rockets on the Israeli communities on the border with Gaza. At the same time hundreds of heavily armed terrorists broke through the border and attacked numerous civilian communities. After 36 hours, there are seven hundred dead and more than a thousand wounded in Israel.

Most of the civilians, men women and children, barricaded themselves in their bomb shelters. The terrorists went door to door and murdered and took hostages back to Gaza, including whole families with children.

We saw them running outside our house, dressed in black, shooting non stop. In my small kibbutz, there were tens of dead and abducted. Our emergency response volunteers, where nearly all murdered, abducted or wounded. Many homes were occupied and families held hostage. A good friends daughter, husband and baby were murdered in front of their two older children, who hid in the cupboard, and called their grandmother who was overseas. The only way to give support to the two kids was for a social worker to be on the line with them for many hours, as they were in the room with the bodies of their family, until the army managed to get to them. No ambulances could get through, those that tried, the paramedics were killed and the ambulances hijacked to Gaza.

My daughter who lives on a different part of the kibbutz, was without

electricity for about 18 hours, cell phone battery ran out, so we had no contact with her, for about 12 hours, fearing for her life. She was eventually extracted by the army and is now safe.

My son and family, again in another area of the kibbutz, was finally extracted by the army and taken to safety as well, after almost 24 hours of hell.

We were in our bomb shelter all the time, surrounded by constant shooting and explosions, very bad internet connection, no phone reception and some without electricity for about 18 hours.Eventually army units entered all the homes to extract the families and kill the terrorists.

With me, they broke into the house through a window. A moment of great fear, when you don’t know if they are soldiers or terrorists.

They collected us in small groups, and under heavy guard, led us to buses, which eventually evacuated us out of the war zone. There was constant heavy fire around us, and we had to take cover in a bunker for a while. On the way to the buses, we passed tens of burnt out vehicles, bodies lying in the street, RPG launchers, AK47 rifles, grenades etc.

Now we are in Eilat for a few days, trying to catch our breath and lower the level of trauma. My wife, son, daughter and three grandchildren all managed to get out alive, which is unbelievable. Most were not that fortunate. There are still pockets of terrorists in the area, and the kibbutz is deserted. We can’t even bury our dead.

As African born, the wilds of Africa have taught me many things. One lesson, is that an injured beast is much more dangerous that a healthy beast. Israel is now an injured beast. Ralph’s round up UPDATE 29/10/23 Yesterday, three weeks ago, our life, as we knew it, came to an end.

We are still having funerals from friends of our kibbutz, whose bodies were only recently identified or found. Many of our friends have just finished the shiva ( the customary 7 days of mourning ) for their dead.

We live from day to day, not planning anything for more than the next day. We are trying to put the most important pieces of our lives together, first and foremost, and that is the children. All my children and grandchildren are traumatized and need a lot of love and caring and security, which we try to provide.

After living in a limbo of very temporary accomodation for two and a half weeks, my son Alon and family are finally together in a flat in Raannana, where they will be for the next few months, and Barbara and me will also be in a flat, from tomorrow, near them.

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In these, one of the most difficult moments in the history of Israel, we also see, one of the most beautiful and inspiring moments of our nation. The country has come together, as one, giving aid and volunteering, especially for the thousands of displaced families, that survived the terrible atrocities.

There have been campaigns in every neighborhood to collect clothes, toys, diapers, shoes, pet food etc to supply the displaced families with everything they need. Where we have been staying in Tel Aviv and Eilat, we have volunteers who collect our laundry every day and return it washed the next day, often with a bar of chocolate tucked between the folded clothes.

Hi Tech companies have provided us with coupons for supermarkets, the interior ministery have come to our places of refuge and supplied new documents for those who lost theirs in the evacuation, the medical aid has opened clinics for us, we are supported by professional trauma therapists and showered with love and caring, as only our nation can do. The general idea, still very much just an idea for our future, is the following.

We talk about a three stage plan, with not much to do, till the war in Gaza will be over, which could be several months. So, we would need to stay in our temporary accommodation, maybe for six months or so.

After that, we hope to be living in a a temporary community of caravans, set up in the south, near to where the kids could return to school and people could go to their places of work. We very much want the community to stay together, preserving the caring and support of a kibbutz community. This phase could last one to two years, while the kibbutz is being rebuilt, untill we could return home, for those that wish to do so, which is a question, that cannot be answered for quite a time.

So, we have a long way to go, a lot of healing to do, and stretch out our arms in search of peace and a little bit of the dream we had.

Praying for better days.

UPDATE, JUNE, 2024 Seven months have passed since our world, as we knew it, came to an end. We have gone through several phases since then, the first being the most basic instinct of any human, the survival instinct. The need to stay alive, the need to protect the family, a roof over our heads and the taking care of basic needs.

The next phase was that of trying to deal with the new reality, the loss of so many friends, children of friends, friends of my children and grandchildren. Then dealing with having to abandon our homes and the tight knit community we lived in.

Now, we are in the next phase, which is trying to plan some sort of future path, which will start in November, when we will be moving from out temp accommodation in Ranana, to a trailer park, adjoining Kibbutz Ruhama, in the South. We intend to be housed there for the next year or two, until the conditions for going back to the rebuilt kibbutz have been met. The move will also enable children to go back to their school, which will be reopening, and people who worked in the area to go back to their jobs, if they still exist. The idea is to try and start rebuilding the community and rebuilding the mutual support network that we had.

planning our retirement, with enjoying our kibbutz home, nearby family etc, instead we are having to deal with so much trauma, mourning and rebuilding. Even the common assumption that your home is an asset which can be sold, and you can move elsewhere and settle down, is no longer valid. Our homes will no longer be marketable for many years, because there will be 50-100 homes that will be available, from the murdered families and from those not returning.

The decision of going about our daily lives also raises a question of dissonance in our minds. Are we really allowed to do things which we enjoy, when we still have over 100 of our hostages held in hell, sometimes just 3 or 4 km from our homes on the kibbutz. Why did we survive when our neighbours and friends were brutally murdered? How can we look friends in the eye when we are with our children and grandchildren, and theirs are dead?

Our kibbutz management team is negotiating with the government about funds that will be allocated for rebuilding, destroyed infrastructure and houses, buildings and facilities. There will not be enough to cover everything, especially private houses that were totally destroyed, including all the lifelong possessions in them.

Rebuilding the houses has not started, as in many cases, there are heirs who have to agree on how to proceed. Houses that were damaged, and can be repaired have slowly been emptied of all remaining reusable items and put in storage, so that the process of repair can take place.

I personally stay on the kibbutz one or two nights a week, giving tours to foreign groups who want to see and understand what happened, a reality that cannot be fully understood without seeing the facts on the ground. Many of the foreign visitors leave in shock, crying, because what they see is beyond their worst imagination, while still hearing the sounds of war, explosions and machine gun fire in the background, from nearby Jebalia, Zeitun, Bet Lahiah, Beit Hanoun in Gaza, just over 2km away.

The whole of Israel is in mourning, and we all do not know what the future holds for us, but one light that shines through in this darkness, is that we have friends around the world, who support and care about us, as you do .

May you be showered with blessings for your caring and kindness.

Will everyone be moving there? No, my rough guess, will be about 50% will move there, with the intention of returning home to the kibbutz afterwards. There are others who do not want to return, who are split within the family, others too emotionally scared to go back, and others who cannot contemplate having to rebuild, at the age of 7080, and have moved on to assisted living . One of the most important factors in the decision of members returning will be the level of security that will exist, so that such a massacre cannot occur again. There was always an unwritten covenant between the state and the people living on the border that we will live there and that the army will look after our security. That covenant has been destroyed. Then there are those who cannot live in a place where friends and family were murdered next door, or where every corner will be a reminder of what terrible events happened there.

This was meant to be the stage of our lives, at 72, where we were

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The Championship Cup………..

The Champions Cup took over from the Tri-Nations Rugger cup…… and the Puma’s have really proved they have what it takes to play with the Main Manne from NZ, OZ & SA Australia this year have also upped their game and a lot of credit must go to the coach Joe Schmidt…..He has really worked the squad into a much better space than they have been for years, and that win at Ellis Park will go down in history….. with all the odds against the Aussies, they ran on and faced one of the best starts by a Bok team in years and were soon 22-0 down….. and the rest is history….They scored another 38 points without reply and beat the might Boks……..

long chat with George Gregan (137 tests) and what a Mensch he is…….

They started the 100 club to raise funds for Rugger players that have suffered injuries while playing Rugger….. Mathew Pearce as the MC was excellent….

Methinks that the Waterboy was just toooo confident and played around with the Match day squad too much, not giving Shpielers time to get used to the pattern, and one of the biggest mistakes was taking Pollard out of the final Match day team & reserves……. In the second test Pollard played the whole game, and managed to steady the play, and of course his goal kicking is very accurate….Pollard is a careful, motivated player……. The Aussies did very well in the second Test and there was very little between the two teams………

The All Blacks ( and it hurts) have really slipped badly and although they beat the Puma’s in the first test, the second Test they were very weak, and Will Jordon, Beauden & Jordi Barret were totally out of it……the problem is that besides Holland those polished Shpielers have just not com e up the ranks as usual and they have very little depth ….Scrum Half is a major problem, and they have to find the correct flankers…..

That smooth All Blacks game is not there at the moment. For the Puma’s Captain Pablo Matera was quick superb, and single handily brushed the AB’s aside ….He has played in 3 World cups……. and looking ahead at the Champions Cup, Methinks the Boks will win at least one game in New Zealand and go on to win the tournament …?/??? Unfortunately, this is as far as my commentary goes, as the Paper goes to print before the All Blacks –Springbok game on the 13th. September As a VERY good RUGGER Chaver of mine told me “You have never coached a national team” so have not got the experience & feel of the tempo needed…….. I listened and he was correct, BUT…..Long term Methinks the Waterboy is leading the Bokke up the Garden path…..

There is no question that at the moment he has the Rugger world at his feet, BUT…..If his not careful he will lose the momentum built over the past few years……… I would really like to see some genuine flanks in the side and not retreaded locks, and Scrum half is a problem, with Williams not the solution and Cobus Reinhart is getting a bit long in the tooth, although I rate him the best one available, as ‘Faffie’ seems to be out of favour, and he should have gone to NZ on tour ……. Fassi at fullback is not up to it, and Willemse is suspect in defence, with Willie Tukka at the end of his career…… Siya should not be at the next World Cup, as he is not what he used to be…..

Again, I believe the Boks should win the Champions Cup, BUT….the ball is oval and anything can happen………..

Always remember “Form is temporary, and Class permanent “Just before the first Test at Ellis Park, Peregrine launched their 100 Club at Katy’s Palace……I was lucky enough to crack and invite…..E-mazing evening, honouring the Boks that had played 100 tests & more…. Had a

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RUGGER” 2025 –The future……..??????

3 reserves who were only allowed on if there was a genuine injury…..These days it’s the 15 plus 8 reserves….??? What a load of rubbish…… It takes the skill out of the game, and it becomes boring, with Shpielers coming on in mass……. And very often, Shpielers are replaced early and the team goes on to loose……

Never mind the ‘Save The Rhino’, what about saving “ Rugger”……………..

Looking back at the ‘Rugger’ season so far, methinks that ‘Rugger’ as we know it, passed away many years ago, and we have a new style of Rugger ……

My worries are that every season, new and more complex rules are being applied, and one only has to look at the Scrums, and you realise that they have changed scrumming laws soooooooo often, that the ‘Shpielers’ themselves are not certain, which is the correct way….What happened to a good ‘ol scrum, where both packs went down, ‘moered’ each other, and the ball seemed to still come out……This touch, pause, bind…or whatever it is..?? and it depends on how the Ref calls it, and how many scrum penalties have actually changed the result of very important games….Teams like the Bokke rely and its part of their game, play for Scrum penalties……& even the commentators have bought into the idea…..Scrums are just one example….the lineouts are not much better, rules wise……

Young Koos Van Der Merwe gets picked for the Lichtenburg Hoerskool 1st XV Rugby team, and he is over the moon. That afternoon Lappies Koekemoer, the Rugby coach calls the team together and says; I am sorry but Koos has been getting poor marks in Class and will not be allowed to play ‘Rugby’ until his marks improve……

The team are devastated , and ask the Coach to give him one more chance.

OK, says Lappies…..Koos what is 2 + 2…

Koos thinks, and is looking at his team mates for help, and a few moments later shouts out 4…….What did you say Koos…?? Did you say 4…???

The whole team shout, Coach, give him another chance……………

(Oy vy ).

Have a Good Yomtov and Well over the fast……., and may the Bokke win as it helps keep the Geeeeeeeeees going in the Beloved Country, because besides Rugger, very few sports and doing well……..

Next worry is the play time of the top ‘Shpielers’…….My gosh, they are playing virtually the whole year, with a few weeks here and there off…..Yes, people say that what they are being paid, they must play, BUT….’Rugger’ is a very strenuous game, and the amount of Shpielers being injured week in, week out, is effecting standards, with sooooo many ‘Shpielers’ out at any one time…..

The Super 15 (Oy…Vy) has to be a good example of an E-mazing tournament, BUT…….The Manne decided that the Bokke are pulling out and it has left a huge void in World ‘Rugger’ with the Aussies/NZ playing in their own tournament, and the Boks playing in the URC competition which has soooo 3 Cups in one…. which has been watered down, with tooooo many teams and just toooo long. And tooooo many games, and it is getting boring watching home sides playing each other every week, with the odd tour, where teams play foreign opponents………….

Doing away with the ‘old’ L-O-N-G tours, has robbed the public of GR88888888 Geeeeeeeeeeeeees, which those tours used to build….A good example is when the British Lions tour, and the supporters are there in full force, it just lifts the spirit of the game……. By squeeeezing in as much as they can, regardless of the poor ‘Shpielers’ will eventually ruin the game, that we knew ‘Amolikke Yoren’…….

Picking weaker teams for some games, is also killing Rugger……

Send weak teams on overseas games and rest the better guys ????

The actual play has become to stereo typed in general……Yes, there are the ODD GR888888 tests….BUT…….The team kicks off, the forwards catch it protect it, loose scrum forms, eventually ball comes out…..gets passed and eventually it gets kicked….

It’s a 50/50 if the team that kicked it will retrieve it, and the loose scrum forms or a knock on called…Start the whole process after the scrum, and even when the ball goes down the line, one of the Palooka’s will run straight into an opposing Shpieler like a battering ram, and the process starts again`….and the same process gets repeated a 100 times during a game….There is very little skill left in the game…

The ‘Old’ days were the best….Run on 15 play the whole game,

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THE POLPETTA MEISA…’Amolikke Yoren’ to present…… they decided to open in the Neighbourhood shopping centre..

It was tough times as Covid was raging, BUT….they held it together and in 2024 they opended up in George in the Outeniqua Lifestyle centre …..

Ed Jardim joined them as the operating Manger and partner in George……Carlos & Dave still supply Polpetta after all these years……..

Wishing them all the best for the future …A really friendly bunch of Guys….Of course ,the old Morningside Shopping centre was E-mazing, as it was Tukka our corner Café…..

The Grossman’s who had it for years then sold the property ,and they developed the New Morningside Shopping centre….

The Grossman’s daughter Jacky is married to my old Highlands School Chaver Stan Ehrlich, who lives with Jacky & the family in Israel…

Many, many years ago…. 50 years and more, I stayed round the corner from the Morningside Shopping Centre on Rivonia Road,

Their Zunnelle Chaim used to ‘Lein’ all over and filled in at Hermanus Shul, before going on Aliyah …………

Near the Sandton Shul…..It was my corner café for the next 35 years, and that is Tukka what a Shopping centre in a suburb should look like…. A Café, run by Peter Tsonis, A fruit Shop run by Carlos De Sousa , a Butcher run by David & Dora Gouveia, and a few years later in marches ‘Luca’ and opens the Luca’s Italian restaurant….What a centre it was….Peter’s rye bread, Bapka’s and Mon Hammantassen which my Mom taught him to make, Carlos, The ‘Katz & Lurie’ of grocer’s, with the best Avo’s & Mangoes, and of course Dave with GR88888 biltong…. And Luca with E-mazing Pizza’s…..

Working for Luca was my very good friend Roberto Leo, and when the Grossman family sold the Centre, Luca decided to move to the bottom of Rivonia……and at that stage, Roberto decided to split and open Polpetta in the 90 Degrees centre (2008) in Rivonia where he operated for many years…..He was joined by Ivano Franceschi ……..Tragically, on his way home from work,(2008) he was attacked and passed away, and Ivano, who had joined him a few years before carried on the business and eventually moved it to the Wedge shopping centre (2018) which was a stone’s throw from my house. …When they opened at 90 Degrees I framed the following joke for Roberto, which hung at the entrance; A married man who had an Italian lover for many years learned one day that she was pregnant.

The two struck up a deal, in which she would return to Italy to give birth to their child and keep his identity secret in exchange for a large sum of money.

In addition, the father would continue to provide for his child financially until he or she turned 18.

They also agreed that when the child was born, she would let him know by sending an anonymous postcard that simply read: “spaghetti.”

Nine months passed, and one day the man came home from work and his wife said to him, “We got a very weird postcard today.”

She handed it to him and it read: “Spaghetti, spaghetti, spaghetti, spaghetti, spaghetti. Three with meatballs, two without them. Please send more sauce.”

Why this joke, because Roberto told me he got the idea of the name Polpetta, because it is meatballs in Italian….

Ivano was joined by Phil Groenewald, who was now a partner…In 2020 STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 34

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Crossroads Remedial School Crossroads Remedial School has been offering remedial support and inclusive education for nearly 60 years, ensuring that every child is seen, acknowledged, and supported in their unique learning journey The school was founded in 1966 by Dr. Joyce Fein, a speech and language therapist who was inspired by her own daughter’s struggles with learning. With the support of an occupational therapist and a teacher, she opened one of Johannesburg’s first remedial schools in a modest Parktown home. Demand grew quickly, and within a year the school had to move to larger premises.

A major milestone came in 1977 when Crossroads secured land in Victory Park, establishing the permanent home it still occupies today. Since then, the school has steadily expanded its facilities to meet the needs of its learners. The campus now includes classrooms, a library, and a dedicated therapy block with Speech and Language Therapy rooms, English and Maths support rooms, and psychology rooms. The Occupational Therapy building houses both a dark and light Snoezelen Room, while other facilities include a hall, computer and technology centre, Lego Hub, art studio, Assessment Centre, and sports facilities The school is currently expanding with the addition of a brandnew Middle School campus for Grades 7 to 9. This development strengthens our commitment to providing remedial education tailored to each learner’s needs……. This will definitely be a boost for the children.

At the heart of Crossroads is its guiding motto: “Let None Be Left Behind.” The school embraces a holistic remedial approach that draws on the expertise of educators, psychologists, and therapists. Working together, they ensure that each learner receives the individual attention needed to develop strong, effective learning and functional skills. Rooted in values, the school’s Value Tree — “Value Myself, Value Others, Value My Community” — captures this philosophy and shapes the supportive environment that has become Crossroads’ hallmark.

Crossroads is a registered Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) with Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) status. It is accredited by UMALUSI and OISESA and is a proud member of the Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa (ISASA). Governance is provided by a dedicated Board of Trustees, alongside the school’s leadership team.

In 2016, the school celebrated its 50th anniversary, with alumni, staff, and the broader community gathering to honour its remarkable journey. From its humble beginnings in Parktown to the thriving Victory Park campus of today, Crossroads continues to stand as a beacon of hope, specialised education, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to thrive.

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DAVID SHAPIRO …….. Portfolio manager Sasfin……

I worked with Dave for 18 years @ Sasfin, and his reading the markets is E-mazing…..Quite incredible, how things end up….His Late Dad Archies firm belongs to Sasfin currently…. And some of the Guys I worked with were from Freemantle /Pollak days…..

25 years ago 3 August marked 25 years since the passing of my father, Archie – a celebrated figure on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. He devoted his entire working life to trading gold shares, a love that began almost by accident in 1933. Fresh out high school, he was entering the workforce during the depths of the Great Depression. Fortuitously, the United States had abandoned the gold standard and devalued the dollar, triggering a surge in bullion prices and a boom in gold mining shares. The outcome created a rare pocket of opportunity amid the global economic despair. My dad stepped right into it.

He had lost his father a few years earlier, and, as an only child living with his mother in Johannesburg’s southern suburbs, was dependent on the kindness of relatives. A friend working for a stockbroker urged him to visit the stock exchange building in Hollard Street and try his luck. Wandering through its corridors, he passed an open office door and saw a tall young man with a mop of thick black hair sorting papers. He asked the man if he needed help. Without hesitation, the gentleman - Eric Freemantle – looked up and said, “Take off your jacket and start immediately.” So began a lifelong partnership. My dad never left, remaining at the firm Max Pollak and Freemantle for the next 65 years.

Despite his success, he never forgot his roots and remained a patron of the Southern Suburbs Cricket Club until his dying day.

He was a talented sportsman and passed his passion on to his four sons. Hardly a weekend went by when we weren’t in the stands watching cricket, rugby, football - even stock car racing.

He began supporting Arsenal in 1927, at the age of 12, after reading about the team achievements in a boy’s magazine, a pursuit that has been passed down three generations.

In 1954, he took my brother Harold and me on a short holiday to the Kruger National Park. Harold was 9, I was 6. Although it was over 70 years ago there are so many memories I still recall from the trip. We drove up to the Kruger in my dad’s 49 Chevy.

It only had three forward gears but was a magnificent vehicle with its rounded curves, chrome grid, and leather bench seats.

The roads in the Kruger were untarred then - just long stretches of dust and gravel that wound through the bushveld - yet despite their ruggedness, the ride was surprisingly smooth.

Our first stop was Punda Maria. From there, we moved to Shingwedzi, and later to Pretoriuskop, although we may have stayed at either Satara or Letaba as well. My memory is blurred.

Our accommodation was simple: either a rondawel or canvas tent, lit by flickering kerosene lamps that cast frightening shadows. In a night alive with chirping crickets and the calls of hyenas, navigating our way to the communal bathrooms by torchlight was an unnerving experience for two small boys especially the use of the drop toilet.

The camps had a distinct smell of creosote. Used to preserve the wooden beams and perhaps the thatched roofs, the chemical left a scent so strong and earthy that even today, it

transports me back in time. At Skukuza, we stared at the lion skin and the knife that game ranger Harry Wolhuter had used to survive a brutal lion attack in 1904. And along the Voortrekker Road, we paused at a Jock of the Bushveld plaque, honouring Sir Percy Fitz Partick’s legendary little dog who had chased these paths decades before. I still get a lump in my throat when I read about Jock’s heroics and his tragic death.

Although it was 70 years ago, the memories of that trip remain vivid. In celebration of my dad’s life, I decided to retrace that unforgettable journey - this time with my wife, Linda – hoping to rediscover the magic of that visit and the legacy he left behind.

Our journey through Kruger took us to five camps: Punda Maria, Shingwedzi, Letaba, Olifants, and Pretoriuskop. Though the camps have evolved over the years - with electric lights, modern plumbing, fridges, and even microwaves - they’ve managed to retain that rugged bush charm. The linen was fresh, the accommodation spotless, and the staff consistently polite and efficient. Each camp has a well-stocked shop, a decent restaurant, and a filling station, making the experience both comfortable and authentic. The main arteries of the park are now tarred, which makes travel easier, though we did miss the spirit of the old Tshokwane - once a picnic spot where attendants swept the sand clean and provided a fireplace with boiling kettles and grills for braaiing, the area now houses a shop and kiosk selling toasted sandwiches and cappuccinos.

Nature is always the unforgettable highlight of the Kruger.

The eery silhouettes of the ancient Baobab trees near Pafuri were utterly spellbinding. We were equally captivated by the serene view over Pienaar Dam at Mopani, the sunrise over Olifants River from our bungalow’s veranda, and the austere beauty of the riverbeds at Letaba and Shingwedzi best enjoyed while consuming a “pap en wors” and Windhoek lager from the shaded terraces.

Wildlife sightings were abundant and always thrilling no matter

STAN ROSH HASHANA 2020

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“As we left the park, I found myself thinking back to that first trip in 1954 with my dad and older brother. The roads were rougher then, the camps more rustic, but the magic was the same”

how many times you’ve visited the reserve. We watched five lions feast on a kudu bull and at Shingwedzi a family of seven elephants graze peacefully near the fence as we strolled around the perimeter of the camp at dusk. And in a more intimate encounter, a rock monitor took up residence on the beam of our bungalow’s porch, lazily observing us throughout our stay.

The park was bustling, with many foreign visitors - a heartening sign of its global appeal and a positive boost for the country.

While the camps have adapted to meet the needs of this influx, the soul of Kruger remains untouched. The vastness, the wildness, and the deep tranquillity of the reserve endure.

As we left the park, I found myself thinking back to that first trip in 1954 with my dad and older brother. The roads were rougher then, the camps more rustic, but the magic was the same. I remember the excitement of rising at the crack of dawn and putting on my khaki shorts and a green polar neck sweater to go on a game drive, the thrill of spotting our first lion, and the unique smell of burning kameeldoring from the campfire.

Returning now, decades later, I still feel the same exhilaration in every sunrise and the delight in every animal we spot. Kruger has changed, yes, but its soul endures. It still offers that rare gift: a chance to reconnect with nature, with memory, and with something deeper in ourselves. I always end a trip promising to return again.

STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 41

Remebering my Good Chaver Solly Krok…..

This is not a report on the Late Solly Krok, BUT…..more on my thoughts and memories of the Late ‘Solinka’ In 1975, a good friend of the family, the Late Hazel Goldberg called me and said she would like me to meet Solly Krok , the Chairman of the Jewish Guild, as they were fixing the Hall up and looking for a Caterer ….. We were new on the block, and were very nervous to meet up with such a ‘Groiser’ business man….. And kept putting it off…. I knew Hazel from Lichtenberg days, as her husband ‘Fishy’ had two brothers there, Issy & Hilka …… Eventually she called and said we were meeting Solly at the Club and Pete and I went for a Chat with Solly….

What a meeting it was…..He was just so friendly and helpful, and would not take no for an answer and in the next few weeks we told him all the problems and in no time he had solutions for them….. Never took NO for an answer & he Tukka looked after us ….. It was always nice to see him come into the kitchen on Sunday morning to get milk for his white Russian and discuss everything…..He was so down to earth & approachable….. after a few months we met his twin Abe, who was also down to earth , BUT…not as ‘Freilach’ as Solly…….. A few years ago Solly told me if I call him Mr Krok again, he would not speak to me, soooo He became ‘Ooooom Solly’ We went on to do most of their Simcha’s for the next 25 years, and they taught us soooo much about ‘Changing the signature” all the time…… Whenever Solly & Rita came to a Simcha, they Solly would ask ‘Have you changed the Signature’….and of course we always said yes…….. I mean “Gehakte Herring is Gehakte Herring”, how do you change it, BUT…..we introduced the Sausage & Salami Bar, changed the format of Simcha’s totally and kept on learning from their Simcha idea’s which were 30 years before their time….. Chasene’s at Gold Reef City, Wild Waters, Tent at Bruma Lake for 800 and many, many other E-mazing Simcha’s…..Their 50th birthday was a Medieval theme and they squeezed 450 guests into the Guild….. 3 Opening Night Dinners for their 70th birthday for African Footprint @ Gold Reef City.

Launching of that Mishugana ‘Looping Star at Gold Reef and many more….

I left the Mock Weddings for Last , because what Solly & Abe managed to do with the Mock Wedding production was unbelievable, and to get Captains of Industry to be available to act in the show was E-mazing …

They had them all over, and at the Civic Theatre in Joburg, they had the Show, and at the very end when the Chosen & Kallah were married, they opened the stage curtain and the 1,000 guests came onto the stage and had dinner with the Chosen & Challah and the whole Mishpocha……. What a production, what an idea..!!!!!!!!

The Krok Sukkah’s were legendary, and went on for over 40 years ….Remember going to Twins Pharmaceuticals in Sebenza to do the Businessmen’s Shiurs and Sukkah’s…….The ones held in the Rose Garden at Summer place were incredible get together for businessman I share a Joke that I sent to Solly many times , and he kept on asking me to resend because he could not find it….

A family of Schmohawk Indians was sitting around the shtetl one night: The papa, Geronowitz, the mama, Pocayenta, and the beautiful young daughter, Minihorwitz.

“So, nu,” says the daughter, “You’ll never.”

“What?” says the mama.

“Today, at high noon, I was proposed to in marriage.”

“Yes?” says the mama. “So what did you say?”

“I said, Yes.” “You said, Yes?” “I said, Yes.” “Mazeltov!” says the mama. “She said Yes! Did you hear that Geronowitz Minihorwitz is getting married!”

“I heard,” says the papa, “I’m kvelling. So who’s the lucky brave?”

“Sittin’ Bagel.”

“Sittin’ Bagel?” says the mama, “of the SoSiouxMe tribe?”

“That’s the one,” says Minihorowitz.

“Oy, Geronowitz! The SoSiouxMe’s! There are so many of them! How can we feed them?

How can we get them all in our teepee for the wedding?”

“We’ll think of something,” replies Geronowitz.

“Geronowitz! Get me a buffalo!” commands the mama.

“What, at this hour?”

“No, Geronowitz, for the wedding! I can make buffalo tzimmes from the meat and we can make an extra teepee from the hide. Go on, get me a buffalo!”

So Geronowitz goes out to hunt a buffalo. A day goes by and a night and Geronowitz has not come back. Another day and another night and still no sign of him. Another day and half the night and Geronowitz finally comes home: exhausted, staggering and empty-handed.

“Geronowitz! I’ve been worried sick. Where have you been? And where’s my buffalo?!”

“It’s like this,” he says. “On my first day out, I hunted high and I hunted low. I finally found a buffalo but this buffalo, he made Mickey Rooney look strong! It was a tiny, scrawny little buffalo with no meat on his bones for buffalo tzimmes and barely enough hide for a rain hat. So I settled in for the night to try again the next day.

The second day, I looked high and I looked low from this way and that way and I finally found a buffalo. He was a big buffalo with lots of meat and lots of hide, but, I tell you, Pocayenta, this was the ugliest buffalo I ever saw in my life.

This, I thought to myself, is not the buffalo for MY daughter’s wedding.

So again, I settled in for the night to try again the next day.

The third day I got up early and I looked high and I looked low, from this way and that way, going up hills and down hills and, suddenly, there it was: A magnificent buffalo! It was a big buffalo. It was, as buffalos go, a beautiful buffalo. It was, if I say so myself, the perfect buffalo. This, I say to myself, is the buffalo Pocayenta wants for Minihorowitz’s wedding.

So I reach into my backpack quietly for my tomahawk and, as I tiptoe over to the buffalo, I raise my tomahawk slowly over the buffalo’s neck, when suddenly, like a bolt of lightning from the sky, I see it!”

“See what?” asks Pocayenta.

“I’ve brought the ‘milchedik’ tomahawk!” ( Oy…vy) Solly was a one of a kind Yid…..He used to tell me over and over again how privileged he was to be Jewish…… and the work he did for the community and his knowledge will be missed…….Lost a very Good Chaver.

STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 42

Shana Tova Wishing all our Jewish clients a sweet and healthy New Year.

Discovery is an authorised financial services provider. www.discovery.co.za

@Discovery_SA

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STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 43

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we’ve LOVED

LIVED

LAUGHED LOST

25

years of 25 stgsm

years of 50 friendship

50 years of 120 GOOD health 120 STAN ROSH HASHANA 2025 44