SERIES OP ED
What keeps me
up at night
RATS. RATS IN THE ROOF ARE KEEPING ME
awake. And not regular rats. No. These are
mutant ninja rats. Regular rats wouldn’t
make such a noise. I wonder how big they
are. And what exactly are they dragging
across the ceiling. I must remember to call
the exterminator.
I suppose I should be grateful that at
least I have a roof over my head in which
ninja rats can roam, and that I can support
my family. Wait! Can I support my family?
My bank statement says otherwise. It’s so
hard to meet all the expenses of running a
Jewish household in Johannesburg. Everything is so expensive. And I’m not talking
about kashrut. Yes, keeping kosher is
pricey, but that’s not where the problems
lie. This week there was a letter in the Jewish paper suggesting that one must have
deep pockets in order to keep kosher. I
don’t agree. One must have deep conviction in order to keep kosher. It’s a mitzvah
to keep kosher; it’s not a mitzvah to buy
ready-made grilled barbeque chickens
from the local deli. I know many people
who struggle financially and for whom
kashrut is not negotiable, and they manage, they manage very well. No, the cost of
pre-fried soles and grilled chickens is not
what will break this community.
70 JEWISH LIFE
ISSUE 82
What will break the back of this community is the cost of school fees. I’ve just
received my monthly statement from the
school. I can’t pay it. I’ll pay some, but not
all. I don’t know if I can ever catch up. Am
I the only one for whom school fees is a
problem? All I hear about is the price of
chicken, and yet everybody seems somehow content with the cost of our schools.
Really? I’ve seen in my career no less than
three commissions of enquiry into the
cost of kosher meat, the most recent being announced only last year, and not one
into the cost of schooling our kids. No
outcry, nothing. I don’t understand it.
The current models are simply not sustainable, and year after year we face increase after increase, with no solution in
sight. I’d like to see an enquiry into school
fees, and not just an enquiry, but a solution. With the collective talent and genius
of our community, I am convinced that a
workable and sustainable solution can be
achieved. Where there is a will, there is a
way. But it appears there is no will. This
angers and frustrates me.
At least my eldest is in matric this year,
and next year, whether he chooses yeshiva or university, it will be somewhat
cheaper. Oy. University. What is he going
Whose head are you dying to get into?
Suggest someone in your community, or let
us know if you’re itching to air your views.
Email [email protected]
Darren is married to
Adrienne and they
have four children,
aged 18, 13, 10 and 9.
Darren joined
Hatzolah Medical
Rescue this year as
executive GM and was
previously executive
director of the UOS for fourteen years.
He is a self-confessed coffee snob.
PHOTOGRAPH: BIGSTOCKPHOTO.COM
DARREN
SEVITZ
to study? Do I even want him to study in
this country? Is there a future here for
him and my other children? I spent the
better part of 2014 on the job market,
and almost every position in which I
could earn sufficient income to not cover
my school fees, for which my two degrees
and almost three decades of experience
qualified me, was reserved for “previously
disadvantaged” candidates. Add to this a
government which courts and dotes over
Palestinian terrorists and is becoming increasingly anti-Zionist/Semitic. Who will
employ my white Jewish children? Should
they stay? Should they go? And where?
Matric! OMG my boy is eighteen. He
went out tonight. I wonder where he is.
Who is driving? I can’t sleep till he gets
back. Not that the rats will let me anyway.
Should I call him? He has a cell phone after all. Maybe just an SMS to check in. No,
that’s not cool. Now I understand what
my parents went through. I’m sure he’s
okay, he’s a good kid. My daughter wants
a cell phone too. Her friends have phones.
She’s 10 for goodness sake. What on
earth does she want with a phone? No,
I’m putting my foot down, no phone.
There’s nothing she needs a phone for
that her iPad can’t do.
Not that the iPad will work now; we have
no electricity. Load-shedding. According
to the schedule the power will be back on
in half an hour. I don’t mind if it stays off.
It will save me money. Then I can pay
more to the school. What’s the exterminator’s number? JL