AS THE cheerful and passionate leader of the Morasha Shul community in Cape Town , Rabbi Sam Thurgood has made it his mission to bring Torah to the people .
SPINNING A YARN SPINNING A YARN IN THE MODERN AGE
IF YOU CAN ’ T ESCAPE FROM THE CLUTCHES OF TECHNOLOGY , THEN USE IT TO TELL YOUR STORY .
SUSAN CHALOM increase their daily Torah learning in an easily accessible way , Rabbi Thurgood ’ s next challenge was considering how this could be applied to a younger audience .
AS THE cheerful and passionate leader of the Morasha Shul community in Cape Town , Rabbi Sam Thurgood has made it his mission to bring Torah to the people .
Born in Johannesburg and raised in Durban , he studied under Rabbi Azriel Chaim Goldfein ztz ” l at the Yeshivah Gedolah of Johannesburg , where he received smicha in 2008 . He says he became a rabbi because his three great loves in life are Hashem , the Jewish people and teaching – and rabbinic life exists in the intersection of these passions .
He began with a bite-sized list of learning resources , called “ Torah on the go ” ( http :// www . morasha . co . za / learning-resources /), which is a starting point for those who have limited free time but who want to learn more .
Rabbi Thurgood ’ s daily Torah thought , which he began in August 2014 , developed into a platform for 1 220 people in 20 different countries and 40 cities . “ It is much more than what I expected ,” he says , noting members in far-flung places like Saudi Arabia , who have written to the Rabbi to say they feel as though they have a better sense of the beauty of the Torah . And a member in Kenya , Shmu ’ El , states : “ I love Torah / the written Word , since it is wisdom that lengthens our days , and will guarantee our place in Olam Haba .”
His WhatsApp group started within his community , but grew quickly through word of mouth , with members of the group requesting family and friend invites . Unlike his Facebook group , with his WhatsApp group , people can respond directly to the Rabbi , ask questions and comment on the daily discussion . So , having created various platforms where adults could
With this in mind , Rabbi Thurgood began a children ’ s Torah video based on the Book of Tanach ( YouTube : BIT . ly / childrentorah ). He says most children already know the Chumash , and so he wanted to explore the book of Joshua and adapt the stories for a younger audience . These are fiveminute stories generally aimed at three- to seven-year-olds . “ This has been wonderful for my own learning of Tanach , as I see things with new eyes and I start asking : ‘ Where ’ s the tension ? Where ’ s the question ?’ I need to be fair and accurate to the text , while keeping the nuances and being faithful to the story .” Some stories are quite violent , so it takes a fair bit of time to rework them and make them appropriate for younger viewers . But Rabbi Thurgood has what it takes . As the son of a pre-school teacher , he has learnt how to speak to children so they discover the messages that are age-appropriate – and so the ‘ bad people ’ get ‘ chased away ’ rather than killed .
He says one of the major challenges of parenting today is limiting time spent on technology – children can ask for a cellphone or tablet and use it for hours on end . However , through watching these videos , tech time is spent in a much more constructive way , as parents and children are learning together . One parent said : “ I know that it ’ s good because I understand it all .” And it is this accessibility which makes this form of Torah engagement both fun and meaningful . Teachers in Cape Town and Durban are looking at introducing these videos in the classroom , and are hoping to do so in the next few weeks .
Loosely based on “ Brick Bible ”, developed by Brendan Powell Smith , Rabbi Thurgood uses Lego slides to teach Tanach to pre-schoolers . This gives children a visual hook with the “ cool ” medium of Lego , while bearing in mind that it is a story . And through Lego , these stories are easily recalled . He receives feedback from the students in his early morning classes about what works and what does not , and future stories are adapted accordingly . Recently , the Rabbi bought his own Lego set in order to model the stop-frame photography . Rabbi Thurman , who knows all too well the challenges of parenting young children today , says the beauty of technology is that “ the most amazing experts and best teachers can be right there in the room with you – teaching Torah stories wherever you are ”. ■
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