THE ‘ STAN THE GOOD SHABBOS MAN ’ has takeh surprised me , as the demand seems to be increasing . In its 17th year , it continues to bring in huge traffic to the website .
GOOD SHABBOS MAN STAN ‘ THE GOOD SHABBOS MAN ’ STAN SMOOKLER
KwaZulu-Natal : Zimbali Lodge Gauteng : Chabad Seder at the Vaal
Worldwide , there many Seders from exotic venues in faraway places , including cruise line Seders , and of course they have the very best chazzans and rabbis there – I ’ m not sure this was envisaged by our forefathers , but it is the 21st century , and anything seems to go .
My thoughts have always been that a Seder should be at home with family and friends , with the kibbitzing about the oily soup , hard kneidlach and other faribles all part of the chag .
THE ‘ STAN THE GOOD SHABBOS MAN ’ has takeh surprised me , as the demand seems to be increasing . In its 17th year , it continues to bring in huge traffic to the website .
With the Maccabi Games in Israel mid-year , I think there will be a lot of interest and movement on the website . Our local ‘ Yiddisher ’ ref , Jonathan Kaplan , has been appointed as the refs ’ balabos for the Games , and is also helping the local Maccabi with arrangements .
Methinks that Pesach is the most special of all the ‘ Yiddisher ’ holidays ( holy days ). Most Yidden remember Pesach from der heim as the time when there is huge tummel ( changes ) in the home , with all the chometz changes , and the special gerichten that you only get on Pesach . The website pumps before Pesach , with so many queries on what , where , how – most of which I refer to those more qualified to answer . I must say the products available these days for Pesach are amazing , and places like KosherWorld have been leaders in bringing them in from all over the world .
The Pesach Seders a la Souf Efrika have expanded , and this year there are five main communal Seders countrywide : Western Cape : President Hotel ( CT ), Arabella ( Hermanus ), and Beacon Isle ( Plettenberg Bay )
The confession Two five-yearolds , one Jewish , the other Catholic , are playing in a sandpit . Sean says to David : “ Our priest knows more about things than your rabbi !” To which David replies : “ Of course he does ; you tell him everything .”
Lithuania ( der heim ), the home of many of our beloved country ancestors , has featured a lot this past year , and there are tours , info , passports and all sorts of ‘ Litvak ’ happenings on the website . A visit recently by Eli Rabinowitz , an expat living in Perth , created a lot of traffic , and his lectures to the Jewish day schools on der heim were very well received . The theme : ‘ Zog nit keynmol ’ (‘ Never say never ’) was excellent and had everyone thinking about our homeland … far , far away in another era .
The inquiries about Lithuanian passports bring in many queries , which I pass on to the people who organise them . As it stands at the moment , the authorities have eased up the requirements for passports and are approving more and more .
The ‘ Yokes ’ have become a big part of the letter , and it is amazing how many jokes I get on a daily basis . But , alas , so few can be used , and I have to read and sift through 500 e-mails a month to try and find acceptable jokes ( and even then I get a mapollah about certain ones ). I was once told that if a rebbetzin blushes at a joke , it is not acceptable – where would I find a rebbetzin to proofread the jokes ?
This year ’ s Rosh Hashanah magazine for ‘ Stan the Good Shabbos Man ’ was a winner , and it was so well done . Tanya Joss and her team did me proud with their input – the cover was sensational .
Wishing all the readers and the beloved country Yiddisher community a very good yom tov . ■
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