Board celebrates 28 years of national freedom
According to Wendy Kahn, the Passover Seder celebrates deliverance into freedom from the captivity of Egypt for the Jewish families.
The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) held a Passover meal or Seder, at The Empire in Parktown in celebration of South Africa’s 28 years of freedom.
The Tuesday night event was attended by leaders and community members from different walks of life who gathered around the table as a family to celebrate.
Wendy Kahn, the national SAJBD chairperson, said, “Similarly, every year Jewish families gather for the Passover Seder to celebrate deliverance into freedom from the captivity of Egypt. In this vein, tonight we gather to remember our past and celebrate the values of human rights that have been hard fought for.”
Kahn added that there was no finer time to celebrate freedom than now, when we remember our dark past and celebrate freedom.
She explained the traditions of the Jewish Passover meal to the guests and encouraged children to ask questions about the meal, which were to be answered by their parents.
Sydney Mufamadi, the national security advisor of the SAJBD, addressed guests explaining his role in the struggle, and launched the SAJBD-initiated book Menshes in the Trenches by Jonathan Ancer.
He said the book celebrated the lives of Jewish anti-apartheid activists by sharing their stories. “Many in my generation haven’t heard of the people we’ll hear about tonight,” he said.
He added that the fact that these activists’ struggle formed possibly the biggest solidary movement in history was commendable. “We owe it to the memory of the people in this book and those like them to mobilise national focus on the defence of our democracy.”
He said he believed the process of rebuilding our country required all hands on deck. “The same applies to the Russian-Ukraine debacle.”
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