Sukkot 2023 We have just surpassed Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur and now the Jewish Holidays shall culminate with the celebration of Sukkot.  Sukkot commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people after they escaped slavery in Egypt and thereafter spent 40 years...

Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur During Rosh Hashana we celebrate the creation of the world and this is a time to recreate ourselves within our smaller world. It is a time to recognise our faults and repent for our sins.  We then enter the most serious hours of Yom Kippur,...

National Women’s Day / Month  9 August 2023 The Women’s International Zionist Organisation (WIZO) is the largest women’s Zionist organisation and consequently Women’s Day and Women’s month is extra special and important to us!   Women's Day, celebrated annually on the...

Mandela Day 18 July 2023 Mandela Day is an annual celebration on the 18th of July to honour the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela, South Africa's former President. It is a call to action for individuals, communities and organisations to take the time to reflect on...

Youth Day 16 June 2023 The Israeli youth are the future of the State of Israel!  What they do today will shape their future and in turn the land of Israel.  So, it is up to us, at the Women’s International Zionist Organisation (WIZO), to ensure that those children...

Shavuot 2023 Shavuot starts at sundown on Thursday 25 May.  It commemorates the date when Hashem gave the Torah and the ten commandments to Moses and the Israelite nation at Mount Sinai after they left Egypt 3,300 years ago.  Shavuot is the culmination and eager...

Mother’s Day 14 May 2023 This Sunday, 14 May 2023 is Mother’s Day.  It is a day to express our love and respect towards our mothers and to celebrate them. On this day we honour the contribution of mothers and acknowledge the efforts of maternal bonds and the role that...

World Maternal Mental Health Day This week is World Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week.  It is a week-long campaign from 1 to 7 May dedicated to talking about mental illness while pregnant or after having a baby.  It is held at a time close to Mother’s Day and...

Yom Hazikaron / Yom Ha’atzmaut In this Shelley Shares, I want to demonstrate how WIZO South Africa is related in some form or another to Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut. In order to do so, I will say a few words explaining what we have been commemorating. Last week...

Pesach 2023 4 April 2023 Pesach and Freedom are synonymous. Freedom relates to Pesach.  Freedom also relates to WIZO (Women’s International Zionist Organisation). We may question what freedom is? Freedom is when someone has the power or right to act, to speak or think...