South Africa at Last! Shabbat Shalom!

I write to you from Pretoria, South Africa, where we are blessed with another family simcha. Today, our son Ephraim will marry his bashert, Basheva. It is a day that fills our hearts with indescribable joy and gratitude.
For close to thirty years, Chanie and I have been waiting for this moment – not only the blessing of seeing our son stand under his chuppah, but finally being able to say that we have, at long last, made it to South Africa.
When we first arrived in Australia, our journey began in Perth. We were the only non–South Africans in the entire congregation. Every other person was eating biltong and cheering for the Springboks. Once we moved to Sydney to join Central Synagogue, who filled the seats? Hundreds of warm, heimishe South African families. For the past 25 years we have essentially been living in Johannesburg, just with better beaches.
But now, finally, we are here. On the soil of the alte shtetl. The place that shaped so many of our closest friends, gave them their warm hospitality, generosity and that unmistakable South African geshmak. Being here feels almost like a homecoming to a country we’ve never actually lived in. And this theme of “coming home” is woven directly into this week’s Parsha Vayishlach.
Jacob, after twenty long and complicated years, returns to the land of his childhood, to the parents who raised him, and even to the brother from whom he once fled. The Torah describes not just a geographical return, but an emotional and spiritual homecoming. Jacob wrestles with his fears, his past, and his own inner doubts, before stepping into the next stage of life with clarity, purpose, and blessing.
Every Jewish marriage is the embodiment of this theme. It is its own sacred homecoming – two souls returning to each other after being separated at birth, as the Talmud teaches. Today, as Ephraim and Basheva stand under the chuppah, they too step into a homecoming, as their souls reconnect and begin to build a new world together.
The chosen wedding day carries yet another layer of meaning. Today is the 14th Kislev, the very day that the Rebbe and Rebbetzin stood under their chuppah in the 1928. And the story behind that day carries a powerful message for every Jewish couple.
The Rebbe’s parents, Harav Levi Yitzchak and Rebbetzin Chana (after whom both Chanie and I are named) were living under harsh Soviet persecution and were forbidden to attend their son’s wedding in Warsaw, Poland. Reb Levik sat down to write a telegram to his son. He was so taken by emotion, the Rebbetzin later recalled, “The tablecloth was soaking wet from my husband’s tears.”
In that telegram he wrote the words: “Re’eh chaim im ha’isha asher ahavta.” See life with the woman you love. Not merely live life, or share life, but “see life”.
What does it mean to “see life” together? It means building a home rooted in shared values, shared vision and a shared destiny. It means growing side by side and creating a life that holds not only companionship, but meaning. Not only comfort, but purpose.
On this special day, I am thinking of every couple in our community, and especially Ephraim and Basheva, as I pray that you build homes filled with joy, faith, humility, and kindness. And may you always “see life” with the one you love, discovering new layers of blessing with every passing day.
From Pretoria, wishing you a good Shabbos filled with blessings.
Rabbi Levi and Chanie