Message of the prophets to South Africa - Live at FNB Stadium, National Day of Prayer
Release Date: 12/03/2025
Personal Agency | Parsha with the Chief - Va'eira
Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein
Personal agency speaks to the most critical questions a person can ask: how much control do I really have over my own life? Do I see myself as a helpless victim of circumstances, or as an empowered agent capable of shaping who I become and how I live? The way we answer these questions determines how we approach every challenge, every choice, and every day of our lives. In this talk on Parshat Va’eira, Chief Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein explores the Torah’s revolutionary concept of personal agency through one of the most dramatic confrontations in history: the battle of wills between...
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Taking Responsibility | Parsha with the Chief - Shemot
Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein
Taking responsibility is one of the most subtle yet powerful forces shaping your life. Subtle, because it lives in the inner world, often invisible to others. Powerful, because it can change your life. Responsibility is, by definition, a heavy and demanding burden, but knowing how to harness its power will uplift your relationships, family, work and the trajectory of your personal growth. In Parshat Shemot, we meet Moshe Rabbeinu at the very beginning of his journey toward leadership. Before he speaks to Pharaoh, before miracles, before authority, Moses repeatedly steps forward when others...
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Hanukkah: The Fight for Values
Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein
We are living through turbulent and confusing times. Much of what we see is filtered through politics and headlines. Hanukkah offers a completely different paradigm to make sense of everything. In this talk, Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein asks a foundational question: what is Hanukkah really about? The Gemara speaks about the miracle of the oil, but why would our Sages establish a new festival for all generations on that basis alone, especially in light of the many miracles recorded in Jewish history and even in the Beit HaMikdash itself? Tracing the story of Greek oppression and the spiritual...
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Difficult Relationships | Parsha with the Chief - Vayeishev
Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein
Difficult relationships and conflict are woven into so many social dynamics - within family, friendship, work community and society - causing tension, distance and pain. Can these relationships be repaired? Can resentments and divisions be overcome? In this talk on the Parsha of Vayeishev, Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein explores the roots of conflict through the story of Yosef and his brothers. Drawing on Pirkei Avot and the classical commentaries, the Chief explains that conflict does not begin with an event. It begins within us: in jealousy, ego, resentment, competitiveness, the...
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Dealing with Fear | Parsha with the Chief: Vayishlach
Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein
Fear is an intensely powerful and natural human emotion. It takes many forms. Fear of harm or failure or disapproval, fear of loss or rejection. These fears can be debilitating obstacles to our success and growth, and to fulfilling our potential. And yet sometimes fear is an entirely appropriate response to real threats. Sometimes it warns and protects us. Where is the balance? And how do we rise above our fears so that we can truly flourish? In this talk on Parshat Vayishlach, Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein explores Yaakov’s encounter with Esav as the Torah’s model for facing fear...
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Message of the prophets to South Africa - Live at FNB Stadium, National Day of Prayer
Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein
A few days ago I had the privilege of speaking to more than 100,000 South Africans in the National Day of Prayer at FNB Stadium. The moment reveals something profound about the soul of the real South Africa. What I experienced was profoundly moving: the warmth of the crowd, the shared spirit of prayer, and the deep sense of unity that filled the stadium. And I felt something else: the genuine love and respect towards the South African Jewish community. Because we stand for the same values: faith, family, moral clarity, compassion, community. What happened in the stadium is a small part...
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Finding Paradise | Parsha with the Chief: Vayeitzei
Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein
There is a deep psychological need to find paradise - a state of bliss without stress, duty or struggle. Entire industries are built around that longing: leisure, entertainment, escape. Perhaps it is a yearning for the Garden of Eden we once had, and then lost. We have been searching for paradise ever since. But what are we really seeking? And are we looking in the right place? In this talk on Parshat Vayeitzei, Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein explores Jacob’s dream - a ladder planted on the earth, reaching into the heavens - and reveals the Torah’s model for finding...
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Torah Philosophy of Time Management | Parsha with the Chief - Toldos
Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein
Life is short. The average human lifespan of 4000 weeks is, as Oliver Burkeman says, “absurdly, terrifyingly, insultingly short”. No increased productivity or efficiency can escape the limits of our mortality. How do we live with this? How do we confront the fact that our time is finite, and that nothing we do can change that? To explore this question, Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein contrasts Oliver Burkeman’s book Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, with the Torah’s much deeper framework for understanding time itself. In this talk on Parshat Toldot, we examine the...
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My Journey After October 7th - The Common Sense Interview with the Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein
I was invited by The Common Sense - South Africa’s newest and most exciting online publication, led by Dr Frans Cronje - for a long-form interview about my journey since October 7th. In this conversation with Gabriel Makin, I reflect on leading the South African Jewish community through crisis, and standing up to the anti-Israel campaign advanced on behalf of Iran and Hamas. In this wide-ranging interview, the Chief Rabbi speaks about what it meant to guide the community through two years of uncertainty, pressure, and historic responsibility. The discussion explores the events after the...
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The Search for Self-Worth | Parsha with the Chief - Chayei Sarah
Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein
There is a deep psychological need that every human being has to impress other people. To be recognised, to be seen, respected, and to be valued. This need is real and demands to be fulfilled. But when we pursue it in the wrong way, it can be harmful to our happiness, our integrity, and our relationships. In this talk on the Parsha of Chayei Sarah, Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein explores a foundational teaching from Pirkei Avot: “Say little and do much.” The Gemara contrasts two figures - Abraham and Ephron - as archetypes of righteousness and wickedness. Abraham promises little and...
info_outlineA few days ago I had the privilege of speaking to more than 100,000 South Africans in the National Day of Prayer at FNB Stadium.
The moment reveals something profound about the soul of the real South Africa.
What I experienced was profoundly moving: the warmth of the crowd, the shared spirit of prayer, and the deep sense of unity that filled the stadium.
And I felt something else: the genuine love and respect towards the South African Jewish community. Because we stand for the same values: faith, family, moral clarity, compassion, community.
What happened in the stadium is a small part of something much larger. It reflects the real spirit of this country.
National surveys from the Social Research Foundation, under the leadership of Dr Frans Cronje, show that the overwhelming majority of South Africans share the very values that build thriving societies. Values that are also at the heart of Jewish life, and at the heart of the free world.
In my address, I spoke of our shared biblical heritage: the words of Isaiah, the Psalms, and the covenantal promise to Abraham: “Those who bless you will be blessed.” The crowd immediately recognised and embraced these verses. Their response was powerful and heartfelt. This is a message of hope, dignity, unity and of the powerful future we can build when we stand together.
KEY INSIGHTS
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South Africa is united by shared moral values: faith, family, community, and compassion.
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The warmth toward the Jewish community reflects a deep national bond.
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Biblical values remain alive in the hearts of millions of South Africans.
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National surveys confirm: the majority of South Africans aspire to moderation, respect, and moral clarity.
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The Day of Prayer reveals the true spirit of the nation. It is far stronger than politics or division.
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Our shared values form the foundation for South Africa’s future.
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When people of faith stand together, they can shape a new national destiny.