Meeting the Rabbi

 When Rabbi Shapira asked me if Johannesburg or Cape Town was closer for me to come to, I said they're both the same distance away, knowing that it was financially impossible for me to travel there to meet him, and friends from the yeshiva at the conference.

Uapa told me to hope in God.

Tracey paid the bus fare.

Louise provided the free accommodation.

So I went.

Overjoyed.

I booked the cheapest coach and on my outward-bound journey they upgraded me to a more comfortable coach.

They changed the departure times twice, and I presumed the checking-in time changed with the time of departure. How wrong I was! I found this out when I wanted to get the stickers for my luggage - there was no one behind the counter. When the bus driver looked at my printed ticket, he said:

"What's this?"

"My ticket," I replied, panic mounting in my heart. After a bit of grumbling and groaning I was allowed on the bus.

But then they left me at Somerset West and said my route had been canceled. My phone had died and I never got the message that this had happened. Fortunately, the LORD told me to ask the driver if we were now headed to Stellenbosch and Paarl, to which he replied:

"Let me phone those guys."

Which guys? I thought.

I was then told to get off the bus and wait for the shuttle. Very nerve-wrecking, since all the other people waiting there were going to Kimberley!

After a while I was overjoyed to see an InterCape shuttle arrive. I rushed up to the driver and got confirmation that he was going to Paarl. He just wanted to eat his lunch first.

That driver, too, asked me:

"What's this?"

Again, I replied:

"My ticket," and proceeded to repeat the whole story again.

"Oh, OK, don't worry, ma'am, you go and get on the bus so long."

Relieved, I did so.

There was a lady who had had a couple (if you know what I mean) with us and she was very loud and very funny, but my nerves were a bit shot to altogether appreciate the humour of the situaton. When she had shouted one time too many, I said: "ssshhh!" and she got quite put out, so I just kept quiet and let her go on. Others seemed to enjoy her shenanigans.

We were already so late, but we made a stop in Stellenbosh before proceeding to Paarl. My poor friend had been waiting for me in Paarl since 11.30am and I only got there at 15.15. On Erev Shabbat. We still had all the food to make for our dinner with Rabbi and a few people that evening at 6.30!

We were a bit late but we did get there and we had a wonderful Erev Shabbat meal with Rabbi Shapira and 12 other people. He was overjoyed to see 4 of his talmidim there: Louise, Carla, Uapa (from Windhoek) and myself. He kept mentioning us to those present and pointing us out. It was a very heart-warming experience.

It was so wonderful to meet my fellow students for the first time in the flesh. We've been studying the Torah together online for about 3 years and all of us are so grateful that HaShem brought us all together. We wish it could have been longer. I said to Louise that if I ever come for the weekend again, I am leaving home on Tuesday to allow for delays!

We sang a few of the liturgical pieces that are traditionaly sung on Erev Shabbat, courtesy of Chazan Peter Gordon (recorded). We did Kiddush over the wine and ate challah after saying the blessings for both and then got stuck into the delicious variety of foods that had been brought for the occasion.

Louise and I drove back to her home in Wellington and walked in the door at 11.15pm.

We stayed up till 1am on Shabbat morning, making sandwiches for Shabbat lunch and sharing a bottle of kosher wine from Klein Draken wine estate.

She told her husband that we wouldn't be that late on Saturday night. She was right. We got home at 11.05pm after Motzei Shabbat!

 That is because Uapa was leaving on Sunday morning and we wanted to spend some time with her before she left. Carla took her to the ATM to get some cash - we all went with; Carla, by the way, drives like an Israeli! - and then we went back to Uapa's Air B&B - which was on the same premises that we had the meetings on - planning to take our left-over food and chill in Uapa's room for a bit. But when we got back to the premises, Betsy, the hostess, was waiting for us to come and get our food, which was already in the main house. So we traipsed after her to fetch it and saw Rabbi Shapira sitting down to a meal. As we began walking out, he invited us to sit down with him and our hosts for a meal together. What a beautiful surprise and treat that was!

The Shabbat Shacharit service was amazing. I have never before shared it with so many real people. We sang our hearts out to God and there was such unity amongst the believers. We listened attentively to everything Rabbi taught us and when we broke for lunch, I was privileged to have my photo taken with my Rabbi. Let's hope I can locate it.

We came back for the afternoon session alert and ready to receive what Rabbi was going to share with us. The days we are living in right now are the Days of the Messiah. His return is imminent. How should we live, and prepare for His return? Peter tells us that we are to live Holy & Godly lives, following Torah, doing mitzvot, loving God and our fellow man with all our hearts & souls & minds & strength.

The four of us had planned to do Havdalah together and share a meal in Uapa's room. But what a blessing it was that Rabbi taught right up to Havdalah and then we did the service all together in the big hall. How wonderful it was! The singing, the joy, the Presence of God! Wow!

Carla needed to go home to her husband, but the 3 of us went to Uapa's room to plan for Uapa's trip the next day and pray and chat before parting company. Who knows when we will see each other again?

We found the address that Uapa would need to be in the morning to catch her bus and I loaded it all onto Bolt, planning to just confirm the order in the morning. We chatted and right before leaving, standing in the middle of the little room, we all put our heads together and prayed for each other. The Spirit of the Lord was so sweet just at that moment. Louise wanted to cry, but even though it was sad that we were leaving each other after only a short while together, we were and are all very grateful to HaShem for giving us this great blessing of actually being in each others' presence.

On Sunday morning when I got onto my phone to book the Bolt for Uapa, there were NO cars available! I phoned Uapa and told her she should go and ask Betsy if she could perhaps take her to the bus stop in Stellenbosch. Fortunately, kind Betsy was able to and the panic was over!

Uapa got on her bus without any trouble and journeyed to the Namibian border, at which point several passengers with foreign passports caused a hold-up for three-and-a-half hours. Standing for that length of time caused Uapa backache and, I believe, she did her back exercises right there in the queue!

She did eventually get home safely. After nearly 24 hours of traveling! 6 more than me!

On Sunday Rabbi was attending a church service and having lunch with the leadership, after which he would talk at the evening service. It was a rip-roaring success!

Louise and I, along with her husband, Arnold - such a lovely couple - rode out to the forestry station, going through Bains Kloof pass. Wow! You have never seen mountains until you've seen those in and around Cape Town!

Majestic. Awesome. I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the Majesty of the God who created such wondrous things! It had rained and there was still mist and clouds covering the upper reaches of the peaks when we passed through at about 10am. There were numerous waterfalls, some wide and strong and some smaller. The water seemed to come out of the rocks! It so reminded me of the water from the rock that the children of Israel were blessed with in the wilderness.

Arnold was kind enough to stop at one place and allowed me to get out the car and catch some of the waterfall in my hands and drink it. The taste was so pure and sweet. As I cupped my hand to catch a small drink, the rushing waterfall splashed all over the front of my sweater and pants. But it was very worth it!

On our way back, the mist and cloud had lifted and we could see everything a lot more clearly. I was absolutely awestruck. How Majestic is Your Name in all the earth! is all I could think and sing.

We stopped at a lookout point and took a couple of photos of Louise and I as well as some King Proteas growing wild on the mountain. As I walked around at 30 thousand feet, I kept losing my balance, like a drunk person! It was so funny. The dizziness and unbalanced state lasted even after we got home. Louise showed me her garden and I had to step so carefully so as not to completely capsize!

Keeping up their reputation of canceling my routes, I got a message from the bus company that my route had been canceled. By now though, it was old hat and I didn't panic, just took it in stride. I got onto WhatsApp and they put me on another bus that left 30 minutes earlier. 

Louise and her husband stayed with me until I got on the bus, for which i was very grateful. As I boarded, Arnold called after me:

"God bless you, Penny!"

Those words went deep into my heart. The men I have had in my life have never said those kinds of things to me. I grabbed that blessing with both hands.

As I walked down the isle, I saw there were no open seats. Then some young men who had been drinking at the back of the bus called me and said there was a seat next to them. I said:

"Lord, I am not going to sit there. Please help me."

Just as I was moving back to the front of the bus to approach the driver, a middle-aged man stood up and said there was a seat between him and another lady. I gratefully took it.

They were so kind to me. Father had kept that seat for me. Even though it was most uncomfortable for a lot of the trip, I felt safe.

When I walked through my front door, although I was SO tired, I suddenly got this huge burst of energy - where it came from i do not know - and did this and that and so on, until about 4pm when I could finally not keep my eyes open anymore and I went to have a sleep.

I thank the Father for Tracey, who made this trip possible for me, and for Louise who gave me free accommodation in her spare bedroom. I'm very grateful to everyone who had anything to do with bringing this all together to make it possible for me to meet my Rabbi and my friends.

Baruch HaShem!