Legend of local Jewish community celebrated
It is not every day that we get the opportunity to celebrate twins reaching such a milestone in life.
Yakima Waner writes by email:
Monica Ressel, the secretary of the United Hebrew Institute of Brakpan, celebrated her 94th birthday on July 13.
She has become a symbol of the Jewish history of Brakpan as she is one of the last of her time.
Visits with Monica is a treasure fuelled with stories of the past, which perfectly display the different eras for Jews in the East Rand.
Her wonderful mind and dry wit conserve the memories of a whole community. We are beyond blessed to still have her in our lives and to be able to still celebrate things with her via The Harvest Project and the Harvest Centre of Judaism and Equality.
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What makes this birthday even more spectacular is that Cecil Montague Susman, better known as Monty, her twin brother, is also still alive and lives in Israel.
It is not every day that we get the opportunity to celebrate twins reaching such a milestone in life. The Harvest Project will be planting 10 fruit trees in celebration of Monica and Monty reaching this inspiring moment in life and hoping for more years to come.
It is also one of the most precious mitzvahs (good deed) one can do for another in the Jewish faith due to nature being created by God and also the lack of trees in the holy land.
We will be celebrating Tu B’Shevat on January 16, 2022, in their honour. It is believed to be the day that sap rises in trees and marks the new year for trees. These fruit trees will help feed the most vulnerable of our community in Brakpan in the future.
