Remembering Rabbi Desmond Maizels ztz"l on his shloshim
Rabbi Desmond Maizels, zecher tzaddik livrachah, really was one of a kind. Shochet, mohel, dayan, community rabbi — and one of the world’s great kashrus experts. One of the greatest multitaskers I’ve known. His passing has left an enormous void. He dedicated his entire working life to serving South African Jewry. He left his mark on communities all over South Africa — not just the big cities. Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, East London, Oudtshoorn — Jews all over the country are mourning his passing.
But of course his beloved Cape Town community is where Rabbi Maizels made his greatest contribution. Indeed, the Cape Town Jewish community is unimaginable without him.
To me, Rabbi Maizels was the absolute embodiment of zerizus — the trait identified by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto in Mesillas Yesharim (chapters 6–9) as one of the most foundational character traits, at the core of Jewish greatness.
The Ramchal describes zerizus as a soldierlike state of mind. Soldiers are always battle-ready. They grab a bit of food here, a few moments of rest there, but their entire being is consumed with their mission — their only concern being to do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done. Rabbi Maizels lived his whole life like that, always ready to drop everything to serve the Jewish People.
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