2026.09.11 – Monique Bondi – Shopping for Rosh Hashanah

0:005 FM 101.9 megahertz of life. So, the shops are packed. I don't know, with apples, honey. I don't know what people are buying. Now, flowers, people buying enough food to sustain a small country. Families are arriving, tables are being extended, recipes are being exchanged. And through all of this, there is a sense of excitement. After a difficult, in some ways, an often unsettling year, maybe it is this positivity that matters more than ever. Is it a reminder that Rosha Shano is not just about judgment and reflection, but it's about hope, it's about belief in the New Year, and maybe that we need to be a little bit sweeter and kinder to each other than before. We wanted to chat this morning to Monique Bondi. She is the host of Imperfectly Polish, right here on FM. Monique, you are the closest thing that I've closed as thing.

1:01Closest person that I know to a professional shopper. And I mean that as a compliment, by the way. I take the compliment. Good, good, good. Right. So, that's why I wanted to ask you, as somebody who is very cutely aware of energy, of what it feels like to be out there, do you think there is a different energy in the community ahead of Rosha Shano? Yes, I actually do. I was out and about yesterday and about to head out again today. And actually, I think it was the way I approached it that made me feel that the energy was different, if that makes sense. Instead of puffing and puffing and getting irritated that I might have to find a parking further or scared me to a bit longer. I just calmed myself down, which is unusual actually.

2:01Yeah, without medication. Without medication. And I just leaned into the joy that is the hug of Rosha Shano. People choosing beautiful flowers for their table, just with more intention. So, I felt beautiful around Glen Paisal yesterday. I really do. That's really, really interesting. Do you think it's different? Rosha Shano feels a bit different to other festivals? I do. I think people really put their heart and soul into the hug of Rosha Shano, only because of all the tabling ahead and all the introspection and reflection. But I think people really, if you are hosting or if you're going to people, feel a sense of to give us and to community.

3:02And especially with this year's Take a Siti campaign through high FM, I think is a sense of wow, we actually are reminded constantly of what a beauty is. And it's interesting because it has not always, in many ways, hasn't always, hasn't been an easy year. And you said something earlier that you made a deliberate choice to not get irritated by the lines, but actually look at the lines and say, wow, this is actually amazing. How many people are here and we're all preparing for the same thing? Do you think that others did the same? Do you get that sense? I do get the sense. I get the sense when I see, when I saw people choosing beautiful flowers yesterday at the florist. And I don't know, I just felt there was, there was more positive energy around yesterday. I didn't like see as many people getting irritated.

4:05Including myself. Right. I think there's a sense of just calm and excitement and togetherness. And I think people are reminded of the joy that has does bring, especially around family and hosting and going to people and having people who don't have a place to go. I think that's what I want to put out. And I assume that I felt it around me too. So what feeling as 5786 ends? What feeling are you hoping to carry forward into the Jewish New Year 5787? What do you want to, you can tell me what you want to leave behind, but you also, I'd love to hear what you want to carry into 5787 that you're going to be careful to protect and to nurture further.

5:05So I think I like to protect my positive energy and only have people around me who add value to my life. And also, I'm a very, it could sometimes be naive, but I'm a more earlier person who likes to give people the benefit of the doubt. I kind of innocent until proven guilty. So I always carry that, I always try to carry that into the New Year of giving people benefit of the doubt that they are rather doing good than thinking negative things about others or myself or that. So that's what I try carry with me. Most roshe shunners, Howard, I must say, they're continuing to see the good in people. And I love that. Carol Z says, calamity can be the start of miraculous things happening and I feel this today.

6:09And there is definitely a sense that there that although and we went through the year before I looked at 5786 and we spoke about the fact that all the hostages had been returned. And there were some difficulty events as well during the course of the year and the semitism increasing. But if we look just around us at the community at Fellowsa, the Africans, at the tremendous support that we get from particularly the Christian community, from so many friends in around us, I think that there is something to be so deeply, deeply grateful for. Totally and I don't I think everyone does realize how blessed we are in South Africa. Thank goodness a million times we haven't had to deal with anti-Semitic attacks and then said have happened in other Jewish communities just like us around the world. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely right. Taking a look at some of the messages Melissa, say shunatova to you to the high family to your listeners.

7:15Howard, may you have a beautiful and sweet year. Thank you to Melissa. And if you want to send anybody a message that we will read out, I'm happy to read them out to you. And it is really, really, would be very happy to do it. Paul says to the whole team at 5M and it also happens to be my wife's birthday today. Paul, a very, very happy birthday to your wife sending her love and yeah, lots and lots of messages. Monique Bundy, thank you. As always, thank you for your incredible show, imperfectly polished and wishing you and the family a shunatova, a happy new year and a sweet one indeed.