The Western Cape was blessed in 2020 when the town of Stanford was chosen as home by a Jewish couple returning to South Africa after many years abroad.
The blessing comes in the form of having an accomplished author, Merle Levin, arriving on our shores and sharing her wit and insights.
Merle’s book Listenbear was adapted by Save the Children and World Vision International, and over a million copies have been distributed worldwide.
Merle has just published a memoir, The World According to Merle, which is described as a wildly humorous and heartwarming memoir by a woman who defies age and convention. At 75, Merle is a vibrant force of nature who’s lived a full, rich life on her own terms. Whether she’s learning about the navigational skills of the dung beetle in the Kalahari Desert, swimming with her “Soggy Bottoms” group – come rain, ice or shine – or laughing through passionate arguments with Jeff, her husband of over 50 years, Merle has never been a fan of rules.
Both Merle and Jeff grew up in Cyrildene, Johannesburg, moving into adulthood within the framework of traditional Jewish families. Merle’s first years were in Vereeniging, where she started her schooling. She recalls with amusement her Bobba’s disapproval of the school her parents selected for her: the Holy Rosary Convent in Vereeniging. “Bobba insisted that I call the Mother Superior ‘Mother Shapiro’!” she comments.
Driven by their experiences as members of Habonim, both Merle and Jeff spent some time in Israel. “I went there supposedly for six months,”Merle says. “I went as a volunteer after the Six Day War in 1967. But I ended up staying for four years, a time when I studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.”
Merle met Jeff in Israel. He served as a paratrooper in the IDF, and also studied in Israel. They returned to South Africa in 1970, but their discomfort with the growing horrors of the apartheid system drove them to leave the country. And so they moved to Ontario in Canada seven years later, where they lived until their return to South Africa five years ago.
Although they enjoy their partial retirement in Stanford, Merle and Jeff still visit Israel regularly. ●
The World According to Merle will be available for lending from the Jacob Gitlin Library. Or purchase a copy from Exclusive Books, Bargain Books, Wordsworth or Takealot.
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