About Baruch

Rabbi Goldstuck or just Baruch as he prefers to be known, has a real passion for the African bush.He takes his family on Safari at least once a year. In fact, the idea of starting the Kosher Wildlife experience began one evening under the African sky, at the camp fire, on Safari with his family and a couple of his students.

Article written on Rabbi Baruch Goldstuck-  Founder of The kosher Wildlife Experience.


Busisa - The Wildlife Rabbi
 by Gilad Litvin

Four lionesses – golden-brown and regal – have assembled near a wind-ruffled mound on the unfolding plains of Southern Africa. No word was spoken, no signal required. Their goal is common and their deadly formula proven many times over on hunts just like this one. Every sense is awake – their ears tuned for the slightest flutter, their noses sounding the breeze and their radar-eyes prospecting the savannah for miles around. Prey is nearby. Silently, and with military unison, they break from their makeshift den, easing from their haunches into a deft feline prowl. Still they must cower just below the grassline so as not to break the horizon and reveal their lethal presence. One approaches square-on while two more cover the flanks. The fourth arcs around to intercept any escape. The scene is at once vicious and alluring, brutal and magnificent.

Rabbi Baruch Goldstuck recounts this scene with great fondness. His childhood vacations to the magnificent game parks of South Africa have instilled in him a deep enjoyment for the bush. And although the erudite, contemplative life of a rabbi seems incongruous to the uncultivated realm of the wild, Rabbi Goldstuck marries the two comfortably. In fact, it was during an evening around the campfire with students and family where the concept of ‘The Kosher Wildlife Experience’ emerged. While the day’s stories unravelled under the quiet African sky one of Baruch’s students wondered aloud about a venture offering tailor-made and strictly kosher safaris in Southern Africa. Baruch was intrigued, but he shelved the concept until nearly two years later.

It was the late 1990’s when Rabbi Goldstuck, perhaps inspired by the sight of another exhilarating moment in nature, finally brought the project to life. He experimented with business designs before settling on the model of top-end, boutique safaris, customised for small groups, blending luxury with genuine, up-close wildlife adventure in an entirely kosher environment. Today The Kosher Wildlife Experience not only offers fully-catered, Glatt kosher safaris but has retained its quaint, personal approach, arranging a unique, custom-prepared vacation for each group. Inside of the three major destinations of any safari – Kruger National Park, The Victoria Falls and Cape Town – the permutations of activities are almost endless.

Visitors open their African expedition fittingly at the spectacular Thornybush Game Reserve. This sprawling private sanctuary forms part of the Greater Kruger Park, yet offers superior game-viewing to any national reserve. All of the ‘Big Five’ are on offer, along with over 140 other species of mammal. The delightful Monwana Lodge, located deep within the park, provides a comfortable refuge to call home during the three days at Thornybush. Here, travellers begin to enjoy the benefits of Rabbi Goldstuck’s ingenuity. All necessary equipment, skills and foods are in place to ensure five star kosher meals. Monwana’s resident chef, Mapuli, has even conjured up ways of preparing local specialities, such as ‘mieliepap and vleis’, to glatt kosher standards. Many overseas visitors cite the silence of the bush and the startlingly clear portrait of stars overhead at night as lifelong memories from their first days on this enchanted continent. Spotting one’s first truly wild lion is another – the potency, balance and elegance simply cannot be appreciated in a zoo.

A short but scenic flight brings visitors to the utterly epic Victoria Falls of Zimbabwe. The local Shona tribe suitably named this natural wonder “The Smoke that Thunders”. Indeed, the gargantuan bank of water that plummets from the sheer basalt precipice grumbles with rib-shuddering force and a white mist hovers perpetually above. Again, in this tourist-friendly town the team at The Kosher Wildlife Experience has all the logistics neatly in place. The charming Victoria Falls Safari Lodge makes for a comfortable abode. Guests also enjoy wonderful touches including the treat of homemade bread – one of those small features that Baruch believes make the vacation.

Staring adaze at the beauty, volume and relentless strength of the Falls is irresistible as the opening activity, usually followed by a visit to the market where the masterly-crafted wooden carvings never fail to impress. There is also an adrenaline-spiking buffet of outdoor activities including white-water rafting down the Zambezi River starting from just below the Falls (departing from above the Falls is strongly discouraged), bungi jumping from the Vic Falls Bridge and panoramic helicopter flips. A more leisurely day may include 18 holes at the Elephant Hills Country Club. Here small antelope trot freely on the fairways, monkeys chatter away in the nearby Acacia trees and a community of baby crocs ensures a watery grave for many a hooked tee-shot.

A brief and welcome sojourn from the bush is taken during a stop in Johannesburg – the economic nerve centre of Africa – offering an entirely different form of ‘jungle’. This will coincide with Shabbat when Rabbi Goldstuck welcomes guests and the day of rest is celebrated with the local Jewish community.

The journey is aptly rounded off at the southern tip of the continent – Cape Town. This cosmopolitan capital, known affectionately by South Africans as ‘The Mother City’, began life as a refreshment station for trading ships of the Dutch East India Company. Today the gorgeous Cape-Dutch architecture remains an alluring characteristic, especially in the surrounding farmlands. Guests are hosted at the exclusive Clarendon guest house overlooking the Indian Ocean and, of course, a plethora of superb outings is on offer. The beaches are ideal for sun-lounging and a day pottering around the acclaimed wineries, sampling the culinary fruits of their fine restaurants is unmissable. The historically-minded will be fascinated by a tour of Robben Island and nature lovers will be unable to resist the comical bustlings of the African penguins on Boulders Beach and, when in season, the magical sight of the endemic whales and dolphins. Time permitting, no group ever regrets adding a final swansong touring up the picturesque ‘Garden Route’ to the resort-village of Plettenberg Bay. This stretch allows for a tangible experience of small-town rural South Africa culminating with the fun of the famous ‘Plett’ holiday atmosphere.

The Kosher Wildlife Experience is essentially marketed by its erstwhile guests. Photograph evenings with family and friends seem to liven the sense of adventure and can animate even the most heavily cloaked explorer. The African outdoors offer something incomparable to any other region – the primeval simplicity of the hunt, the rich and earthy aromas of the day and the reflective stillness of the night. This heartening journey is wonderfully packaged by Baruch and his team of imaginative chefs and experienced, passionate guides. Hand-picked lodges form another keystone of the trip, providing a cosy sanctuary at the end of the day. One simply cannot fight the feeling of upliftment. One appreciative American guest condensed the impact of her odyssey rather fittingly in a letter to Rabbi Goldstuck: “the warm glow of our fabulous trip remains”.