Have you heard the one about the rabbi and the lion? 

ZAKA Chairman Yehuda Meshi-Zahav recently faced down an angry lioness with nothing but a stick and his kippah to save him.

Mr Meshi-Zahav is currently in South Africa training a new cohort of volunteers for ZAKA, Israel’s primary rescue and recovery volunteer organisation.

The team took some time out from training to go on safari; it was then that Mr Meshi-Zahav was faced with the lioness who suddenly pounced on him, knocking him to the ground.

He said: "It was absolutely terrifying, for the first time in my life I felt real fear, and the power of the lioness. Out of instinct, I grabbed my kippa so that it wouldn't fly off."

Locals beat the lion back and Mr Meshi-Zahav escaped unscathed.

"All I needed was a tetanus injection at the local clinic to prevent any infection from the scratches," he said.

He continued: "And of course, when the lion attacked me, I was reminded of the verse 'Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? (Genesis 49:9)

"'Do not be afraid o Israel, fear not, for are you not a lion’s cub.'"