Cape Town Progressive Jewish Congregation (CTPJC)
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Temple Israel, also known as the Cape Town Progressive Jewish Congregation (CTPJC), is a Progressive Jewish congregation in
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, with three centres in Green Point, Wynberg and
Milnerton Milnerton is a seaside suburb on Table Bay and is located north of central Cape Town in South Africa. It is located 11 kilometres to the north of the city's centre. Suburbs Suburbs/ neighbourhoods of the greater Milnerton area include: * Bot ...
. As three centres combined, they are the largest Progressive congregation in South Africa, and the second largest Jewish congregation in Cape Town after Marais Road Shul in
Sea Point Sea Point (Afrikaans: ''Seepunt'') is one of Cape Town's most affluent and densely populated suburbs, situated between Signal Hill and the Atlantic Ocean, a few kilometres to the west of Cape Town's Central Business District (CBD). Moving from ...
. The congregation first started in Green Point in 1944, eight years after South Africa's first progressive synagogue, also Temple Israel, opened in
Hillbrow Hillbrow () is an inner city residential neighbourhood of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is known for its high levels of population density, unemployment, poverty, prostitution and crime. In the 1970s it was an Apartheid-design ...
in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
. The Cape Town congregation caters to over 3000 Progressive Jews in the city. The congregation is an affiliate of the
South African Union for Progressive Judaism The South African Union for Progressive Judaism (SAUPJ) is an affiliate of the World Union for Progressive Judaism and supports 11 progressive congregations. The SAUJP estimates that it represents around 6,000 South African Jews and around 10 per ...
, which is part of the
World Union for Progressive Judaism The World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) is the international umbrella organization for the various branches of Reform, Liberal and Progressive Judaism, as well as the separate Reconstructionist Judaism. The WUPJ is based in 40 countries ...
(WUPJ). The congregation represents around 18% of Cape Town Jewry.


History

The congregation was founded in Green Point in 1944 by founding rabbinic couple, Rabbi Dr David Sherman (z”l) and Bertha Sherman (z”l). Rabbi Moses Cyrus Weiler (z”l) founded the Reform movement and led the movement's mother synagogue, Temple Israel in
Hillbrow Hillbrow () is an inner city residential neighbourhood of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is known for its high levels of population density, unemployment, poverty, prostitution and crime. In the 1970s it was an Apartheid-design ...
,
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
. Although Weiler had been tasked with establishing a national Reform movement, he resisted establishing other congregations outside Hillbrow during his first ten years. He felt that it was more important to build a significant membership in Johannesburg before expanding nationwide. In 1943, he relented and agreed to help set up the first progressive congregation in Cape Town, and was able to call upon Sherman, his friend and Hebrew Union classmate.Rabbi Sherman honoured
South African Jewish Museum. Retrieved on 15 October 2023
Sherman led Temple Israel in Green Point for the ensuing decades, seeing exponential growth with 25% of Cape Town Jewry affiliating themselves with the Reform movement. In comparison, the percentage of Johannesburg Jews affiliated to the Reform branch has always been under 10%.Rabbi Weiler and the founding of the Reform movement in SA
Progressive Jews (South Africa). August 2019
The profile of the local Atlantic Seaboard Jewry differed from the Yiddish-speaking Jewish migrants that settled in
District Six District Six (Afrikaans ''Distrik Ses'') is a former inner-city residential area in Cape Town, South Africa. Over 60,000 of its inhabitants were History of South Africa in the Apartheid era#Forced removal, forcibly removed during the 1970s ...
and
Woodstock, Cape Town Woodstock is one of the earliest suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa, between the docks of Table Bay and the lower slopes of Devil's Peak, about east of the city centre of Cape Town. Woodstock is served by Woodstock and Esplanade railway stations ...
generations before. They were usually South African-born and spoke English in the family home. They mostly attended local government schools rather than Jewish schools (''cheders'' or ''yeshivot''). They were usually more affluent than their migrant parents and they abandoned many religious practices, favouring modern dress and haircuts and sometimes anglicizing their names.Modern orthodoxy
University of Cape Town. Retrieved on 25 October 2023
In Johannesburg, Weiler had faced backlash for introducing
Confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...
at age 16, requiring students to study for an exam and then lead a service. Parents also voiced their disagreement with the Christian-sounding name for the rite. However, Confirmation, which had become common in American Reform Judaism, persisted in Cape Town under Rabbi Sherman's leadership. By 1977, the Green Point congregation had been holding Confirmation services for 31 years. In the 1940s and 1950s there was a Johannesburg-Cape Town cultural split when Temple Israel in Green Point rejected a proposal for the creation of the position of Chief Minister under which all Progressive congregations would fall. The appointee would have been Rabbi Weiler, who was based in Johannesburg.A compelling new history of Progressive Judaism in South Africa
''Jewish Affairs''. 15 December 2020
Weiler had sent Victor Brasch as his emissary to Cape Town to assure the community of the need for central control, based in Johannesburg, and enuring that each congregation follow the same formula. However, Cape Town wanted a looser federation where each city made its own decisions and pushed back against the notion of a Chief Minister, arguing that it was against the democratic principles of Reform Judaism. In 1951, Cape Town quit the
South African Union for Progressive Judaism The South African Union for Progressive Judaism (SAUPJ) is an affiliate of the World Union for Progressive Judaism and supports 11 progressive congregations. The SAUJP estimates that it represents around 6,000 South African Jews and around 10 per ...
and refused to return until 1963. The arrival of the congregation and Reform Judaism in Cape Town was met with opposition from Rabbi Israel Abrahams, spiritual leader of the
Gardens Shul The Gardens Shul, formally, the Cape Town Hebrew Congregation, founded in 1841, located in the Cape Town Botanical Gardens, in the Gardens neighborhood of Cape Town, is the oldest Jewish congregation in South Africa. The rabbi is Rabbi Feldma ...
. He arranged a series of meetings on the perils of the Reform tradition, and upon his appointment as Chief Rabbi in the Cape in 1951, attempted to prohibit his rabbis, cantors and Hebrew teachers from meeting with rabbis and other representatives of the Reform movement. He also attempted to prevent the movement from hiring communal halls.1930s: Part 2
University of Cape Town. Retrieved on 22 October 2023
Dr Herman Kramer, a long-time president of the Orthodox Marais Road Shul in Sea Point, later became president of Temple Israel. In 1965, Rabbi Sherman was critical of a concordat that was signed in Johannesburg between the Orthodox
Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...
,
Bernard M. Casper Bernard Moses Casper (1916–1988) was a British people, British-Demographics of South Africa, South African rabbi. He was born and raised in London; educated in London and Cambridge; and served as both a Rabbi and educator in Manchester and Lon ...
and Chief Minister of the United Progressive Jewish Congregations Rabbi Arthur Saul Super. They agreed that from "the religious point of view there is an unbridgeable gulf between Orthodoxy and Reform." Super was only representing Johannesburg's progressive congregations in the agreement. Rabbi Sherman argued that it amounted to “allowing ourselves to be read out of the community of Klal Yisrael." Rabbi Rabinowitz, who led the Orthodox Marais Road Shul in
Sea Point Sea Point (Afrikaans: ''Seepunt'') is one of Cape Town's most affluent and densely populated suburbs, situated between Signal Hill and the Atlantic Ocean, a few kilometres to the west of Cape Town's Central Business District (CBD). Moving from ...
from 1959, was sympathetic to Abrahams' viewpoint. Rabbi Sherman was addressing a 1963 function held by the Union of Jewish Women, Rabbi Rabinowitz and his wife refused to attend. He wrote to his congregants telling them that the UJW, as a social and charitable organisation, had no right to invite a Reform minister (Sherman) to address them. “I am not going to tell my lady members that they must not go… but I really don’t think you should go” and admitted that some women who had not intended to go were now going “out of perversity”. According to Sherman “Orthodox women were instructed not to attend the trefe lecture in the trefe hall. The result was an exceptionally large attendance.”.Synagogue enlarged
University of Cape Town. Retrieved on 23 October 2023
The congregation had more cordial relations with Rabbi David Rosen, who led the Marais Road congregation between 1975 and 1980. Rabbi Rosen conducted a Bat Mitzvah service with the participation of the Temple Israel choir and the two synagogues worked together to set up a facility in the area to provide cheap meals for vagrants.Religious tolerance challenged
University of Cape Town. Retrieved on 24 October 2023
Rabbis speak out
University of Cape Town. Retrieved on 24 October 2023
In 1982, the Marais Road Shul president accepted an invitation to attend the induction service of a Reform rabbi at Temple Israel, with the Cape
Beth Din A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel. Today, it ...
determining that there was neither reason nor
halachic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...
grounds to refuse to attend or for an Orthodox rabbi not to attend a
chuppah A ''chuppah'' ( he, חוּפָּה, pl. חוּפּוֹת, ''chuppot'', literally, "canopy" or "covering"), also huppah, chipe, chupah, or chuppa, is a canopy under which a Judaism, Jewish couple stand during their Jewish wedding, wedding cere ...
under which a Reform rabbi participated. Sherman took a discreet yet courageous stand on issues of human rights, he opposed
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
and spoke at protest meetings. During his tenure, Major Hall at Temple Israel had a dual function as a centre for African culture, literacy and poverty alleviation projects.Rabbi Dr David Sherman z”l
South African Jewish Museum. Retrieved on 15 October 2023
In 1971, to mark Sherman's 25th anniversary with the congregation, the David Sherman Lecture was established.Lova Eliav on Jewish values at David Sherman lecture
SAJM. Retrieved on 27 October 2023
Each year, a prestigious speaker would be invited to give the lecture. The congregation has invited figures such as the Israeli politician Aryeh Eliav and Robert Kaplan, Chair of the
United Jewish Appeal The United Jewish Appeal (UJA) was a Jewish philanthropic umbrella organization that existed from its creation in 1939 until it was folded into the United Jewish Communities, which was formed from the 1999 merger of United Jewish Appeal (UJA), Cou ...
(UIA) South Africa. The congregation has also been addressed by
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
winners, F. W. de Klerk,
State President of South Africa The State President of the Republic of South Africa ( af, Staatspresident) was the head of state of South Africa from 1961 to 1994. The office was established when the country became a republic on 31 May 1961, albeit, outside the Commonweal ...
and
Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...
, the Anglican bishop. On other occasions, figures such as Dr Alon Liel, Israel's ambassador to South Africa addressed the congregation and
Tony Leon Anthony James Leon (born 15 December 1956) is a South African politician who served as leader of the opposition from 1999-2007 as leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA). He led the DA from its inception in 2000, until his retirement from lead ...
,
leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
have addressed the congregation. In 1965, a second temple was opened in Wynberg to serve congregants in the Southern Suburbs. The most recent congregation was formed in 1998 in
Milnerton Milnerton is a seaside suburb on Table Bay and is located north of central Cape Town in South Africa. It is located 11 kilometres to the north of the city's centre. Suburbs Suburbs/ neighbourhoods of the greater Milnerton area include: * Bot ...
. The original Temple Israel in Green point was a much larger building that was later demolished. Part of the land was developed for apartments and a smaller synagogue was rebuilt to better meet the needs of the community. Between 1994 and 1997,
Dana Evan Kaplan Dana Evan Kaplan (born October 29, 1960) is a Reform rabbi known for his writings on Reform Judaism and American Judaism. He has also written on other subjects, including American Jewish history and Jews in various diaspora communities. Kaplan ha ...
, an American rabbi, led the congregation. In 2020, a study by the
Institute for Jewish Policy Research The Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), founded as the Institute of Jewish Affairs, is a London-based research institute and think tank. It specializes in contemporary Jewish affairs. JPR also runs a public education programme, and has hos ...
and the Kaplan Centre at the
University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
found that 18% of Jewish respondents in Cape Town identify as progressive.The Jews of South Africa in 2019
JPR-KAPLAN. Retrieved on 15/03/21.
During the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
pandemic, the congregation live-streamed services, an option that was unavailable to Orthodox congregations. Online attendance for services such as
Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's ...
was especially high and much greater than Temple Israel's combined membership.Has there been a difference?
University of Cape Town. Retrieved on 27 October 2023
Temple Israel in Green Point also houses, Czech Memorial Scroll 128, a ''
Sefer Torah A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Tora ...
''. As the Nazis invaded
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
, some of the artefacts such as the Torah scrolls were rescued and stored in a warehouse in Prague. Donors from
Westminster Synagogue The Westminster Synagogue is a non-affiliated Jewish Reform synagogue and congregation near Hyde Park, London. It is located in Kent House, a restored Victorian town house in Knightsbridge. The building, which dates from the late 1800s, also ...
bought 1 564 scrolls from the Czechoslovak government in 1964. The scrolls were restored and many have been sent to congregations around the world, including Temple Israel.


Clergy


Historical

*
David Sherman David Sherman (1958 - November 16, 2022) was an American novelist who dealt overwhelmingly with military themes at the small-unit tactical level. His experiences as a United States Marine informed his writings. Early life and education Sher ...
(1909–2002), congregational rabbi from 1944 to 1989, then Rabbi Emeritus from 1989 to 2002 *Rabbi David Hoffman (1954–2011), congregational rabbi from 1989 to 2006 *
Dana Evan Kaplan Dana Evan Kaplan (born October 29, 1960) is a Reform rabbi known for his writings on Reform Judaism and American Judaism. He has also written on other subjects, including American Jewish history and Jews in various diaspora communities. Kaplan ha ...
, congregational rabbi from 1994 to 1997The Rabbi and Nelson Mandela
26 June 2013


Current

The congregation is served by four rabbis; *Rabbi Greg Alexander was raised in Progressive Judaism in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
, and is a graduate of the
University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...
and
Netzer Olami Netzer Olami is the worldwide youth movement of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) and is affiliated to Arzenu (the Zionist arm of the WUPJ). "Netzer" is an acronym in Hebrew for Reform Zionist Youth (''Noar Tsioni Reformi'', נוער ...
. He completed his rabbinical training at the
Leo Baeck College Leo Baeck College is a privately funded rabbinical seminary and centre for the training of teachers in Jewish education. Based now at the Sternberg Centre, East End Road, Finchley, in the London Borough of Barnet, it was founded by Werner van ...
in London. *Rabbi Malcolm Matitiani was raised in the Progressive movement in
Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...
. He became one of the first three rabbis to be ordained in Germany (at the
Abraham-Geiger-Kolleg Abraham Geiger Kolleg is a rabbinic seminary at the University of Potsdam in Potsdam, Germany. History Abraham Geiger Kolleg was founded 1999 as the only seminary in Germany since the Holocaust, when the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des J ...
) since the
Shoah The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ar ...
. He also has a master's degree in Rabbinic Literature from the University of Cape Town. *Rabbi Emma Gottlieb is from
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Canada. She graduated from the
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in 2010 and has subsequently served congregations in the United States and Canada. *Rabbi Richard Newman was raised in the Progressive movement in Cape Town. He lived in Israel for more than 16 years and completed his rabbinical training at Abraham-Geiger-Kolleg in Germany. He holds degrees from
Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...
and
UNISA The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...
and has also lectured in
Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
and
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
at the
University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...
.


Notable members

* Raymond Ackerman (1931–2023), businessman and retailerFarewell to the humble grocer who became a giant
''South African Jewish Report''. 14 September 2023


References


External links


Temple Israel official website
{{coord missing, South Africa Progressive Judaism in South Africa 1944 establishments in South Africa Synagogues completed in 1944 20th-century religious buildings and structures in South Africa Synagogues in Cape Town Synagogues in the Western Cape