Glenhazel is a suburb of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It is located in Region E, bordering Fairmount,

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places Australia * Sandringham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Sandringham, Queensland, a rural locality * Sandringham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station * ...

, Lyndhurst and Percelia Estate. The area lies on a sloping hill with a park in the valley. It is known for its large

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

population as well as for being home to the largest Jewish

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...

hub in

, which attracts many Jewish tourists.

History

The suburb is situated on part of an old

Witwatersrand The Witwatersrand (, ; ; locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, w ...

farm called ''Rietfontein'' and was established in 1950. In 1992, Helen Heldenmuth, an actress and prominent figure among South African Jewry, opened up her Glenhazel home as a refuge for black children and their mothers fleeing violence in the nearby black township of

Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...

Jewish community

Glenhazel is well known for being a suburb with a high ethnic concentration of Jewish people. A large number of

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

s, schools and Jewish

seminaries A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clerg ...

are based in and around the Glenhazel area. In the context of a religious revival in the 1960s, a group of Jews established a highly observant, Orthodox enclave in the suburb.The Future of Jewish South Africa
Tablet Mag. 22 March 2023 Overseas rabbis from the Ohr Somayach movement, established themselves in Glenhazel, now the epicenter of Orthodox Jewish life in the city with

Yeshiva College of South Africa The Yeshiva College of South Africa (''Yeshivat Beit Yitzchak''), commonly known as Yeshiva College - and formerly known as Yeshivat Bnei Akiva - is South Africa’s largest religious Jewish Day School. The school is headed by Mr Rob Lonsince ...

, and

Kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...

stores, delicatessens and restaurants. In 1997, the mostly Jewish residents of Glenhazel and the adjoining Jewish suburb of

funded the establishment of their own police station. Crime in the suburb has decreased significantly since the

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () 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 capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

, Warren Goldstein introduced Community Active Protection (CAP) to Glenhazel. The Orthodox Jewish character of the suburb was profiled for

SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations (Amplitude modulation, AM/Frequency modulation, FM) as well as 6 television broadcasts and 3 OTT Services to the general ...

's 'Issues of Faith' documentary series. In 2013, 2, 000 Jewish South African women converged on a street in the suburb for a mass ''

Challah Challah or hallah ( ; , ; 'c'''hallot'', 'c'''halloth'' or 'c'''hallos'', ), also known as berches in Central Europe, is a special bread in Jewish cuisine, usually braided and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions such as Shabbat ...

'' bake. The street had been closed, with permission from the city council, and the women learned to knead and shape the dough before taking it home to bake for their Shabbat. The ''challah'' bake was part of The Shabbos Project, a project of South Africa's Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein.2,000 South African Women Join Mass Challah Baking
''Forward''. 28 October 2013

Places of worship

Ohr Somayach Ohr Somayach may refer to: * Ohr Somayach (book), commentary by Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk **''Ohr Somayach'', common reference to Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk *Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem, a network of yeshivas based in Israel * Ohr Somayach, Monsey, ...

, an Orthodox synagogue * Shaarei Chaim, an Orthodox synagogue * The BASE Shul, an Orthodox synagogue * Sunny Road Kehilla, an Orthodox synagogue * Adas Yeshurun Shul. an Orthodox synagogue on the border with Fairmount * Iliana, a

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church * Aldergate Methodist Church, a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

church. *the Torah centre formed by Rabbi Shternbuch. Originally founded in Yoeville but moved to the greater Jewish area, Glenhazel.

Education

, a

Modern Orthodox Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

Jewish day school A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide children of Jews, Jewish parents with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full-time basis. The term "day school" is used to differentiat ...

established in 1953 that serves pupils between ages 3–18 * Mesivta Shaarei Torah Boys High School *

Ohr Somayach, South Africa Ohr Somayach in South Africa is an affiliate of Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem, a network of Haredi yeshivas and Synagogues. Like its parent institution, it focuses on educating baal teshuvas ("returnees" to Orthodox Judaism). It has branches in Johannes ...

, a

Yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

* Glenhazel Primary School, a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

English medium co-educational primary school

References

Johannesburg Region E Jews and Judaism in Johannesburg Orthodox Jewish communities Orthodox Judaism in South Africa {{Johannesburg-stub