See also
| Active |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Former |
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| Umhlanga Jewish Centre | |
|---|---|
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Modern Orthodox Judaism |
| Rite | Nusach Ashkenaz |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Synagogue |
| Leadership | Rabbi Gilad Friedman |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | 81 Campbell Dr, Izinga Ridge, Blackburn, 4319, South Africa |
| Country | South Africa |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Synagogue architecture |
| Date established | 2014 (as a congregation) |
| Completed | 2014 |
Umhlanga Jewish Centre (UJC) is a Modern Orthodox synagogue, Jewish Day School and Jewish Community Centre, situated in uMhlanga, an area north of Durban.
The centre is situated on the new 20,000-square-meter fenced security estate, Izinga and also includes an auditorium, Kollel , function hall, mikveh and kosher kitchen. The synagogue seats up to 350 worshipers. [1]
On 17 June 2014, the centre was officially opened with a foundation-stone ceremony attended by South Africa's Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein. [2]
The UJC and Izingina, the security estate in which it is situated, was first conceived by Rabbi Pinchas Zekry, long-time rabbi of the Durban United Hebrew Congregation (DUHC) [2] [3] Zekry could see that the Jewish community on the Berea was shrinking as families migrated northwards of the city to Umhlanga, La Lucia and Durban North. [2] Zekry presented his vision for the estate, which also includes a residential development, to philanthropist, Jonathan Beare. Beare agreed to primarily fund the centre. [2]
Among the DUHC, there was strong support from members to relocate their Berea Congregation to the UJC. [2] While others were against the move and selling the Great Synagogue building on the Berea. [2] Ultimately, the Great Synagogue was sold and the congregation relocated to a smaller site in Berea. [4] [5]
Umhlanga Jewish Day School (later Akiva College), opened in January 2012. [6] It is the only functioning Jewish school in the Durban area following the closure of Carmel College, a Jewish high school, in 2004. [7]
The UJC was dedicated in 2014, with Rabbi Zekry addressing the congregation. Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein, Jonathan Beare and Beit Din head rabbi, Moshe Kurtstag were also in attendance. As well as the centre's dedication, the ceremony incorporated the opening of the Mikveh facility, the Beit Midrash library and a new media centre for the Jewish Day School. [8]
The synagogue building makes architectural references to Judaism, with mosaic columns inspired by the Seven Species and stained-glass windows showing the six days of creation. [9]
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South African Jews, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion, form the twelfth largest Jewish community in the world, and the largest on the African continent. As of 2020, the Kaplan Centre at the University of Cape Town estimates 52,300 Jews in the country. The South African Jewish Board of Deputies estimates that the figure is closer to 75,000.
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The South African Union for Progressive Judaism (SAUPJ) is an affiliate of the World Union for Progressive Judaism and supports 11 progressive congregations. Rabbi Moses Cyrus Weiler, a founder of Reform Judaism in the country, led the country's first Reform synagogue, Temple Israel in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. Weiler is credited with growing the movement, to represent 15-17% of South African Jewry and establishing 25 congregations in the country. A 2020 joint study by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research and the University of Cape Town showed that 12% of Jews identified as Progressive and that in relative terms the progressive strands are increasing after falling to 7% in 1998 and 2005 studies. In Johannesburg, the community accounts for 7% of the city's Jewry, rising to 18% in Cape Town and 25% in Durban.
The Marais Road Shul, formally the Green & Sea Point Hebrew Congregation (G&SPHC), is a Modern Orthodox synagogue in Sea Point, a seaside suburb of Cape Town. The congregation was first established in 1926, and the synagogue was completed in 1934. It had initially intended to become a branch of the Gardens Shul in the City Bowl, but opted for independence, and became the larger of the two. It is the largest Jewish congregation in South Africa, and by 1994, it had become the largest in the South Hemisphere. The Sephardi Hebrew Congregation, established in 1960, also operates a shul from the G&SPHC's Weizmann Hall on Regent Road in Sea Point.
The Muizenberg Shul, formally the Muizenberg Hebrew Congregation, is a Modern Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Muizenberg, in Greater Cape Town, in the Western Cape region of South Africa. The congregation was established in 1924, and the synagogue was completed in the following year.
The Beit Midrash Morasha is a Modern Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located on Arthur's Road, in Sea Point, a seaside suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. The congregation was first established in 1897 in District Six, before relocating to Vredehoek in 1945. It moved to its present location in Sea Point in 1954.
The Durban United Hebrew Congregation, also known as Silverton Road Shul, is a Modern Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Berea. The congregation was established in 1883 and its synagogues have since been the main places of worship for Durban Jewry.
Durban Jewish Club, also known as Durban Jewish Centre, is an arts, culture and entertainment venue, an educational facility and a social and community hub in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was first established in 1931, and for a time it was the only country club in Durban that admitted Jews. It is also home to a number of Jewish organisations such as Beit David, a Reform synagogue. It is also the site of the Durban Holocaust and Genocide Centre, which has sister centres in Johannesburg and Cape Town, Cape Town Holocaust Centre and Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre.
