New Rabbi ready to revitalise Muizenberg Shul

(Photo by Quaid Lagan on Unsplash)

Many years ago, Muizenberg was a premier Jewish holiday destination, and there was a large permanent Jewish community as has been documented in books, such as Hedy Davies’ The Shtetl By The Sea and the travelling exhibition The Goldene Medina, that has been seen in many places throughout the world.

The once dynamic and vibrant Muizenberg Hebrew Congregation has been shrinking slowly over the last decade or so, as the existing membership ages, and the community has been without a permanent rabbi for over 20 years since the last incumbent Rabbi Rockman retired. In spite of this, the community has continued to function with regular Friday night and Shabbat services, splendid brochas every week as well as services over all the major chagim, with minyanim about 90% of the time, run by a selection of different local rabbis and spiritual leaders.

Muizenberg itself has been undergoing a revival in the last five years or so, and since the redevelopment of the beach front, it has transformed into a very popular tourist and surfing destination.

The Muizenberg Shul has appointed Ryan Newfield, a young and dynamic rabbi, as the spiritual leader of the shul since the beginning of March this year. Unfortunately, his appointment coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but he has already begun to reach out online to Jews in the area.

In addition, there are a large number of country members primarily from Gauteng, many of whom have holiday apartments in the area who swell the size of the community during the summer holidays, at which time there are daily services with minyanim. Furthermore ‘Camp Kesher’ owns a campsite in the area, where a large number of underprivileged Jewish children from around South Africa enjoy a lovely holiday during the summer.

If you live in the area and are interested in connecting with the Muizenberg Shul, you can contact Rabbi Ryan Newfield on 062 183 8404 or email rnewfield@gmail.com

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