A long line of descendants of one of the founders of the Claremont Hebrew Congregation continues to honour the legacy of Reuben Newstead. Most recently, his great–great–great-grandson, Leo Minde, celebrated his bar mitzvah call-up at Claremont Shul ahead of his Bar Mitzvah in the UK at the end of March.
“Leo Minde, who lives in London, received his first aliyah at Claremont Wynberg Shul,” says Rabbi Matthew Liebenberg. This was especially memorable as he was able to mark his forthcoming bar mitzvah with his grandparents Irving and Ruth Friedgood, longstanding members of Claremont Shul, who were unable to travel to London for the celebrations there. His parents, sister and grandparents Barry and Linda Minde were there too.
For the family, the moment carried deep significance. “Witnessing the sixth generation of the Newstead family participating in a simcha at this shul – more than a century after the congregation was established by my great-grandfather was incredibly heart-warming,” says Leo’s grandmother, Linda Minde.
The connections with the shul run deep. Leo’s parents, Warren Minde and Sarah Friedgood, daughter of Irving and Ruth, were married at the Claremont Hebrew Congregation in 2012.
Reuben Newstead himself arrived in South Africa from Riga, Latvia, in the late 19th century while his wife, Sophia – travelling alone after saving for her passage – came from Mir, now in Belarus.
A devout man, Reuben was instrumental in establishing the first synagogue in Claremont, where Jewish residents had previously gathered for prayers in the Town Hall opposite the railway station. He served on the building committee that secured land in 1911 for the first synagogue in Grove Avenue (not the site of the current shul.)
His dedication to the congregation spanned decades, culminating in his appointment as Life President in 1935. His legacy remains visible today – from a memorial stone he donated in honour of a close friend, to a 1923 citation recognising the commitment of Reuben and his wife, Sophia, to the Congregation.
On the day of Leo’s aliyah, the beautifully illustrated and framed citation from 1923 was gifted back to the shul by a cousin, Charlotte Cohen, on behalf of the extended Newstead family. Charlotte recalled that, after her grandmother Sophia Newstead passed away in 1977, the citation was kept by her daughter, Dolly Immerman, and upon her death, given to her son, Jeffrey – before being passed on to Charlotte when Jeffrey emigrated to Australia.
More than a family celebration, Leo’s aliyah was a moment of continuity – linking six generations to the same spiritual home, and reaffirming a legacy that has endured for over a century.
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