​Many of us celebrated our Bar and Bat Mitzvah's in Vryburg.  At the end is the list of the celebrations held in the local Synagogue I have managed to map. There are probably a few missing. During the times that there was a local Rabbi the preparations were overseen by the Rabbi. After the town lost the ability to hire a Rabbi the work was done by Mr. Chien and later Esme Rauff, with the support of Victor Ressman. David Rauff recalls going to Bloemhof with his Mom, Esme, to see Victor. David explains: "he [Victor] was a Reverend and suitably qualified to oversee the Barmitzvah process. My mom could assist and prepare barmi boys but someone had to give the guidance and run the services. Otherwise they would probably have had to have their barmi’s out of town - for example Kimberley."

 

The Bar Mitzvahs or Bat Mitzhav's was a major occasion, both on a personal, family and community level. It was an occasion for an occasion. The Simon Lieberthal Hall was cleaned a refurbished. Local friends, Jewish and non-Jewish, business associates, Jews from other country communities and family members from the larger cities came to join for a wonderful weekend.

 

Good food was a central motif. Meals were either catered at home or in a local Hotel. Most often, the Grand Hotel. Many others catered at home. A Stellelander article on Maurice Joffe’s bar-mitzvah gives a flavor of these celebrations. In later years, the caterer was still Boytjie Rohloff but we had our receptions at home. On the farm we struck a marquee tent in our garden. I remember that Boytjie was detailed oriented and even oiled the fruits to make them shine! Describing my Bar Mitzvah and Boyjtjie joe Joffe noted: "I cannot single out the best hotel in Johannesburg or Cape Town who could supersede the catering of that day, nobody, impossible, I have never seen such luxury foods presented, there was no shortage of refreshments neither, plenty of everything."

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We all have distinct memories:

Joe Davidovitz, who had been sent to Herber House describes his Barmitzvah as the worst day of his life. Contrary to his parents assumptions, Joe never did any preparations and was not ready. He found himself up there on the Bima all alone, embarrassed and exposed for not having done any preparation.

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Henry Wald: "I remember Rabbi Slonim as the longest serving Rabbi. For whatever reason he was no longer the rabbi, I remember a Rabbi Bak(?) coming to teach Salvyn & Me our barmitzvah portions. ........ I recall that as a rite of  passage to our adulthood, Joe Davidovitz and, I believe Arthur Getz, guided both Salvyn & me to smoke our first cigarettes', cough, cough, splutter, splutter, choke choke. We were now "Manne".

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Gertrude Wald (now Gita Franco), recalls that much to her mother’s distress her brothers were a little petite. In order to ensure they reach the Bimah, boxes were placed on the bimah floor.

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Mervyn Lieberthal notes, I was "the eldest grandchild on my mother’s side and my grandparents came from Oudtshoorn to Vryburg in a taxi a distance of about 1100 kilometers.  My grandfather never drove a car." That is some schlep.  

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Mike Cohen fondly recalls Rabbi Kay musing at his Barmitzvah dinner that his pet Border Collie, Rex, attended more shul and cheder than Mike did.

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Shelley Skudowitz recounts that the event was catered at home. “I remember fetching Shaina (Jacobson) from the train station, laden with food that you couldn’t get in Vryburg, like boxes of smoked snoek and other fish. I remember my mother, Shaina, my grandmother Dolly and their friends cooking and baking for days.”

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My memory was of Reverend Copperman from Kimberley blessing me after I completed my reading. I am not quite sure how he and I got through this. 

The last Bar mitzvah celebration in Vryburg was Wayne Sussman's. It was also the last time there was a minyan in the Shul.

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Vryburg Bar and Bat Mitzvah's

Below is the list of the celebrations held in the local Synagogue I have managed to map. There are probably a few missing. 

• Joe Davidovitz (1945)

• Henry and Salvyn Wald (1945)

• Philip Cohen (?)

• Gerald Cohen (?)

• Arthur Getz (1946)

• Isaac Sussman (1949) 

• Derek Rosenberg (1950)

• Woolfie Sussman (1950)

• Reginald Paul Jacobson &  Leonard Joel Jacobson (1952)

• Winston Rosenberg (1952) 

• Meish Arenson (1953)

• Cliff Rosenberg (8 May 1954)

• Phil Toube, 25 September 1954

• Bram Katz (March 1955)

• Stanley Toube (May 1956)

• Mickey Katz (June 1956)

• Henry Joffe (1956)

• Frank Rohloff (1957)

• Selwyn Leibowitz (1957)

• Mervyn Lieberthal (May 1958) 

• Mike Cohen (June/ July 1958)

• Graham Brodovcky (March 1959)

• Leslie Toube (October 1959)

• Issy Lieberthal (1961) 

• Shelley and Louise Muskat (20 September 1964).

• Merle Joffe  (1964)

• Maxie Goldberg (1965)

• Samuel Katz (January 1966)

• Jacques Muskat (August/ September 1967)

• Maurice Joffe (1967)

• Wynne and Hugh Lieberthal (February 1968)

• David Rauff, 11 September 1971

• Steven Scheckter (1973)

• Howard Rauff (December 1975)

• Richard Rauff, 16 December 1978

• Gary Sussman, 28 May 1982

• Brett Sussman 13 June 1983

• Justin Rohloff (1985)

• Wayne Sussman, 20 June 1993

Below, we share photos from these joyous occasions and we would welcome more. 

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