Vryburg's Rabbis:

There is limited clarity regarding the tenure of Vryburg’s rabbis. According to The Jewish Life, Volume II, the community was served by at least eight rabbis, though the sources are not cited and cannot be independently verified. In addition to leading religious services, local spiritual leaders typically also functioned as shochet, kosher butcher, and cheder teacher. Among them, Rabbi Yehoshua Kemelman was the most highly qualified and later went on to a distinguished career.

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Early Ministry (Pre‑1926)

Before the appointment of a full‑time rabbi—apparently around 1926—the community was served intermittently by lay leaders and visiting rabbis. Known figures included Mr. Lieberman and Woolf Goldwater. Goldwater was the son‑in‑law of David Smollan, proprietor of the Grand Hotel, and gravitated to Vryburg after the death of his wife, Dora.

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It is likely that Vryburg, like many small country communities, relied on itinerant rabbis. One such figure was Rabbi Ephraim Menasseh Stein, later rabbi of Worcester (1922–1947). His grandson (Sorrel Kerbel) recalls that after arriving in Cape Town in 1912 with smicha from Telz Yeshiva, Rabbi Stein travelled extensively, visiting communities as far afield as Vryburg.

 

Known Tenures

Based on The Jewish Life study and additional research, the following individuals are known or believed to have served Vryburg:

1. Mr. Lieberman (1914)

2. Woolf Goldwater (1917–1925)

3. Rev. Leibowitz (1926)

4. Rev. Orenstein (1931)

5. Rev. Rossenbaum (1932)

6. Rabbi Levi Isaac Slonim (1932–1942)

7. Rev. Hyman Joseph Oleska (1943)

8. Rabbi Moshe (Moses) Bak (1945)

9. Rabbi Yehoshua Kemelman (1946–1951)

10. Rabbi Moshe Kiviatovsky / Kay (1952–1961)

 

Notably absent from The Jewish Life list is Rev. Hyman Joseph Oleska, who served briefly in 1943, between the departures of Rabbis Slonim and Bak. Curiously, he was South African‑born.​

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Little is known about Rabbis Lieberman, Leibowitz, or Rossenbaum. The Lieberman surname was rare in South Africa at the time, and the first rabbi may have been Morris (Liberman) Lieberman (1884–1947), later a bicycle manufacturer. Reverend Sholam Orenstein appears in a 1933 Government Gazette as a marriage officer and rabbi of Vryheid, suggesting overlapping or uncertain postings. We also have a Rabbi Louis Ornstein from Romania Naturalised in 1921. Rabbi Moses Bak died in 1955.

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Rabbi Levi Isaac Slonim (1932–1942)

Rabbi Slonim was the longest‑serving rabbi and oversaw the construction of the Vryburg synagogue along with Simon Lieberthal. Born in Hebron, he came from a distinguished rabbinic lineage; his father, Rav Yaakov Yosef Slonim, was Chief Rabbi of Hebron.

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According to his son, Meir Slonim, Rabbi Slonim first served Middelburg (Transvaal), then Vryburg, followed by Witbank and later Oudtshoorn, where he died at the age of 43. He was also known for an unusual interfaith act: officiating at a Congregational Church wedding when the minister inadvertently double‑booked himself, having received permission from the Beth Din.

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His wife, Shoshana (Rose), ran a café. Her sister, Dora, was married to Morrie Wolpert from Pudimoe and tragically died in 1940, due to complications during childbirth. Rose and Meir Slonim had two children, Cleara and Meir. The family lived next to the synagogue, where Rabbi Slonim also performed ritual slaughter. Community members recall his modesty, dedication, and warmth, as well as his role in the Chevra Kadisha. 

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Avi Hechter vividly recalls Rabbi Slonim slaughtering chickens and sheep in his yard. Lorna Toube (Mendelow) reminiscences: “Behind my grandparents’ home there was a chicken run and we had to catch chickens for Shabbat meals, which were then taken to the shochet to kill before Shabbat.” The home of the rabbi was next to the shul.

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In an interview with Eve Hrowitz in 1983, Joe Joffe spoke in glowing terms of Rabbi Slonim: "Rabbi Slonim was the essence of a most wonderful human being, he was not the money grabber, money meant nothing to him, like a real proper Israeli chalutz [pioneer]. Money was nothing, brandy was more important, and he and I were the main workers at the Chevra Kadisha in Vryburg."

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Rabbi Moshe Bak

After Rabbi Slonim’s departure, Rabbi Moshe Bak served briefly under somewhat controversial circumstances. Little is known of his tenure in Vryburg. Previously, he served as rabbi in Rustenburg (1925–1930).

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Born in 1890, Rabbi Bak was married to Chaya Dvora Bak. Their son, Benzion, was born in Perem / Perm, Russia, in 1916 while the family were war refugees following the forced exile of Lithuanian Jews from Pašvitinys during World War I. Chaya and Benzion arrived in South Africa in February 1926 (aboard the Dunluce Castle). She was aged 43 and Benzion was 10. They are both listed as coming from Pasvoten - Pašvitinys (Pashvitin) is in Lithuania. 

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Rabbi Yehoshua Kemelman (1946–1951)

Rabbi Kemelman was widely beloved and left a lasting impression on the community. He built Vryburg’s outdoor mikveh, established a synagogue choir, and was known for his exceptional teaching and musical talent.

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Ordained by nine rabbis and later holder of two PhDs, he subsequently served in Potchefstroom, East London, and Sydney, Australia. Many congregants credit him with inspiring their lifelong love of Jewish learning. His Friday night services, often led by children, were particular highlights of communal life.

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Sheila (Frank) Grant whose family lived in Vryburg twice (1948-1953 and 1967-1970), notes: "I remember Rabbi and Rebbetzin Kemelman so well. He was a wonderful teacher and I attribute my great love for Jewish religion and history largely to his teaching.  He also had a beautiful singing voice and established an excellent choir at the Shul. 

 

 Joe Joffe recalled the impact of Rabbi Kemelman. "Within a matter of a few months he made a choir for the children, and I want to tell you it was the pleasure of the week to go on Friday night to shul and to listen to him daven, he had a lovely voice, and the children .. subsequently I decided that the children should take over the service on Friday night, which was done."

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Rabbi Moshe Kay – The Last Rabbi (1952–1961)

Rabbi Kay was Vryburg’s final resident rabbi. Born in Poland, he first emigrated to Mandatory Palestine before moving to South Africa due to limited opportunities in the Yishuv. He served initially in Upington (1948-1950), then Bellville, and finally Vryburg. From there, the family moved to Parys. In South Africa he met and married his wife, Lilly Saitill, who was born in Willowmore in the Eastern Cape.

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An intellectual by nature, Rabbi Kay maintained close friendships beyond the Jewish community, including with the local Catholic priest. Community members recall his dry humor and dedication to teaching, even when parents challenged his curriculum.

 

Mickey Katz gives a sense of his humor. He recalls coming home from his weekly cheder lessons and his dad would ask him what Rabbi Kay had taught him. Mickey would tell his dad that the rabbi taught him how to recite Kaddish and his dad would call the rabbi to suggest that he teaches his son something a little more uplifting. The rabbi’s standard retort was – “Mr. Katz, please G-d your son will learn Kaddish by the time you pass away.”

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His daughter, Pearl Kaplan, notes: "He probably didn't have many people with whom to have discussions but formed a close friendship with the Catholic Priest whose name, if I remember correctly was Father Forgan.  Father Forgan often came to our house and enjoyed being with us children.  We used to call him Uncle Father because my parents respectfully called him Father. He was a warm and pleasant man who obviously had no family of his own.”

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After the Rabbis:

After Rabbi Kay left, a shochet came from Kimberley for a few years to slach (slaughter). Shelley Skudowitz (Muskat) lucidly recalls the Kimberley shochet “cutting the head off a chicken every week in our garden. Then it would run around, headless. I hated those days and hid away when he was coming. We kept chickens in a hok (cage) and I soon realized why.” 

 

Retaining rural rabbis was not easy, but Vryburg was fortunate to have longer tenures compared to some other country communities. This says a lot about the strength of the community. Rabbi Kemelman was controversially recruited by the Potchefstroom community. Meish Arenson recalls that the elders from Potchefstroom met him five miles outside of town to finalize the transfer, which can be described as a muddy affair. However, poetic justice prevailed, and Rabbi Kemelman soon left for East London. In his dissertation on the Potchefstroom community, Paul Cheifitz (page 84) discusses the challenges faced by rural communities in hiring rabbis.

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"It seems that many country Rabbis moved from town to town with great frequency. Better financial offers often tempted them away from their posts. Some Synagogue committees were harder to satisfy than others and there were often clashes between personalities which caused problems that could not be overcome. The country Rabbi had to be extremely diplomatic in order to maintain good relations with his congregation and hold onto his post. Often times the impetus to move on came from the Rabbi himself who might have been unhappy in his post and could no longer meet the demands of the community."

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In 1961, the community made efforts to recruit several candidates but had the closest success with Rabbi Koren, who was positioned in Ermelo. Ultimately, however, negotiations fell through as Rabbi Koren raised his salary demands. For a community of just 35 paying members, the cost was likely too high.

 

From the minutes of the Shul Committee, the shortage of spiritual leaders facing country communities is all to apparent. Chairman, Mike Allen, "Ministers were a very, very, very scarce commodity." As late as 1966, when Jack Katz was chairman of congregation, he lamented in his report to the AGM of 6 November: "We are without a Minister, and the likelihood of obtaining the service of one, was remote."​ The absence of a rabbi undoubtedly affected the community and may have contributed to its ongoing decline.

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Mr. Chien, Victor Ressman and Esme Rauff:

Mr. Eliezer Chien, who resided in the International Hotel, was retained to teach local children in cheder due to the inability to recruit a reverend. Mr. Chien was recruited with the help of Mr. Klawansky and arrived in late February 1961. He received a monthly salary of R 75 and was provided with accommodation. By June, his role was made permanent, and his salary was doubled.

 

There were many myths about Mr. Chien. The common story was that he had survived the Holocaust. Maurice Joffe recalls, “Poor man had terrible tremors in one hand and shook uncontrollably. We believed it might have been post-traumatic stress from the war. As kids, we were not always kind to him. We would egg him on to talk about the Holocaust, which really distressed him. I remember one day he cut class short due to anxiety. Kids being kids... His family was murdered by the Nazis. He was a good, wonderful, and pious man. We were very lucky to have him. May his soul rest in peace.” During the collection of Vryburg stories, several people admitted to giving Mr. Chien a hard time and playing pranks on him.

 

Today, we can confirm that Mr. Chien was not a Holocaust survivor. In fact, he left Lithuania for South Africa and became a naturalized citizen while living in Bloemfontein in 1940. His first wife passed away, and he divorced his second wife in 1961. Before moving to Vryburg, he was living in Nigel.

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After Mr. Chien left for Sandringham Gardens in 1969, Evelyn Pagoda briefly taught Hebrew to the local children, followed by Esme Rauff, who was notable as a convert. Esme and the community received support from Victor Ressman of Bloemhof. Esme’s eldest son, David Rauff, recalls that after Mr. Chien retired to Sandringham Gardens, he once “escaped” to Vryburg by train to attend a bar mitzvah. Rhita Muskat and Boytjie had to drive him back to Johannesburg because he really did not want to return.