The Jewish Community of Vryburg: Observance and Community Life

In mid‑twentieth‑century Vryburg, Jewish life was shaped less by strict adherence to religious law than by a strong commitment to communal identity. Based on conversations with former residents who grew up in the town during the 1940s through the 1950s, a distinctive pattern of religious observance emerges—one that balanced respect for Orthodox norms with a pragmatic flexibility suited to small‑town South African life.

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Vryburg’s Jews took pride in being Jewish and made no effort to conceal their identity. Although levels of observance varied, the synagogue, communal gatherings, and shared customs provided a powerful sense of belonging. What sustained the community was not strict conformity, but participation: showing up for services, hosting Shabbat dinners, and supporting one another. This blend of tradition and adaptation—what might be called “flexidoxy.”

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Friday Night Services

Rabbi Kemelman had a wonderful voice and, during his tenure, formed a choir. Myra Sutin, who sang in the choir, recalls that it was especially popular with Jewish travelers. Many made a point of spending Friday nights in Vryburg specifically to hear the choir sing. Other choir members included Riva and Claris Arenson. Both Myra Sutin and Merle Katz estimate that around twenty or more people attended Friday night services during their childhood.

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Phil Toube notes that Friday night services were often led by the most recent bar mitzvah boys. Maurice Joffe recalls sharing this role with the Lieberthal twins, Wynne and Hugh, his contemporaries. David Rauff and Steven Scheckter also remember leading Friday night services before their own bar mitzvahs in 1971 and 1972 respectively. Steven adds, “I particularly remember Oscar Goldberg davening in the old‑style Hebrew.”

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Local members played a key role in sustaining religious life. In the 1960s, congregational minutes repeatedly thanked Max Cohen, Mike Allen, Mike Shapiro, Mr. Chien, Joe Joffe, and David Link for their support in leading High Holiday prayers. During the same decade, the role of shamash was filled by younger members—first Mervyn Lieberthal and later Leslie Toube.

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By the late 1960s, Friday night services still took place, but organizing them required considerable effort. Brian Lazarus remembers returning home from boarding school after his bar mitzvah in 1968 and trying to assemble a minyan. He recalls phoning each person and saying, “We are one short of a minyan tonight,” and hearing each respond, “OK, I’ll be there to make up the minyan.” He adds, “But I think after a few years of this they caught onto my antics.”

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Services were followed by memorable Friday night dinners.

 

Phil Toube recalls gatherings hosted by his grandparents that included five Toube family members, five Mendelows, the six members of Sam Lieberthal’s family, Willy Lieberthal’s four family members, the Silberts, and sometimes the four Sussmans. Years later, when Friday night services ceased, the remaining families still lit candles and recited kiddush—alone or with others—on Friday evenings.

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In my childhood, we never missed a Friday night dinner, which always included chopped liver (topped with grated hard‑boiled eggs), challah, and grape juice. Although we enjoyed wonderful Friday night dinners in Kimberley—hosted by generous families such as the Kleins—I longed for Friday nights at home.

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Saturday Services and Shabbat Observance

According to my conversations with Avi Hechter, there was a Saturday minyan in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Avi recalls being sent on one occasion to fetch Mr. Davidovitz because they were one man short. When Mr. Davidovitz could not come, Rabbi Slonim recited a blessing and Avi, at just ten years old, was counted toward the minyan.

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By the late 1940s, a regular Saturday minyan no longer existed. Gita Franco, who left for Johannesburg in early 1946, recalls a Saturday minyan during her childhood, as does Edith Ornellas (née Engelberg), a cousin of my father who spent three months in Vryburg in 1949 during school holidays. However, by the 1950s there appeared to be little effort to gather enough men for Saturday services. Mervyn Lieberthal later reflected, “We only had shul on Saturday if it was a chag or a bar mitzvah.”

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Merle Katz recalls that about forty people attended High Holiday services during her childhood. Men and women sat separately—men on the right facing the ark and women on the left—but there was no mechitzah, and children moved freely between sections. Helen Kristeller (née Mendelow) remembers, “I went to sit with Dr. Seymour Hoffman on the other side because I was mad about him.”

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Shabbat observance was generally not strict, even in families that kept kosher homes. Mervyn Lieberthal recalls, “We weren’t allowed to ride our bikes or write. However, it was the only day there was a matinee at the movies, so we went.” Others confirm that Shabbat often gave way to Saturday matinees at the Elliot Cinema. Ironically, the Elliot family also contributed financially to the synagogue. Selwyn Leibowitz adds that comics were swapped at the movies.

Helen Kristeller recalls that “none of the women in the families ever knitted or sewed on Shabbos—I think it was a family tradition.” Janice and Steven Scheckter remember not being allowed to write or play the piano on Saturdays. Nevertheless, Jewish‑owned businesses remained open. Meish Arenson recalls accompanying his father, Hymie, to Solomon’s Stores on Saturdays to feed the sizable cat population kept to protect grain from mice. Sports were extremely popular, and Shabbat rarely interfered with recreation.

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Kashrut

Most families did not maintain strictly kosher kitchens, but they generally avoided serving milk after meat and refrained from eating pork or shellfish. After the services of a shochet were no longer available, the Leibowitz and Arenson families arranged for kosher meat to be sent from Kimberley.