Farewell to rabbi who was jack of all trades, master of everything

On 12 January, Rabbi Desmond Maizels and his wife Esther welcomed a new granddaughter into the world. But simcha turned to sorrow when he passed away suddenly three days later, at the age of 71.

“The devastating news this morning of the passing of Cape Town’s senior dayan has hit our community like a thunderclap,” said a shocked and devastated Rabbi Asher Deren.

“He was a towering lighthouse, beaming the light of Torah’s wisdom, which he single-handedly brought into the homes and lives of literally every single Jewish family in Cape Town, South Africa, and thousands more across the world on a level unparalleled in our time,” said Deren.

His passing brought about a rare moment when all sectors of the South African Jewish community joined in grief, putting aside religious, ideological, and political differences.

Rabbi Maizels was born in Port Elizabeth in 1949. He graduated from Grey High School in 1967. He studied two to three years of medicine at the University of Cape Town while also being hostel-master of the Herzlia hostel. He then went to Israel for his smicha, studying for six years. It was there that he met his be’shert and life partner, Esther, a formidable teacher, educator, and leader in her own right.

“He was a strong believer in getting certified in anything that you could. He always said you never knew when you were going to need it. He went to yeshiva in Israel, and he knew he would go back to a place where he was going to do shchita, and the brissing, and being the sofer, and being a dayan, and writing a gett … anything he could get his hands on, he got a certification for,” says Rabbi Doron Chitiz.

“He told me how he was in Israel during a war and all the bus drivers and truck drivers were drafted. He wanted to help in the army, and he had done some years of medical school, but it wasn’t enough. But they said, ‘There was something we saw in your application, that you have a truck drivers’ licence.’ He landed up being the only Egged bus driver in that area, and a truck driver for the bakery right by the yeshiva where he was learning. He was so proud that he was able to help in his beloved Israel in the middle of a war.”

As a young rabbinical couple in Bloemfontein, the Maizels quickly made a powerful impact on the small community. “I remember having braais together – he even joined us in playing rugby,” said Mike Bellon. “And having Chanukah parties all over in the Free State, schlepping everything but the kitchen sink. That’s how he connected with the community, especially when it lost track of its yiddishkeit.”

“Rabbi Maizels and his wife created the opportunity for many of us from Bloemfontein and other small towns to travel to Israel and learn as much as possible,” said Joanne Klass. “They took a group of us in 1981 when I was 14 years old. I was so happy to meet him again in Cape Town when he officiated our wedding in 1992. This was so special, as he had a connection with my family from Bloemfontein and my husband’s family from Oudtshoorn, where he made regular visits. He then did the baby naming of our daughter in 1998.”

Many families around South Africa and the globe have similar stories of Maizels being there for their family through every life-cycle moment.

After about eight years in Bloemfontein, the Maizels family moved to Cape Town. Serving as rabbi of the Camps Bay Shul for more than 30 years, he built up a diverse and dedicated congregation with the support of Esther and their children Hillel, Ora, Yael, and Gila.

“Rabbi Maizels’ first official duty on arrival at the Camps Bay Hebrew Congregation in 1984 was presiding over the funeral of a young family – Judy (née Biderman ) and Adi Tzur and their two babies who tragically died in a motor accident,” says Jonathan Biderman-Pam. “His empathy as a young rabbi of their families and our community has never been forgotten.”

“People from all levels of observance came to the shul. It felt like a real community of friends,” said Daniel Barnett. “And although Rabbi Maizels begged in every sermon for everyone to do a bit more, he didn’t judge you if you didn’t.”

Rabbi Maizels was also a dayan on the Cape Town Beth Din, and head of its kashrut department, a sofer, a shochet, and a renowned mohel. He would travel to locations like Hong Kong and Sydney especially to bris the sons of Camps Bay congregants, and he brissed thousands of boys, often two generations in the same family.

“He achieved international renown and fame for his deep understanding of kashrut, as well as his tenacity and innovation in making as much kosher food as possible accessible to the community,” wrote Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein. “He would travel to all corners of the globe, inspecting factories and finding solutions. That was his greatness. He was a man who found solutions because he wanted people to have access to kosher food in the best and easiest way possible.”

Rabbi Chitiz recalled, “I was at the Yeshiva of Cape Town from 2008 to 2010. Rabbi Maizels took me with for shchita one Monday morning, and it was the experience of a lifetime. Everyone knows of his kindness towards people, but few have seen his care and sensitivity towards animals – even animals he was about to slaughter. It was done with care, a sense of purpose, and dedication, as was everything else he did.”.”

He was a mentor to many, and a number of senior rabbis called him “my rabbi” in tribute. “As a young rabbi, the rabbinate is intimidating. One needs a great deal of support. Rabbi Maizels was one of those sources of support for me,” wrote a heartbroken Rabbi Sam Thurgood.

“Often, a key point in his stories was finding a clever solution to an intractable problem – whether it was joint purchase of shchita equipment with the Muslim community to make it affordable, or his proud discovery of a farm that grew bug-free cauliflower. He scheduled much of his life around plane trips for factory inspections, and would shift things around so that he could do multiple countries in one trip and save the factories money.”

“He symbolised what a true rabbi should be,” said Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft. “I remember he would drive from Cape Town to Oudtshoorn through the night, arrive at 03:00, have a short sleep, do the schita and then drive back to Cape Town in time for a bris. He did everything for the mitzvah, not for himself.

“He wasn’t afraid to challenge others about what was good for the community. That’s one of our greatest losses, that he was the living example of a true Torah Jew and leader. And he was able to talk to everyone – often in impeccable Afrikaans and isiXhosa – from the garage guy to the professor, to anyone in between. He had an ability to be everyone’s rabbi and friend without compromising true Torah values.”

His legacy lives on in the thousands of lives he touched.