First full-time rabbi at Muizenberg shul in decades

TALI FEINBERG

The last full-time rabbi in Muizenberg was Rabbi Gerald Rockman, who served the community until he retired at age 89 in 1999. Just more than two decades later, 40-year-old Rabbi Ryan Newfield and his family arrived in March 2020 to fulfil that role.

Newfield’s arrival to these shores is a rare case of coming full circle. “I grew up in Johannesburg and attended King David Schools, where I developed an interest and connection to our heritage at a young age,” he says. His earliest role in Jewish education was working for the DIJE, the division of informal Jewish education at King David, at age 19. “While everyone was going to university, I still had a passion for Judaism and learning, so I helped at the schools and continued my Yeshiva studies in the afternoons after work.

After graduating from rabbinical school in Jerusalem, he went to the United States, where he worked in marketing, business development, and Jewish community-building for almost 12 years. “I then travelled the world for four years, while working online, teaching Hebrew and Jewish Studies to public-school kids in the United States. During these years, I also returned to South Africa and helped the Plettenberg Bay community for a few seasons as well as spending time in Israel.”

He also met and married his wife, Andrea Rivkah, and they have two young children. “I decided to come back to South Africa now – when many others are leaving South Africa – as I still think it’s wonderful to be here. I wanted to be closer to my parents, and I want my kids to know their cousins. Plane rides with babies aren’t so much fun, so it made sense to be closer!”

Newfield sees himself as “more of a community builder than rabbi, and that’s what I was brought in to do in Muizenberg – strengthen the minyan and get Jews from the southern suburbs more interested in their heritage, whether in synagogue or outside”.

He has had an affinity to Muizenberg for a long time, as his close friend, Farrel Strul, has been helping the community for over 20 years. “When I visited Cape Town, I would come to Muizenberg and help him with Shabbat services,” Newfield says. “I loved not only the beautiful building with its perfect sound and stained-glass windows, but also the community’s warmth. It was also the only shul I’ve ever visited that sings Hatikvah at the end of kiddush every week, which made a good impression.

“I had been asked for a few years to come and help out in ‘Muizies’ and eventually after my second child was born, we looked for a place to settle,” he says. “Muizenberg was still looking for help, so we came to help last November as a trial, and I was sold. I chose Muizenberg over Hawaii, which says a lot! I love Cape Town, surfing, people, hiking, natural beauty, and helping people. It seemed like a natural choice.”

Neill Selipsky has been a committee member of the Muizenberg Hebrew Congregation for the past five years since moving there to be near his children. “My connection to Muizenberg, however, goes back many years, since my parents retired here and my late father is buried in the Muizenberg Jewish Cemetery. The shul has been well maintained by the present community,” he says.

He says there are about 30-40 congregants, with an average age in the high 60s to low 70s. “In addition, there are a large number of members, primarily from Gauteng, who have holiday apartments in the area and who swell the size of the community during the summer holiday season three to four fold, at which time there are daily services with minyanim. Furthermore, Camp Kesher, where a large number of underprivileged Jewish children from around the country enjoy a lovely holiday during the summer, owns a campsite in the area. The children walk to shul every Shabbat.”

Before the coronavirus pandemic, “We had shul services every Friday evening and Shabbat morning, and over chaggim. This was followed by a splendid brocha. We get a minyan about 80% to 90% of the time.

“We had been managing reasonably well until Rabbi Newfield’s arrival, usually bringing in a different local rabbi or spiritual leader to run services every weekend.

“Muizenberg itself has undergone somewhat of a revitalisation over the past five to 10 years. Many years ago, Muizenberg was the premier Jewish holiday resort in South Africa, but in addition, there was a large and vibrant permanent Jewish community here. Obviously, it’s unlikely that that sort of past could be recreated, but it’s a pity not to make a positive attempt while it’s still possible, especially in light of the general rejuvenation of the area,” he says.

“We are aware that there is a fairly large number of Jews living in the southern peninsula who are, in the main, unaffiliated,” Selipsky says. “We believe it would be worthwhile to reach out to them to re-establish a vibrant and connected Southern Peninsula Jewish community.”

“A lot of people mention their own history in Muizenberg when I meet them,” Newfield says. “I don’t think you can take away the majesty of Muizenberg. It’s beautiful everywhere you look, and one can see the history here by looking at the buildings and homes.

“The shul building itself is almost 100 years old, and it is iconic to the neighbourhood. I can only imagine how awesome it must have been to live here or visit when it was ‘Jewsenberg’ at its peak. I plan to create more memories for those who are still here, and invite those with memories to revisit us and create more magic in this corner of the world. You owe it to yourself to enjoy this Garden of Eden.”

On safeguarding this past, the rabbi says, “First, we need to strengthen the Jewish community, making sure services continue and making them vibrant. Second, we need to reach out to the greater South African and overseas communities, and let them know that there is still magic to be found at the bottom of Africa in this little beach town. Once word gets around, people can relive their childhood by visiting and enjoying seeing life continue here.”

Having arrived just before lockdown began, the rabbi has had to prioritise services online. “We have three to four Zoom lectures a week including a pre-Shabbat service. People join from all over the world. We have had topics ranging from ‘Jewish humour stories from shuls’, to ‘mystical insights for life’, ‘travel stories to warm the heart’, ‘conversational Hebrew’, and ‘where Torah meets biology’.

“I always took a piece of South African Jewish community with me wherever I went in the world, which is 50 countries,” Newfield says. “It’s nice to be home, and feel the love and warmth of a small but strong community. Please come and visit us when shul opens.”