Home away from home for CT students

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Pictured :Rabbi Nissen and Ariella Goldman, with baby “AJ”.

“We are hoping it will be launched in February in time for the academic year,” said Rabbi Nissen Goldman, son of Rabbi Yossy and Rochel Goldman of Johannesburg.

He and his wife, Ariella, daughter of Michael and Linda Gavronsky of Cape Town, were living in New Jersey in the US and returned to Cape Town for the birth of their baby “AJ” 18 months ago.

“We didn’t think we would stay, but we saw there was a gap in that there was no centre for students and we decided to remain and fill that gap,” said Rabbi Goldman.

He and Ariella are on a mission to create a “Jewish home away from home” for university students in Cape Town and are committed to making this exciting project a reality.

The young Rabbi Goldman served as chaplain last year for the Isaac and Jessie Kaplan Centre, a Jewish academic institution, at UCT. In that capacity he organised High Holy Day services, Friday night and Yomtov student dinners, weekly “Lunch ‘n Learn” Torah classes and several socials.

The experience convinced him that students wanted to have a space they could call their own. “We needed an actual home that the students can feel is theirs and a space to host all of these programmes and more. At the end of the day, every community needs a home,” he said.

The new centre which will be located near UCT, will be an affiliate of the Chabad on Campus international network which currently has 230 centres, all locally funded on university campuses worldwide, with 19 new centres to be opened this coming semester.

Rabbi Goldman is emphatic however that the centre will be open and welcoming to all Jews regardless of affiliation or level of observance. Quoting the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, OBM, he says: “Labels are for clothing, not for Jews. The Jewish people are one nation with one Torah and one G-d. Nothing can divide us.”

Rabbi Mendel Popack, director of Chabad in Cape Town, is bringing the young couple as the Chabad shluchim to Rondebosch where the centre will be located. It will be easy walking distance to UCT campuses and student residences.

Although the Goldmans promise that Chabad on Campus will serve all Jewish students at local universities, Nissen says operating out of UCT makes the most sense. “It has the highest Jewish population by far. The area is up-and-coming and totally student central. There are also other colleges in the area which works out great for everybody.”

The centre which will also serve as the Goldman’s home, will host Shabbat and Yomtov meals free of charge, as well as shul services. There will be weekly study and a variety of cultural events to promote community-building.

“We can’t just cater to the mind and soul, we need to address the whole person holistically,” he adds.

As a passionate musician the rabbi hopes to host musical events, showcasing Jewish student talent.

Responding to the frequently asked question as to how many Jewish students there actually are at UCT, Nissen says that without official statistics it is only a “guesstimate”. But he calculates that there are 700 – 1 000. He estimates that the majority are former Herzlians but the number includes students from other provinces as well as overseas.

He feels strongly that the new centre could actually attract Jewish students to UCT. Having a “Jewish home away from home” could appeal to more committed young Jews both nationally and internationally. They would feel confident that they could still have a vibrant connection to Jewish life, even though they were far away from their home base.

Still in their 20s, the Goldmans are old enough to share life experiences with the students, but young enough to relate to them.