Iconic Lions Shul on auction

The Lions Shul in Doornfontein was a hub of Jewish life in a once-predominantly Jewish area. Although it will be put up for auction on 20 February, because it is a heritage site, the outside cannot be altered and it will always remain a gentle reminder of hard-but-good times of old in our community.

The Lions Shul was originally one of seven shuls in Doornfontein, a suburb that was the core of Jewish Johannesburg in the first half of the 1900s. It’s the longest continuously operational shul in Johannesburg.

The shul, technically called the Doornfontein Hebrew Congregation, was lovingly nicknamed the Lions Shul because of the two small cast iron lion statues painted gold outside the building that flank its front steps and watch over either side of the entrance.

It was the third synagogue to be built in the neighbourhood of Doornfontein, and was a mainstay for many in the community since it was constructed in 1905 for £4 000.

The synagogue was designed by Morris Jacob Harris, a Jewish architect who ran a practice in Johannesburg at the time and the son of Johannesburg’s first rabbi, Mark Louis Harris. Constructed out of buff-coloured stucco and brick, the building’s most prominent features are its domed towers at both ends and its bowed façade.

The inside of the shul is painted pale yellow and white, and it is offset by the dark wooden pews and the rich red carpet which flows down the centre.

Three small shallow glass domes fill the ceiling and the wooden women’s gallery around three sides of the building add to its cosiness.

Beit Street, where the shul is situated, was “the commercial hub of this former Jewish suburb, crowded with kosher butcheries, shoemakers, tailors, blacksmiths, carpenters, and barbers,” said Lions Shul Chairperson Aron Ziegler.

“In the early days, the suburb was a vibrant part of the town, crosscut by bicycles, horses, carts, and trams. Hawkers and peddlers crowded the pavements, offering live chickens, eggs, ice, and coal for sale,” Ziegler said. Then, in 1932, a fire destroyed much of the shul, but it was rebuilt completely with changes to the entrance and the removal of the minarets.

Ziegler said many members of the shul, who have been attending since they were children, are fourth-generation Litvak Jews who used to stay or work around Doornfontein.

“Those still coming to the shul remember the suburb with much affection, probably because everyone started on the same footing: as immigrants in a modern city, struggling to find their place and make things work for themselves and their families. And all immigrants knew that when they arrived in Johannesburg, they had to make their way.”

The Lions Shul minyan always stood out because it offered an early 06:00 Shabbat service. “It started because of guys who wanted to have a Shabbos shul service but needed to get to work, which was mostly in town,” said Ziegler. “In those days, a lot of Jews worked in the CBD. They could have their Shabbos minyan, but at 08:30, they were out, and they could get on with the rest of the day.”

Ziegler said this early service is what kept bringing people back to the shul all these years. Before the COVID-19 pandemic began five years ago, the shul had a steady attendance of 20 to 30 people for services each week, however since then, many of its members left the country or didn’t want to drive to Doornfontein on Shabbat. There was also a substantial loss of some of its most prominent members, including Stan Rothbart, a member of the shul for more than 45 years; Michael Baum, the shul’s long-serving chairperson; and Ruby Lipschitz, one of the main organisers of the shul.

Ziegler also attributed the dwindling attendance to the state of Doornfontein itself, and that people might be afraid to travel to that area of Johannesburg.

“Once Stan Rothbart passed away and we were packing up his office and everything, we had to decide on the future of the shul,” Ziegler said. “A decision was taken that without funding, we would be unable to continue.”

The shul will be a part of an open auction hosted by Broll Auctions and Sales property broker, Rodney Beck, on 20 February.

“We want to do this while we’re still alive and with this, we’ll be able to close the shul with dignity,” said Ziegler.

The shul itself was declared a heritage site, and due to its status, even once the building is sold, the new owners won’t be allowed to alter the outside of the building,” said Beck.

“We can’t determine who is going to buy it or what they are going to do with it, but the outside of the building has to be kept intact,” he said.

“We’re hoping that a Jewish institution is going to come in and save us, and then we can still run the shul,” said Ziegler.

But he said that though many of the shul members are sad to part with it, they know it’s the only way to move forward.