Stellenbosch campus rabbi caters for growing Jewish presence

Jewish students at Stellenbosch University have more than tripled in number over the past five years, growing from 40 in 2019 to more than 150, creating the need for a campus rabbi.

Rabbi Chananyah Duthie is already comfortable as the Stellenbosch University Chabad on Campus rabbi, having completed his BCom at the university. Although he and his wife, Eliana, have already established themselves with students, having arrived in Cape Town three months ago, they will only be made official on campus in the new year.

Duthie, who is a Cape Town native, converted to Judaism six years ago while studying at Stellenbosch University. After completing his degree in 2019, he went to learn in a yeshiva in Jerusalem. He then moved to Crown Heights in New York in 2021, where he continued his yeshiva studies and married Eliana.

Rabbi Nissen and Ariella Goldman, who founded Chabad on Campus Cape Town, have been going to Stellenbosch once a week since 2017, but they knew it wasn’t enough to keep the Jewish spirit alive.

“I have my hands full at UCT [the University of Cape Town],” said Goldman. “I knew that we couldn’t do students justice without a full-time rabbi. So we felt the need to expand Chabad on Campus to Stellenbosch.

“We need more Jewish infrastructure in Stellenbosch because more students are going to Stellenbosch,” Goldman said. “We want to help keep their Yiddishkeit alive when they are away from home.”

Duthie said Jewish students were gravitating to Stellenbosch because they wanted to get away from the political and antisemitic environment at UCT. “Jewish students want to go where they can just be themselves,” he said.

“Knowing that my Jewish journey started at Stellenbosch, knowing about the growth of Jewish students in Stellenbosch, and seeing that it’s the future hub of Jewish students,” said Duthie, “it was a no-brainer.

“There was no one there. Stellenbosch almost gets forgotten by Jewry in Cape Town.

“Our goal with Chabad on Campus is to fulfil the vision of the Rebbe and make it possible and practical for every Jew, no matter where they are, to live a fully Jewish life,” said Goldman, “That means living in a community. It means having the infrastructure for Jewish living. For that, you need someone who is going to wake up every morning dedicated to the cause of the Jews in that place. That’s why there are Chabad shuls all over the world in the craziest of places to cater to the needs – not just spiritual but physical – of the Jewish population.”

“We want to bring Jewish infrastructure to Stellenbosch,” Duthie said. “We want to have a Jewish centre of learning, which will also be a place where a Jewish student can feel that they can be free to be Jewish.”

Even before Duthie touched down in South Africa, he was in touch with students online, making the connections he feels are necessary to enter this new era at Stellenbosch University.

“A lot of Jewish students don’t know that there are other Jews on campus unless they went to school with them, but there are a lot of Jewish students who didn’t go to Jewish schools, so they fall through the cracks,” said Duthie. “We want to make sure they know that there’s someone for them on campus, someone accessible and who can help to provide kosher food.”

Duthie is training to be a shechita or ritual slaughterer, so he can provide kosher food to the Jewish community.

In the three months that Duthie and his wife have been in the country, they have already made a large impact, even though they aren’t fully established yet.

Samuel Nathan, a first-year international relations student, describes the importance of having a rabbi on campus. “With Rabbi Chananya’s arrival, the weekly ‘lunch and learns’ have resumed, but with increased efficiency and have taken on a new shape with the rabbi’s perspective. The rabbi can also give Stellenbosch students a more relatable view as an alumni of the university.”

Similarly, first-year BA student Ruby Kurgan said she felt honoured that Duthie and his family had moved from New York to dedicate their time to Jewish students in Stellenbosch. “He’s the first super ultra-orthodox Jew that I’ve seen in Cape Town, black hat and all. I find it cool and inspiring, and I love to ask him questions. He’s a deep person, and he always has good answers. We’ve had some amazing Shabboses at the shul, dinners, braais, and lunch and learn every Wednesday.”

Adam Lieberman, a second-year bioinformatics student, said, “It feels like people are now making Stellenbosch students their priority. It makes students feel more accepted and eager to get involved in the community as we feel we have someone we can’t let down and someone who won’t let us down. It’s amazing to feel a part of a community in which we can come together, learn, and get a home-cooked meal on a Friday night.”

Rabbi Mendel Popack, the head shaliach of Cape Town, said, “On behalf of Chabad in Cape Town, I’m thrilled with the advent of a new Chabad shaliach for Stellenbosch. The students can rest assured that there’s a Jewish presence in the community who will care for their needs materially and spiritually. In addition, every Shabbat will be special and inspirational.”