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Jewish routes in Cape Town and Western Cape

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STEVEN ALBERT

A few years ago, I had an idea to research the old synagogues around Cape Town and the Western Cape. I travelled through most of the small towns, writing about the shuls, their histories and the Jewish communities.

Calvinia

AlbertJewishroutesCalviniawoodstcok1  The Calvinia Synagogue was built in 1918 at
  a cost of £1 400 and opened in 1920. Used by
  the community for the last time in August 1968,
  the building was donated to the municipality for
  use as a museum in 1970. 

  It is an excellent museum, with a section
  devoted to the Jewish community including
  photographs of Jewish businesses, homes and
  local personalities, and local rugby and soccer
  teams with Jewish members.

Curator Maxie Hugo has extensive knowledge of the Jewish community. After I photographed and record her store of documents and photographs, she drove me around the streets, pointing out the Jewish houses, relating who lived where, what happened to them and other information. Many of the homes and business premises are still standing.


AlbertJewishroutesUniondaleUniondale

The Uniondale Shul is something to behold. A small building, very understated, quaint, unassuming, as were just about all the shuls I had seen. But inside, the ceiling was painted, covered from end to end with puffy clouds, blue skies and beaming Stars of David.

Synagogues are traditionally unadorned – and certainly the old structures were austere, almost ascetic in their complete lack of decoration. The Uniondale Shul was beautiful, almost whimsical with its stars and shining magenei david blazing across the ceiling. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Built in approximately 1901, it was either sold or given to the municipality in 1976 and bought by the Lions Club in 1994. 



Oudtshoorn

Oudtshoorn
had two shuls. The early immigrants came from Shavel (in Lithuania), a large, industrial, metropolitan city. Later immigrants came from Kelm, an older, deeply religious, strictly Orthodox community.

The first shul was built in 1888, in Queen Street. Its first rabbi (Rabbi Meyer Woolfson) was from Russia but had spent many years in England.

The two groups had very different ideas about Judaism. The Kelm Jews felt the Shavel Jews were too anglicised, and not Orthodox enough, while the more established Shavel congregation regarded the Kelm Jews as new arrivals.

In light of these irreconcilable differences, the Kelm Jews decided to build their own shul, one in St John’s Street, in 1892. The Queen Street followers called it “The Green Shul”, referring to their “new” status in the community, while the St John’s Street congregation, in turn, was called Queen Street “The Englische Shul”, in reference to the anglicised nature of their services.

Ultimately the congregations united in Queen Street. The St John’s Street Shul fell into disuse and was eventually demolished. The Queen Street Shul (now Baron von Reede Street) is a charming, almost medieval-looking structure, still in use today. If Robin Hood had been Jewish, he would have got married here.


Vredehoek

AlbertJewishroutesVredehoek (2)  Vredehoek’s
is a beautiful art
  deco building, and is the only one
  like it that I’ve seen. Built in 1939
  and closed in 1993, it is a most
  unusual and original structure.

  The Vredehoek congregation
  moved from Constitution Street in
  District Six (established in 1903)
  in 1940. When Vredehoek closed,
  the congregation moved further
  over the mountain, to Herzlia school. Much of the content of the shul went to the Schoonder Street Shul, itself later demolished.

The building itself was reasonably well-maintained. When I visited, it had been painted a rather gaudy red and blue, and housed an import/export, rugs and furniture dealer.

Many of the original fixtures were piled in odd corners around the building. It has now been quite beautifully restored to pretty much what it had looked like in the old photographs I found.



Woodstock

The Woodstock Shul (built 1910, refurbished 1950) lies in the heart of what would have been the centre of “old” Cape Town.

The shul was auctioned off in 1986 and, when I visited, was in use as a factory of sorts. At the time, it was that dirty grey that buildings go after years of weathering and neglect. The balcony had been sealed off, forming a separate second floor.

AlbertJewishroutes12woodstock
The only remaining sign of its spiritual heritage was the Star of David design windows – one large window in the centre of the building and two smaller ones on either side. But even these were difficult to discern – the large window now lay in between the two floors.

When I went past again, the entire complex had been rather creatively painted, showing off the architecture in an interesting fashion.

Since then, the shul and its hall have seen yet another change. Painted fresh white, the hall is now a gallery.


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7 Comments

7 Comments

  1. Herschel GELBART

    Sep 23, 2016 at 1:56 am

    ‘it was so good as ex woodstocker to see our shul get some recognition after virtually nil written since our reunion in 2004 

    we we lost many opportunities over the years to give our shul and community very little acknowledgment for being one of the original Jewish communities which gave birth to much leadership throughout Cape Town and South Africa   Herschel GELBART  USA ‘

  2. yitzchak

    Sep 23, 2016 at 6:34 am

    ‘I have pictures of Caledon shul and Middleberg shul,

    Interested?’

  3. naomi bloch

    Sep 24, 2016 at 5:42 am

    ‘DEAR STEVEN

    WHAT A WONDERFUL IDEA

    HOW ABOUT ANOTHER IDEA OF MINE. PHOTOGRAPHING GRAVESTONES IN THE JEWISH CEMETERY OF WOLTEMADE/MAITLAND. YOU WOULD HAVE TO GO THERE WITH SECURITY.

    AS I LIVE IN MELBOURNE I AM UNABLE TO HELP.

    BEST WISHES FOR A SHAMA TOVA A DFAST WELL AND MEANINGFULLY.’

    NAOMI DERMAN BLOCH

    EX CAPE TOWNY’

  4. Jp

    Sep 26, 2016 at 9:44 am

    ‘@Herschel Gelbart

    UCT archives have a collection for Woodstock and Salt River Hebrew Congregation (BC759)  http://www.specialcollections.uct.ac.za/

    @yitzchak 

    try:   https://jdap.co.za/

    @naomi bloch

    see: https://www.jewishcemetery.co.za/

    & see: http://www.iajgsjewishcemeteryproject.org/

  5. gerty

    Oct 10, 2016 at 9:36 pm

    ‘Hi
    \nI’ve been looking 4 a Jewish community shop in or around Cape Town area. But could find none or I’m not looking in the right area. 
    \nIf any one can tell me where I can purchase a Jewish prayer shawl, I would appreciate it tremendously.
    \nThanking you in advance
    \nGerty


    \n​​Hello Gerty, there is one at the Jewish Museum   -ED

  6. Steven Albert

    Nov 5, 2016 at 1:13 pm

    ‘Hi all,

    @Yitzchak – thank you, I also visited Caledon and took photos of the shul – which is now a private house. I also found some old photos of Caledon when it was still a shul and of Middelburg – these may even be yours?

    @Naomi – I photographed the gravestones in the second cemetery in Cape Town (I think it’s 7th Ave Maitland?) plus about 1000 stones at Gate 8 Woltemade, as well as most of the small towns I visited. I also transcribed the stones.

    @Gerty – there is also a very good Judaica shop in Sea Point, near the Sephardi shul. I think the Chabad in Sea Point also has a shop if I remember correctly.

    Steve’

  7. John M Riggs

    Mar 6, 2017 at 6:00 pm

    ‘This might be the next trickery used by scheming crooks in our neighbourhoods 
    \nPlease be vigilant and warn the elderly 
    \nI just witnessed this about 25 minutes ago possibly a bit earlier right ( it might be on cameras too ) here in Seapoint
    \nA motor vehicle CA 440 551 is a metallic silver tinted light bluish new model Toyota driven by a person with a Nigerian accent who is extremely rude he seems to have tried to bump into a elderly Jewish fellow in an relatively older maroon Camry Toyota coming out of NORFOLK road into MAIN road Seapoint near the Telkom and the Methodist church . This Nigerian thought the should call me a f**king dog when I walked around both his and the elderly guys car and then told the old man no damage not a scratch on either can he can go home and not be too bothered since I see no damages here at all and not needed that the Nigerian interfere nor insult him at all Therefore  please keep an eye open for his because I am convinced the fart a**e is up to no good and in fact probably trying to cause trouble deliberately to try intimidate or even extort money from this or other unsuspecting persons or trick them out of their vehicles or similar sneaky tricks
    \nPlease use that licence plate recognition software to keep our elderly safe and not to be easy targets 
    \nBest regards and yours sincerely 
    \nJohn M Riggs Esq. (M.INST.D)
    \n208 The Firmont ,Firmount Road , SEAPOINT, 8051,Cape Town,SOUTH AFRICA 
    \nTEL:+27 (0) 78 004 2200′

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