Bellville synagogue page
In 1902, Herman Berkowitz and his family were the first Jews to move to Bellville. In the early 1900s, services were conducted in his home on Festivals.
In 1919, the Jewish congregation under the chairmanship of Mr Herman Sacks was officially formed and Rev IJ Herison was engaged as its first minister. Rev Moshe Rabinowitz took over in 1921 and was the beloved minister for 26 years.
In 1926, the synagogue was built in Rhos Street on land donated by Mr F J v H Duminy.
When Rev Rabinowitz retired in 1947, Rev M Kwiatkowski succeeded him.
In 1951, a communal hall was built nearby. The hall included a stage and was used for many purposes such as for weddings, barmitzvahs, concerts, badminton and socials, etc. The socials were for the Bellville youth irrespective of religion. On Sundays, Habonim met there. Bellville's Habonim troup was originally called 'Ruhama' but in the 1960s it was changed to 'Masada'. On Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the shul was considered too small and the hall was converted into a temporary shul.
In 1952, Rev G Gad became the minister. He was coincidentally the 4th minister in a row to have lived sometime in Jerusalem.
In 1954, Rev Samuel Zucker replaced Rev Gad. About 1965 he went to Israel and returned as a Rabbi.
Around 1970, the synagogue was sold and demolished.
In 1974, the hall, which was now the shul, was renamed "Ohel Moshe" in honour of Rev Rabinowitz. From the mid-1970s onwards, the Jewish population dwindled and the Bellville congregation later joined Durbanville.
Some words on Rev Rabinowitz and Rabbi Zucker:
Rev Rabinowitz was born in Russia. At an early age, he went with his parents to live in Jerusalem. In 1904, he came to South Africa. He first went to Ceres and then, in 1921, came to Bellville. He retired in 1947 but continued to teach the Talmud. He took it on himself to blow the shofar on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur for many years after. He died in 1977 at the age of one hundred.
Rabbi Zucker was born in Germany and married Queenie Moss, a Londoner. He served a number of congregations in the UK. When he came to South Africa, he went to Oudtshoorn before coming to Bellville in 1954. He was known for preparing boys for their Barmitzvah. Queenie taught maths at Bellville High, then Herzlia High and then Settlers High in Bellville. Rabbi Zucker died in 1973.
Where on the map the shul is:
There are a number of suburbs in Bellville. One of these is Boston Estate, which starts at Voortrekker Road and goes up a hill to the national road, the N1. This snippet of information becomes clearer when you go back in time to the 17th and 18th centuries. Then, there was a wagon trail from Cape Town where the N1 is. The trail turned up to Pampoenskraal, now Durbanville, and from there to Wagenmakers Vallei, now known as Wellington. There was also a sand road called the Maitland Road that went to farms around Paarl and Stellenbosch. In 1938, the road was renamed Voortrekker Road. In the map you can see the N1 at the top and Voortrekker Rd at the bottom (the name is partially obscured by the picture on the map). On the right of Boston St (in bold blue), is the Ohel Moshe Synagogue. Next to it is Rhos Street. At the corner of Rhos and Voortrekker is Woolworths. Behind Woolworths in Rhos Street was where the original shul was. The bold grey Rd (R302) is Durban Rd, which goes up to Durbanville.
