At the very tip of Africa lies a city of beauty. Cape Town, South Africa has all one can ask for; spectacular views, wonderful culture and world class education, successful businesses and an inspiring Jewish community. What many do not know is that within this beautiful city and Jewish community is a rare gem - Kahal Kadosh Shalom, the Sephardi Hebrew Congregation of Cape Town. Let me tell you how this gem was formed.
At the turn of the 20th century, the Jews of the island of Rhodes began emigrating to the United States looking for work to improve the lives of their families back home. What many do not know is that a large number also emigrated to what was then the Belgian Congo and Rhodesia. Many sent money to their families back in Rhodes so they too could join them in their respective countries. These communities prospered, growing into significant population centers with robust spiritual leaders.
In 1896, the first recorded Sepharadim made it to what was then known as “Moshonaland,” later named Rhodesia and now Zimbabwe in southern Africa. From 1905, Jews from Rhodes began to migrate in larger numbers. With their limited knowledge of English, these Sepharadim were forced to settle in bush areas to work on farms or in mining centers. Overtime, however, these small areas became unsuitable for many of these recent immigrants as they missed having a real community as they had when in Rhodes. With this, they moved to the capital city of Salisbury, today known as Harare.
Like many recent Sephardic arrivals encountered in the US, there was only an Ashkeanzi synagogue in Salisbury, and the Sephardic Jews wanted something of their own. They soon formed the “The Hebrew Sephardic Society of Rhodesia” in 1931. In the early years, services were held in private homes and venues. Then around 1940, after having purchased land a few years earlier, they purchased the adjacent property and built the Sephardi Hall, the first physical space dedicated to Sephardic Jewish life in the country, and used it as a synagogue, school and communal center.
In 1944, after having approached the Chief Rabbi of Cape Town for advice on how to obtain its first real spiritual leader, The Sephardi Congregation of Rhodesia was blessed to hire Rabbi Dr. M Papo who led the congregation for about 20 years, followed by Rev. Ichay, Rabbi Benzaken, and Rabbi Suiza.
At long last, the community consecrated their own permanent synagogue, Kahal Sha’are Shalom, with a special dedication ceremony with Haham Dr. Solomon Gaon zt”L, the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth.
Recently, the congregation in Zimbabwe merged with the Ashkenazi synagogue for minyanim, after years of a shrinking community due to the political turmoil and financial instability in the country.
Around the same time as the Jews of Rhodes made their way to Rhodesia, many others made their way to the Congo in central Africa beginning around 1911. During this time, Rabbi Moïse Lévy led the Jewish community in Elisabethville, now known as Lubumbashi, for 53 years. Rabbi Levy was a graduate of the Rabbinical College of Rhodes, and was well known for his beautiful Sephardic hazzanut and active work in the community. After Rabbi Levy’s retirement, he along with many others settled in Brussels, Belgium, where there is still an active Sephardic, Ladino-speaking congregation that is connected with the Sephardic Brotherhood. There was also a vibrant community in what was then Leopoldville, now known as Kinshasa, the capital of modern day Congo.
Until 1960, the communities in the Belgian Congo were prosperous, and continued their Rhodesli Sephardic traditions. In June of 1960, when the Belgian Congo declared independence and became the Democratic Republic of the Congo, chaos ensued, with tens of thousands of refugees fleeing the country due to political instability. Most of the Sephardic community either fled to their sister congregation in Rhodesia. Others went to Brussels, and a large portion reestablished themselves in Cape Town, South Africa.
When they arrived in South Africa, the Sephardic refugees found a Jewish community with open arms. The Congolese Sephardic Jews attended the Green and Sea Point Hebrew Congregation. However, as an active French and Ladino speaking Sephardic community, they found the Ashkenazi customs difficult to engage with meaningfully. The Green and Sea Point Hebrew Congregation allowed them, as well as Sephardic Jews from Rhodesia, to use one of the local Jewish day school classrooms for their own 1960 High Holiday services, conducted by lay leaders. In 1970, 50 representatives of the Sephardic community approached the central Jewish community in Cape Town with the desire to formally be recognized as a separate Sephardic community. Five years later, they became a properly constituted body and began to hold services on Shabbat as well. The Sephardic community began to use a minor hall as a synagogue on a permanent basis and were given the go ahead to appoint their own rabbi.
By then, many Sephardim from Rhodesia had also joined the community in Cape Town. In September 1980, Haham Solomon Gaon z”l inaugurated and consecrated the new synagogue and called it Kahal Kadosh Shalom, named in memory of the Congregation of Rhodes of the same name. Rabbi Reuben Suiza was inducted as the first Rabbi of the congregation on that same day, and now remains the congregation’s Rabbi Emeritus following his retirement, and currently serves as Chief Rabbi of Lisbon, Portugal.
The Sephardi Hebrew Congregation of Cape Town has become a beacon of charity and kindness in the South African Jewish Community, with many members involved in all aspects of Jewish life. Throughout the years, the congregation has maintained its strong Rhodes identity, keeping to the tunes, songs, language and customs of their parents before them.
Having been in this truly remarkable community for just under a year, I can sincerely say it’s a privilege. The prayers, songs, and Ladino language and tefilot have taken my heart. The congregation itself, with all the wonderful members, has been more than gracious and shown me what it means to be proud of who you are and where you come from. The congregation is still the only Sephardi Synagogue in Cape Town, and remains the largest in Africa. We are a center where Sepharadim from all over South Africa and those of Middle Eastern Jewish descent can come and find a home.
We are blessed to have two survivors of Rhodes from the Holocaust still with us: Lina (Amato) Kantor and Mercada Alhadeff. Our dear Isaac Habib, who encourages us all to speak Ladino and remember who we are, is an active community leader and returns to the island of Rhodes every summer to give tours at the island’s Jewish Museum and Synagogue.
If you didn’t know we have a vibrant Sephardic community in South Africa, don’t worry! We are now working to create a remarkable website where we can share our stories, histories, and experiences from the Congo, Rhodesia and South Africa with you all. You are always welcome to come and visit; the Biscochos and Turkish Coffee are waiting.
To me, one phrase above all embodies our community ethos: De la roza, sale el espino. De lespino sale la roza - from the rose comes the thorn, and from the thorn comes the rose. Because no matter the situation from Rhodes, the Congo to Zimbabwe, and South Africa, our Sepharadim have always been left with a rose.
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