On Thursday, 25 December, nearly 200 people (comprising both local residents and holiday makers) came together on the fifth night of Chanukah to celebrate the 11th anniversary of the rededication of the Hermanus Hebrew Congregation. The festivities continued into Shabbat, with full services being held, and culminated in Shachrit and the congregation’s AGM on the following Sunday. It was the first Chanukah to be celebrated in the new Hermanus shul and communal centre, which opened just before the High Holidays last year.

The congregation took the opportunity to honour two individuals who have been particularly involved in the community’s remarkable revival after more than two decades of inactivity. On Thursday, the foyer was dedicated to its President Jonathan Lipman, with the unveiling of a plaque recording with gratitude how his “effort and devotion” had been instrumental in the building of the complex. At the AGM Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft, Spiritual Leader to the SA Country Communities, was made an Honorary Life Member in recognition of “his tireless dedication to the Hermanus Hebrew congregation”.

In accepting the honour, Rabbi Silberhaft reflected on his twelve years of involvement with Hermanus Jewry. He emphasised the importance of ensuring a minyan at all times and commended the congregation for making the new centre so positive and treating visitors so well. He further suggested that suitable guest rabbis be encouraged to spend weekends in Hermanus, administering to the community in exchange for a couple of days holiday. Rabbi Silberhaft lauded Mrs Ann Harris in particular for her dedicated involvement in the affairs of the community and for always being the “voice of reason”.

The Hermanus shul itself can be likened to a living museum of South African country Jewry, since it contains furnishings and ceremonial items from 12 mostly defunct country communities. These include Upington, Bethlehem, Witbank, Ceres, Worcester, Robertson, Somerset West, Potchefstroom, Bloemfontein and Randfontein.