Jewish holidaymakers in Hermanus and neighbouring districts will be able to take advantage of a fully functional synagogue, including the services of a rabbi, over this December period. Through the offices of the SAJBD Country Communities Department, the services of Rev Ilan Herman of the Lions Shul in Johannesburg have been secured for the period 13 December– 1 January. Rev Herman will be in attendance every morning, and will conduct full Shabbat services, including the Torah reading.

 

During this period, Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft, Spiritual Leader to the Country Communities, will also be in Hermanus, where he will officiate at the marriage of Hilly Zidel to Tali Stein. This will be the first wedding to have taken place in the Hermanus shul in over 23 years.

 

The Hermanus Hebrew Congregation, which reopened its doors in the late 1990s following a renewed influx of Jews into the area, is in the process of developing a new community centre comprising a shul and a communal function hall. The congregation, with the full support and assistance of the Overstrand Municipality and its Executive Mayor, is in the process of acquiring a new site in the Eastcliff area, near the Hermanus High School. Plans have already been drawn up and the final approval of the purchase by the full Municipal CounciL has just been granted. It is anticipated that the shul section of the complex will be completed by Pesach 2008, with the remainder being completed shortly thereafter.

 

Earlier this year, it was decided to sell the present shul building in the centre of town because of concerns about road re-alignments planned by the Provincial Government that will take place right outside it as well as the increasingly serious security risks and crime in the immediate area. The shul has served the community since 1930. As a result of the sale, to a Johannesburg based private consortium, the congregation will be able to both cover the costs of the planned community centre and to set aside a sizeable amount in trust for the future, thereby ensuring its financial stability.

 

The new shul will be similar in size to its predecessor, the whole interior of which is to be transported and installed in the new single storied building. The addition of an apartment have been planned to accommodate individuals who can act as a minister to the congregation on a regular basis. The hall will provide a venue for communal dinners as well as general kosher functions.

 

For more information on developments in Hermanus and the holiday period, contact Jonathan Lipman (President) on 076-070-5577 or jonny@homemail.co.za